Quick broccoli cheddar soup is creamy, delicious, and comes together really fast. Perfect for any night of the week. It’s loaded with vegetables and finished with sharp cheddar cheese. It has the flavor you’d expect from this classic soup, without hours spent cooking on the stove. Make this for a quick weeknight dinner served with a crisp green salad and some warm crusty bread on the side. There are minimal ingredients needed so you could be having this for dinner tonight! Read over the full recipe and then head to the store. This is a favorite soup of mine and as a home cook, it sure does taste like restaurant quality! Homemade broccoli cheddar soup, “it’s what’s for dinner!”
Here’s what you need to make a quick broccoli cheddar soup recipe:
The star of the soup is of course broccoli. You can use fresh broccoli or even frozen works too. You’ll need four cups of chopped broccoli florets. Additionally, four cloves of garlic, one onion, one stalk of celery, and two medium carrots. Plus, some all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of white wine, four cups of chicken or vegetable stock, a little dijon mustard, one cup of heavy cream, and two cups of freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese. If possible use high-quality cheese since it is one of the stars of this dish. By high quality, I don’t mean the super expensive cheddar, but a name brand like Tillamook or Sargento. The recipe also calls for butter, but you could use olive oil instead.
Even though this soup is super creamy there isn’t much actual cream in it, just one cup. If you would prefer to use milk then make sure it’s whole milk or 2%. Do not use non-fat milk because it is too watery and you need a little bit of fat to thicken the soup. Furthermore, I do not recommend using pre-shredded cheese, but if that is all you have on hand, it will do. Worth noting is when you want the best-tasting cheese with good melting properties then grate your own cheese!
I highly recommend using a hand-held immersion blender to achieve the creamy texture of the soup, but if you don’t have one a traditional blender can also be used. I’ll explain how below!
Here’s how to make this easy broccoli cheese soup:
I always chop or cut all my ingredients before starting any soup. Usually, most of the ingredients are added simultaneously, so you want to have everything ready to go. Begin by cutting the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. After that cut the broccoli florets off of the stalk so you are left with medium size florets. Size isn’t super important because you are going to puree the soup at the end. If you were not going to puree it, then I would advise you to cut all the vegetables into a small dice so it’s easy to eat.
Next, grate the extra sharp cheddar cheese and set aside until it is time to add it to the soup. The remaining prep would be to measure out all the liquid ingredients. You can do this ahead of time or as you go, it’s entirely up to you and your personal preference.
Let’s get cooking!
Begin by melting butter over medium heat in a large pot on the stovetop. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until soft. This takes about 5 minutes. Then you want to toss in the minced garlic and stir until it softens about 1 minute. After that, add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up all the little bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let this cook for a couple of minutes until the alcohol cooks out.
Now you want to add the flour and cook for one minute stirring continuously. The flour will coat the veggies and it will look dry, but that’s what you want. The flour mixture is going to help the soup thicken. After about a minute, add the chicken stock, cut broccoli, cream, and dijon, and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat or high heat until the soup comes to a full rapid simmer. Then reduce the heat to medium-low heat and continue cooking until the broccoli is fork tender. This will take about 15-30 minutes.
Time to puree!
Once the broccoli is tender it’s time to puree the soup, There are 2 ways to do this. You can use an immersion blender or a regular blender. I do not recommend using a food processor.
The easiest way to puree the soup is to use an immersion blender. This is a kitchen tool I believe everyone should have if they make soups. It’s fairly inexpensive and worth every penny. Do not buy the cheapest or the most expensive. The ones priced in the middle work great and won’t break the bank.
Using an Immersion Blender
If using a hand-held immersion blender be sure to fully immerse it into the liquid before turning it on. Gently move it around but be careful with splatter because you are working with hot soup. Continue to blend until the soup has a creamy texture, is smooth and there are no chunks of broccoli left.
Using a Regular Blender
If using a blender you will have to puree in batches. Use a ladle or large measuring cup and add the soup to the blender. Only fill 3/4 of the way leaving room for the soup to move around. It’s also very important to remove the center lid. Removing the center lid allows for steam to escape and this will help avoid an explosion of soup all over your kitchen ceiling. Grab a kitchen towel to hold over the hole to minimize splatter releasing the air occasionally as you are blending.
Pour the pureed soup into a large bowl. And repeat until all the soup has been pureed and the pot you cooked it in is empty. You will return all of the pureed soup to the pot.
Finish the soup by adding in the grated cheese, a dash of nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. Stir, taste, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Sometimes I like to squeeze fresh lemon juice to brighten it all up. Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with more cheese if desired, and fresh cracked pepper.
Optional and fun!
If you have ever been to the restaurant Panera bread they serve their cheesy broccoli soup in a bread bowl. You can find them at most grocery stores. Just cut a hole in the top and remove the bread from the inside. Pour the soup in and it is just like Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup only better because it’s homemade!
This soup is loved by my whole family and when there are cold winter days it’s on regular rotation. I hope you try this easy broccoli cheddar soup soon.
More recipe to try!
Quick Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Quick broccoli cheddar soup is loaded with veggies and finished with sharp cheddar cheese then pureed until creamy and smooth. It’s creamy goodness in a bowl!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 4 cups broccoli, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream or 2 cups milk (do not use non-fat milk)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- Pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
1. Using a large soup pot, heat butter until melted.
2. Add onions, carrots, and celery until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.
4. Add white wine, and cook until reduced and absorbed into the veggies about 1-2 minutes longer.
5. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.
6. Add chicken stock and broccoli and stir until evenly combined.
7. Stir in cream or milk and dijon mustard.
8. Over high heat, cook until a full simmer, and then reduce heat to medium-low.
9. Continue cooking until broccoli is fork tender. About 15-30 minutes.
10. Remove the pot from heat. Using a hand-held immersion blender puree soup until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, a blender can also be used. Cool soup slightly then add soup to a blender in batches. Be sure to leave the center hole in the lid off to allow steam to escape. Use a hand towel on top to avoid splatter. Return soup to pot and bring back to a simmer.)
11. Add grated cheddar and stir until melted.
12. Add nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
13. Pour soup into bowls and serve.
