This amazing Broccoli Cheese Soup is delicious and creamy. One of the best soup recipes for home cooks. It is a simple one-pot soup from scratch with multiple options to make it your way.
You can make it with cheddar cheese or mix it with other cheese. You can use fresh, frozen, or leftover broccoli. You can also make it a copycat of Panera broccoli cheddar soup.
🥦Ingredients
Broccoli—fresh, frozen, or leftover
Aromatics—onion, garlic
Cheese—sharp cheddar cheese is preferred; it may be combined with others like Velveeta.
Butter and milk
Broth—chicken or vegetable
Pantry ingredients—flour, salt, pepper
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🥦Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- Making keto broccoli cheese soup
- Broccoli options
- Cheese choices
- Dairy and seasoning choices
- Other recipes you will love
- Copycat of Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup and other variations
- Bacon Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Serving broccoli cheese soup
- Storing and reheating leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comments
From Lucilla: "Made this soup today, and it is amazing!! Best Broccoli Cheddar soup I’ve ever had, and it’s easy!! This is a keeper for sure!"
From Savannah: "This recipe was amazing. Thank you so much for helping me find a recipe that's all in one pan."
We love this Broccoli cheese soup recipe. It is the perfect comfort food for a cool day, packed with creamy cheese and tender broccoli. We use it for lunch with family and friends.
I have combined several recipes to use only one pot and use either fresh or frozen broccoli cooked in the soup. I make a simple roux to thicken the soup and add a creamy texture, so no cream or unnecessary fat is added.
With easy step-by-step photo instructions, it's ready in 30 minutes or a bit more. It can be modified for a low-carb or keto diet. The size is easy to adjust, and it freezes well.
👨🍳How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Chop broccoli and an onion.
2. Cook the onion in butter. When clearing, add 1 clove of minced garlic and cook one more minute.
3. Add ¼ cup flour, continue to cook, and stir until browning—about 3 minutes.
4. Slowly add 2 cups of chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a low boil. When it starts to thicken, slowly add 2 cups of milk and allow it to thicken.
5. Add broccoli, cover, and simmer until broccoli is tender—about 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Option: puree to your taste with an immersion blender or a potato masher.
7. Add the cheese of your choice. I like a mixture of sharp cheddar and Velveeta.
8. Simmer another 5 minutes and serve.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
Making keto broccoli cheese soup
There are only 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving, but about half is from the flour. You can skip thickening with flour and add more cheese or incorporate more broccoli with the blender. There are also low-carb thickeners available.
Broccoli options
I suggest fresh broccoli for this soup, but frozen broccoli can also be used. One large head will make about 3 cups of broccoli florets, and a 12 oz. bag of frozen broccoli will also yield about 3 cups of florets.
Previously cooked leftover broccoli can be used. It can be added after thickening a few minutes before adding the cheese. If you are not using carrots or other things that need to be cooked, add pre-cooked broccoli after thickening the soup and skip the long-simmering.
The florets should be relatively small to fit easily in a spoon. Both fresh and frozen broccoli may need to be cut into smaller chunks. Both will be cooked in the soup.
Cheese choices
Sharp cheddar cheese is the most common cheese for broccoli cheddar soup. I like to use Velveeta for part of the cheese for texture and taste, but you can select the cheeses you like.
If your cheese separates or clumps, it is your cheese, not the recipe. Usually, this will be generic, poor-quality cheese, or outdated cheese. But it rarely happens since we add and melt it at the end of cooking.
Dairy and seasoning choices
Many suggest heavy cream or half & half. I find more than enough milk fat in the cheese—I always use lower-fat milk. But use the dairy or dairy substitute of your choice.
Seasoning options: Add some flavor with an optional touch of nutmeg or paprika. Add about ¼ teaspoon at the start of simmering if you wish—one or the other, not both.
Other recipes you will love
A variation of this recipe is Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup. Other classic soups are Chicken Noodle Soup, Vegetable Beef Soup, or Tomato Basil Soup. This recipe is part of our Our Best Soups.
For other comfort food, try Meatloaf in a Convection Oven, Salisbury Steak Recipe with Onion Gravy, or Meatloaf Burgers.
Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Rich and creamy crock pot broccoli cheese soup is super easy to make with frozen or fresh broccoli and only a few minutes of prep before going in your slow cooker—the perfect comfort food for a cold winter day.
