Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup to warm up your cold body.
This hearty soup is stuffed with exciting cheese cheddar and broccoli flavors.
Watch my quick how-to video below and prepare your own soup for dinner tonight!
The recipe for the cheddar broccoli soup was inspired by a gruyere broccoli cheese soup from my college time.
I adapted the ingredients and tweaked the recipe to perfection.
Ingredients
The broccoli cheese soup is prepared with a handful of ingredients.
Besides broccoli and milk products, I chose selected spices as well, to add flavor.
The spices do not add heat but instead turn this soup beyond amazing!
Produce
You will only need fresh crispy green broccoli florets and an onion to make the simple broccoli cheese soup.
Pick a white or red onion, whichever you prefer.
Spices
A bowl of soup can't be called a soup without a few essential soup spices.
To keep it minimal and simple, without sacrificing flavors, I choose to prepare this soup with an aromatic bay leaf and a pinch of nutmeg.
You can also add a pinch of garlic powder and then taste your creamy soup and add a pinch of black pepper and salt as well if needed.
Diary
I use melted butter to sear the onions because it's the building block of the soup.
You can use canola or olive oil if you prefer but butter adds a deep flavor which you do not want to miss.
The soup is prepared with light cream to give it the creaminess it deserves.
You can use half and half if you want a lighter cream of broccoli cheese soup.
The cheese of choice is a sharp cheddar or just use your favorite cheddar cheese.
Back home in Austria, we would use Raclette, Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese.
You can experiment with these cheese choices to give your soup more character or to pep up things.
Pre-shredded cheese tends to be grainier and is usually of lesser quality.
If you won't want to compromise on flavor qualities in your soup, pick a whole block of cheese and grated yourself.
For lazy people, which at times includes myself, I suggest cutting your cheese into tiny cubes.
The cheese melts anyway in the hot broccoli soup.
Broth
I love to use concentrated stock, I mix it with water. In this cheesy broccoli soup, I used chicken stock.
You can use your own homemade broth and of course, you are free to turn this fresh broccoli cheese soup vegetarian.
My secret ingredient
I have a very meaningful relationship with mustard and with that, I mean the French style/Dijon mustard.
This is what I do: I mix a tablespoon of dijon mustard into the soup before I serve it.
This is an optional step for this recipe, but I totally recommend you give it a try! It's a broccoli cheese soup game changer!
I like to add one of the following dijon mustard variations (because I have at least 5 flavors in my fridge):
- Maille or Amora original smooth Dijon Mustard (Those are the only two original mustard variations you should ever buy!)
- Classic Whole Grainy mustard. Maille has a great one.
- Various Mustard flavors from Edmond Fallot (I'm going crazy for the blackcurrant and curry flavor variation)
How to make it?
To prepare the cheddar broccoli soup from scratch, you will need a regular medium sized soup pot.
The process is simple.
The onion slices are cooked soft in the butter.
Individual washed clean broccoli florets are added to the pot, together with the bay leaf, nutmeg, and broth.
The broccoli is cooked soft, the bay leaf picked out and discarded.
Everything is then turned into a mash with the immersion blender.
I like to keep broccoli chunks in my soup. It adds a welcoming texture!
Now let's make it cheesy and creamy! Pour in your cream or half and half, together with your cheese.
Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder if you want.
At this point, before serving I add a tablespoon of dijon mustard (see on top for flavor suggestions).
Freezing
Yes! You can prepare a bigger batch and freeze the soup.
Just warm up the soup in a pot, micro or oven whenever you ready to dig in.
You don't need to wait for your soup to defrost.
This is an easy way to enjoy a homemade quick broccoli cheese soup and it will save you time.
Pros
- quick, one-pot meal. Ready within 20 minutes. To prepare and cook will take you 30 minutes max!
- fresh, healthy with real whole ingredients
- can be turned vegetarian with vegetable broth
- low-carb meal and gluten-free. No flour just milk products to make it ultra cheesy
- Easy to prepare, even if you don't like to cook but love to eat (just like me)
- homemade comfort food, you know what's in it
- add it to your menu plan for the week and simply meal prep the cheesy broccoli soup
- you can freeze it. Just warm it up in the micro, oven or pot when you want to dig in!
Serving
- Zaatar Bread - A flatbread to tear apart and dip in your soup
- Green Salad with vinaigrette - As a light side to compliment the soup
- A glass of white wine such as a good Riesling
Dear Reader, did you try the Recipe?
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!
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📖 Recipe
Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Onion sliced
- 1 piece Bay Leaf
- 1 pound Broccoli ~3 stalks
- 5 cups Water mixed with concentrated Stock (*see Notes)
- pinch Nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ cup Half and Half
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard optional
Instructions
- In a medium pot, melt the butter and cook onions soft and translucent. Add in your bay leaf as well so that the flavors are extracted from the leaf.
- Add your washed broccoli pieces to your onion and mix.
- Pour the chicken broth water mix over the broccoli.
- Season with nutmeg, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Cook the broccoli soft covered. This can take about 10-14 minutes.
- When the broccoli is soft, take out the bay leaf from the pot and discard.
- With an immersion blender, blend the soup. Keep some broccoli chunks for texture.
- Keep your soup on medium heat and pour in the light cream or half and half.
- Add the cheddar cheese and mix the dairies into the soup.
- Take the broccoli soup from the heat and season with salt and add the dijon mustard if you want to add even more flavors!
- Mix everything well and serve your soup hot.
Notes
- Stock can be liquid or in cubes. Just mix it with the water. Turn this soup vegetarian by using vegetable stock. Use homemade stock for the best flavor experience or just the commercially available version.
- Use light cream for a thicker soup. Use half and half for a lighter thinner soup.
- The Dijon mustard is totally optional. I just like it better that way.
That looks incredibly delicious!
I couldn't figure out what my soup was missing and then I read your recipe. Its the mustard! It adds just the zing it needs.... I mixed up a quick batch last night using your recipe and we liked it so much we didnt have any leftovers!
Lovely Michele! Thank you for your feedback. The mustard is indeed a special addition to the soup and it adds so much flavor.