Broccoli Cheddar Soup Stovetop Recipe

Broccoli cheddar soup made on the stovetop in forty minutes: a butter and flour roux, chicken broth, shredded carrot, small broccoli florets, a cup of cream and two cups of sharp cheddar grated from the block. It is thick enough to coat a spoon, it is not heavy, and the whole pot needs one saucepan and a wooden spoon.

The version most people have in their heads is the Panera bread bowl, and this one lands close to it, with one difference on purpose. The florets are cut small and simmered until just tender, then left whole, so every spoonful has a piece of broccoli in it rather than a green puree. If you prefer it smooth, an immersion blender fixes that in thirty seconds, and I say when.

Pictured: the soup straight off the stove, unblended, with the florets left whole and a handful of baked cheese crackers on top in place of croutons. Both choices are explained under Variations, and the recipe card notes cover the blended version.

What Makes Broccoli Cheddar Soup Creamy Without a Pint of Cream

Most broccoli cheddar soup recipes get their body from one of two places: a lot of cream, or a roux. This one leans on the roux. Four tablespoons of butter and a quarter cup of flour cooked together for a minute, then whisked into four cups of broth, give the soup a base that is already thick before any dairy goes in. One cup of cream at the end is enough for richness, and the cheese does the rest.

The cheese is where broccoli cheddar soup goes wrong most often. Sharp cheddar melts into a hot liquid smoothly as long as the liquid is not boiling and the cheese goes in a handful at a time. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch to stop it clumping in the bag, and that coating is what makes a soup gritty. A block and a box grater cost you two minutes and fix the problem completely.

Two small additions do more than they should. A teaspoon of Dijon mustard sharpens the cheddar flavor without tasting of mustard, and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg gives the cream a warm background note. Both are in the Panera version, and both are worth keeping.

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Ingredient Notes

• Butter. Four tablespoons, unsalted, to soften the onion and make the roux. Salted works if you hold back the teaspoon of salt until the end.
• Onion and garlic. One medium yellow onion, chopped fine, and three cloves of garlic. Cook them soft, not brown, because browned onion reads as a different soup.
• All-purpose flour. A quarter cup. This is the thickener, so do not skip it or the soup will be thin and the cheese will separate more easily.
• Chicken broth. Four cups, low sodium. Vegetable broth makes the soup vegetarian with no other changes.
• Carrot. One cup, shredded on the box grater or bought as matchsticks. It adds sweetness and the flecks of orange that make the soup look like it should.
• Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg. One teaspoon of Dijon, one of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg. The nutmeg should be a background note, not a flavor you can name.
• Broccoli. Four cups of florets, cut small, about the size of a grape. Small pieces cook through in fifteen minutes and fit on a spoon. Peeled and diced stems go in with the florets.
• Heavy cream. One cup, stirred in at the end. Half-and-half works and the soup is a little lighter; whole milk works if you add it off the heat.
• Sharp cheddar. Two cups, grated from a block. Mild cheddar disappears into the cream, and a yellow block gives the soup its color.

The Illinois Extension broccoli guide makes the point that broccoli is at its best when it has been stored for only a few days, so buy it the same week you plan to make the soup and keep it unwashed in the crisper until then.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup vs the Panera Version

Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup is a roux-thickened soup with half-and-half, matchstick carrots and mild cheddar, blended part of the way so it is thick but still has texture. This recipe uses the same method with a few changes: sharp cheddar instead of mild, cream in place of half-and-half, and the florets left whole unless you decide to blend.

The result is a little richer and noticeably cheesier, with more broccoli in each bowl. If you want it to land closer to the restaurant bowl, use half-and-half and blend about half the pot before the cheese goes in. Either way it is ready in less time than it takes to drive there and back.

How To Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup on the Stovetop

Grate the cheese and the carrot before you start, because the last five minutes move quickly. Then it is one pot, start to finish.

First, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat and add the onion. Cook it for about four minutes, until soft, then stir in the garlic and cook for one minute more. It should smell sweet, and nothing should have color.

Next, sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir continuously for one to two minutes. The flour will coat everything and turn a pale gold, and it will smell faintly nutty. That minute cooks the raw taste out of the flour and is the difference between a smooth soup and a pasty one.

Then whisk in the broth slowly, a cup at a time, whisking after each addition so no lumps form. Once all of it is in, bring the pot to a gentle simmer and stir in the carrot, the Dijon, the salt, pepper and nutmeg.