Copycat of Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup and other variations
If you want to copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup, add carrot and celery with the broccoli and use 100% sharp cheddar cheese.
You will need about 1 cup of carrots. Matchstick-cut carrots are available in most produce departments. Or one large or two smaller carrots can be diced, julienned, or shredded.
The second component is one rib of thinly sliced celery.
Bacon Broccoli Cheese Soup
Everything is better with bacon. This is my wife's obsession. Chop three strips of bacon into ½ inch squares and fry until done. Drain and add along with the cheese.
Diced leftover ham also works well to make Ham and Cheese Broccoli Soup.
Cauliflower Cheese Soup
Several commenters want to use cauliflower to replace broccoli, but cauliflower may take a few minutes more to cook. So, use the same volume, and the endpoint of the cauliflower is tender, and you should be fine.
Serving broccoli cheese soup
Fancy it up by serving in a bread bowl or go classic with a combination os soup with a tossed green salad or a sandwich: a grilled cheese, cold ham & cheese, a BLT, or other sandwiches.
Served with crackers and a nice bread—try Healthy Biscuits, Cheddar Bay Biscuits (Red Lobster Copycat), or Julia Child's French Bread.
Storing and reheating leftovers
It stores well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. But at our house, it never lasts more than two days (we eat it).
It will freeze well in an airtight container like a freezer Ziplock bag for 3-4 months.
Reheat on the stovetop with medium-low heat or in a microwave. Thaw first if frozen.
❓FAQs
A single recipe makes about 7 to 8 cups of soup, and you need some working room in the pot to make the roux and mix.
For a single recipe, a four-quart or larger soup pot or Dutch oven. For the suggested double recipe, use a 6 ½ quart Dutch oven.
For a vegan version, swap out the butter, milk, and cheese for plant-based products, but I have some concerns about the quality of plant-based cheese.
For gluten-free diets, like the keto diet, wheat flour should be eliminated, so skip the roux. Substitute half the volume of corn starch by making a slurry with cold water and add it after the broccoli is tender. Simmer until thickened before adding the cheese.
📖 Recipe
Broccoli Cheese Soup
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Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli large head - or 12 oz bag of frozen broccoli
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 onion - small
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheese of choice - assume 4 oz. equals 1 cup if not shredded cheese. Sharp cheddar and Velveeta mix is preferred.
For Panara copycat soup-add with broccoli
- 1 cup carrot - matchstick, shredded, or diced
- 1 rib celery
Instructions
- Rinse and spoon-size chop one head of fresh broccoli, or use 12 oz of frozen broccoli. Trim any larger florets into spoon-size chunks.
- Mince a small or ½ of a medium onion. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add 1 clove of minced garlic and cook one more minute.
- Decrease the heat to medium. Add ¼ cup flour and continue to cook and stir continually until browning some—about 3 minutes.
- Slowly add two cups of chicken or vegetable broth and stir to mix in the flour mixture. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Allow to thicken some, then slowly add 2 cups of milk. Bring to a low boil and allow to thicken.
- Add broccoli, cover, and turn down the heat to simmer. Simmer until broccoli is tender—about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Option: Some people like to puree with an immersion blender through the soup at this point. I only want a little blending, so I suggest a potato masher.
- Add 2 cups of sharp cheese of your choice. I like a mixture of sharp cheddar and Velveeta.
- Simmer another 5 minutes and serve.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Choose the cheeses you like. I prefer half Velveeta and half shredded sharp cheddar, but 100% cheddar is also great.
- Frozen broccoli works fine but may take a few minutes longer to cook but will eliminate about 10 minutes of prep time for fresh broccoli.
- If you want to copycat Panera, then add 1 cup of matchstick-cut carrots and 1 stalk of thinly sliced celery at the same time as the broccoli.
- Make it Bacon Broccoli Cheese Soup. Everything is better with bacon. Chop 3 strips of bacon into ½ inch squares and fry until done. Drain and add along with the cheese.
- Great as leftovers. Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3 months.
Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup
There are only 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving, but half is from the flour. You can skip thickening with flour and add more cheese or incorporate more broccoli with the blender. There are also low-carb thickeners available.Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Based on combining Pioneer Woman with an Allrecipes recipe.
Editor's note: This recipe was originally published on December 19, 2015. It has become one of my go-to recipes, and it is now updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigate.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Pat Monahan says
Will make this tonite. I’m surprised that people w lactose issues don’t use Lactaid.
