Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Name: Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 Cups

Warm, creamy, cheese and veggie-filled, this soup is perfect for lunch or dinner any time of year.

Bowl of warming soup made with cheddar cheese, carrots and broccoli.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Makes: 4 Cups
Nutrition Facts: View label

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup shredded carrot

1 ½ teaspoons margarine or butter

2 cups low-sodium broth (any type)

2 cups chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen)

1 cup nonfat or 1% milk

¼ cup flour

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Wash hands with soap and water.
Rinse or scrub fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, saute onion and carrot in margarine or butter until onions begin to brown. Add broth and broccoli. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
In another container, slowly stir the milk into the flour until smooth. Stir the milk mixture into the soup. Bring to a boil and continue stirring until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add cheese and pepper. Heat over low heat until cheese is melted. Serve hot.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

You can thicken the soup with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch instead of flour.
No broccoli? Try another vegetable, such as asparagus, cauliflower or green beans.
Try adding cooked or canned chicken for more protein.

Featured in a Food Hero Monthly

Comments

Submitted by russeste on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 17:25

This was so easy and tasty! We were out of milk and so decided to try adding sour cream mixed with a little extra broth as a substitute and it turned out great!

Soup

Submitted by FHteam on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 19:49

We are so happy to hear you enjoyed the soup! Thanks for sharing your ingredient substitution.

Submitted by stuartsfarm on Tue, 02/16/2021 - 21:10

I added a handful of fresh spinach, a couple cloves of garlic and the last bit of celery I had in my refrigerator to the recipe. It turned out great!

Submitted by AngMath on Fri, 03/06/2020 - 12:30

I made this with several groups and everyone loves it from toddlers to grandparents. This comes together even quicker when you use frozen broccoli florets, plus there is less clean up. Great recipe!

Submitted by Cooking Ranger on Mon, 12/02/2019 - 18:57

This was a great soup. I added half of a leftover pepper and half of a summer squash because we were short on carrots. We topped it with popcorn. My family loved it!

Submitted by lilli78 (not verified) on Sun, 03/17/2019 - 10:12

What would be a good, gluten free substitute for the flour in this soup?

Submitted by elaine s on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 10:41

Cornstarch would be an easy substitution for flour for thickening. Start with half the amount (2 Tablespoons) since cornstarch is all starch and therefore has more thickening power than flour.

The Food Hero Team

Submitted by The_la503 on Fri, 03/23/2018 - 18:34

I don't know why anyone would ask about freezing this, it was so good I plan to double it next time. I made it exactly as shown and it was delicious. I served it with cornbread for a vegetarian dinner. My husband hates veggies and told me he thought it was going to be gross but he really liked it! Thanks for the recipe :)

Submitted by carokat (not verified) on Thu, 12/14/2017 - 12:01

I'm curious, does this recipe freeze well?

Submitted by elaine s on Mon, 12/18/2017 - 10:54

It will probably freeze just fine although there is a chance that the broccoli will become more 'cooked' when it is reheated. We will try to test this and let everyone know.

The Food Hero Team

Submitted by elaine s on Mon, 01/08/2018 - 11:46

We made the soup, froze it for 10 days and thawed/reheated in the microwave. It worked well! We would suggest freezing it in single-serving portions. Too much additional heating could cause the broccoli to become overcooked which would alter the color and flavor.

The Food Hero Team

Submitted by tierrabonita on Sun, 12/03/2017 - 18:58

Really liked this soup! Tastes like a restaurant soup. It does have an onion taste which I really liked but if you don't love onions you could very easily even cut them out and add another veg.