After that, add the broccoli, cover the pot and simmer over low heat for fifteen to twenty minutes, stirring now and then, until the florets are tender when pierced with a fork but still hold their shape. This is the moment to blend the broccoli cheddar soup if you want it smooth; otherwise leave it alone.

Adding the Cream and Cheese

Finally, turn the heat to low and stir in the cream. Add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until it has melted before adding the next. When the last of it has gone in, the soup will be glossy and thick enough to coat the spoon. Taste it, adjust the salt and pepper, and serve it hot with more cheddar on top.

How To Tell When Broccoli Cheddar Soup Is Done

There are two checks, and both come before the cheese. The florets should give easily to a fork but still hold together on the spoon; if they mash, they have gone too far and the soup will taste of overcooked broccoli. Fifteen minutes is right for grape-sized pieces, twenty for larger ones.

The second check is the base. Before the cream goes in, the broth should already coat the back of a spoon and leave a line when you drag a finger through it. If it is thin at this stage, simmer it uncovered for five minutes before adding the dairy, because nothing you add afterward can be boiled to thicken.

Once the cheese is in, done broccoli cheddar soup is smooth and glossy with no grains on the spoon. A streak of oil on top means the cheese has started to separate; a splash of cold cream stirred in quickly usually brings it back.

Make It Ahead

Broccoli cheddar soup is best the day it is made, but it holds well for a couple of days, and there is a trick that makes reheating easier. Make the soup up to the point where the broccoli is tender and stop there. Cool it, refrigerate it, and add the cream and cheese when you reheat it. The base keeps for four days that way with no risk of the cheese breaking.

If the finished soup is already in the fridge, reheat it over low heat and stir from the bottom, because a roux-thickened soup catches easily. Add a splash of broth or milk to loosen it, since it thickens a great deal as it cools. In the microwave, use half power and stir every minute.

Storing Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Cool the soup within two hours and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to four days. It will set almost solid in the fridge; that is the roux and the cheese, and it loosens as soon as it warms.

Freezing is possible but not ideal. Cream and cheese can separate after thawing, and the broccoli softens. If you want to freeze it, freeze the base without the cream and cheese, for up to two months, and finish it fresh. Finished broccoli cheddar soup that has been frozen comes back together with a quick whisk or a few pulses of an immersion blender, but the texture is never quite what it was.

Variations and Substitutions

The Chunky Version with Cheese Crackers (Pictured)

The bowls on this page are the soup exactly as the recipe card makes it, left unblended so the florets stay whole, with a handful of baked cheese crackers scattered on top just before serving. In the hot soup the crackers soften at the edges and stay crisp in the middle, and they do the job croutons usually do without the extra step of toasting bread. Any cheddar cracker works; small ones hold up better than large ones.

Other Ways to Change It

Smooth and silky. Blend the pot with an immersion blender after the broccoli is tender and before the cream and cheese go in. Blend half of it for a thick soup with some texture, or all of it for the bread bowl style.

Lighter. Swap the cream for half-and-half or whole milk and cut the cheese to a cup and a half. Add milk off the heat so it does not curdle.

Other cheeses. White cheddar makes a pale soup that tastes the same. Gruyere or Swiss for half the cheddar adds a nutty edge. Avoid anything that does not melt well, such as feta or Parmesan on its own.

More vegetables. Cauliflower florets in place of half the broccoli, a diced potato added with the broth, or a handful of spinach stirred in at the end.

With chicken. Two cups of shredded rotisserie chicken stirred in with the cheese turns it into a full dinner.

Gluten-free. Leave out the flour and thicken with a slurry of two tablespoons of cornstarch and two tablespoons of cold water, whisked in once the broth is simmering. Check that the broth and mustard are certified gluten-free.

If you have a pressure cooker and want it faster, the Instant Pot broccoli cheese soup gets there in about the same time with less stirring.

What to Serve with Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Bread first. A thick slice of sourdough, a hollowed-out bread bowl, or a warm Texas Roadhouse roll with honey butter turns a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup into dinner. Cornbread muffins with bacon are the other direction, and they are very good dragged through the last of the bowl.

A grilled cheese sandwich is the obvious partner, and it is not too much cheese; it is exactly the right amount. Something sharp on the side balances it: a green salad with a lemony dressing, sliced apples, or quick pickled onions.

For a second soup in the same week, kielbasa potato soup uses the same pot, the same cheddar and the same forty minutes.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup FAQ

More Questions About the Recipe

Make it on a cold weeknight and there is nothing left; make it on a Sunday and lunch is sorted until Wednesday. Either way, a pot of broccoli cheddar soup and a grilled cheese is one of the better ways to spend forty minutes.