No difference in flavor, no tummy issues.
DrDan says
Hi Pat and happy holidays.
First you will love this soup. I do.
The lactaid thing., I want to do a little lecture for the other readers.
Lactaid will break a disaccharide, Lactose, into two monosaccharides, glucose and galactose. So it will taste a bit sweeter since there are two molecules of sugar vs one and that is how taste works. Not by weight but number of molecules. But since the lactose is broken apart, it will absorb and not set in the GI tract and cause gas and diarrhea in the lactase deficient person.
So if you use lactaid treated products, it is sweeter and a bit noticeable if you pay attention but not much. You can also use the lactaid tablets which work after ingestion and work fairly well. These tablets are what most adults with significant lactose issues should keep in their pocket.
I did this little discussion for those people out there that seem to be clueless and never used/heard of lactaid products. Hopefully we did some good for those people.
ivon says
excelent recipe!! thank you
Mel says
Made it tonight and my husband absolutely loved it.
Mare says
Made this tonight and I loved it. It makes a generous amount. The directions were easy to follow as this was my first time making this. I'll add it to my winter menu. Thanks!
t how says
very good, easy, quick recipe.....except i used cheap great value (a large chain store) brand cheese, which made it to salty for our taste......add a little more pennies to the menu and get real cheese and everyone will love it........thanks...... i will make this again
Kirti Yadav says
Hello DeDan, This recipe is a perfect recipe for gloomy winters and rainy season. I am going to try this soon. My favorite is sweet corn basil recipe. Sharing it with you.
marms says
I can't *not* make this soup. Here I am again. This time I didn't have enough broccoli, but did have a teeny potato, and some cauliflower. Also, and wow! I used Applewood Smoked Cheddar. Creme, but no flour.
Such a winner.
DrDan says
I always call this "cheese soup" to my wife. So no broccoli, fine, use something else. Plus everything is better with bacon.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Storm says
Hello everyone! I actually tweaked this recipe just a bit.
I made it for the first time tonight and then we had some unexpected guests so I had to quickly double it.
During the process I ended up adding:
1 cup extra of milk
2 cups extra of water
1/8 cup flour
I then added more cheese and my plan is to add a little bit of sour cream when finished. But that is optional for everyone. I have been taste testing throughout the entire process and it tastes delicious. This really is a very simple recipe to follow and I am very grateful to have stumbled upon it. Panera broccoli cheddar soup is my absolute favorite. I also plan on eating it with dipping bread, and then for leftovers I am going to put it over rice.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Kristin says
I made this soup for my 5 year old daughter who talks non-stop about broccoli soup and has me buy it in quarts from our nearby deli. She could eat it for every meal if I let her. The only change I made was I added a good amount of bacon and cooked the onion in the bacon fat + butter. It's amazing, and she licked her bowl clean. The bacon added a depth of smokiness, you should try that sometime!
Michelle says
Dear Dr. Dan,
The soup was delicious and very easy to make. I used a bag of shredded cheddar for the cheese. I thought it was better than the Pioneer Woman's recipe. Thank you for the recipe.
DrDan says
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the note. I think adding the cheese late helps a lot.
Dan
marms says
What is your experience of freezing this soup? I expect I will freeze a batch without the milk and cheese, to add when reheating another day. Have you done that?
I love this soup too.
DrDan says
I believe it would. I have never done it. We always eat it all.
Dan
Diane says
This soup is delicious! I made the recipe exactly as written (very unlike me) and I wouldn't change a thing. I used cheddar and fontina cheese - a winning combination. Will make again....very soon!
marms says
I come for the dogs.
marms says
In the midst of making this again, and stopped to say next time, I buy the broccoli already chopped and washed in the handy dandy baggie. I've got those miniscule itty bitty broccoli bits ALL over the kitchan and when you try to wipe them up they won;'t! So. That's change #1. Second I make thte soup minus milk or cream, and cheese, and add them each time I take a container out of the freezer. I am not using a flour/white sauce either. Creme.
Soooo good.
Estelle Crawford says
Love this receipe!
Definitely rate this a 5!
DrDan says
Thanks, I love this one too.
Dan
Marms says
Because I'm on a low-carb food plan I use an egg to thicken rather than flour. This is a terrific recipe. I can eat soup. everyday!