Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Onion and carrot softened on sauté, broccoli cooked for a single minute at high pressure, then a cold flour slurry, cream and hand-grated sharp cheddar stirred in with the pot switched off. Thirty minutes, and the florets stay green.
Ingredients
For the Soup Base
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard or 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 2 carrots coarsely shredded, about 1 cup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 6 cups broccoli florets cut small, no bigger than a thumbnail
To Thicken and Finish
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half and half
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese grated from a block, about 9 ounces
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- Mixing spoon
- Ladle
Instructions
Saute the Base
- First, set the pot to saute and melt the butter. Add the onion, carrot, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper and cook for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrot has gone limp.
- Next, pour in the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon until nothing is stuck to it. A clean base is what stops the burn warning later.
Pressure Cook the Broccoli
- Then add the broccoli florets, lock the lid, set the valve to sealing and pressure cook on high for 1 minute. The pot will take another 8 to 12 minutes to come up to pressure, and the broccoli is already steaming for most of that.
- Release the pressure manually the moment it beeps, standing clear of the valve. Left on natural release the florets keep cooking and turn olive.
Thicken the Soup
- After that, switch back to saute. Whisk the flour into the cold water until there are no lumps at all, then stir it through the soup and let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Taste it now, while there is still time to fix the seasoning. Canned and boxed stocks vary enormously in salt.
Finish Off the Heat
- Finally, press cancel and wait two minutes for the pot to drop below a simmer. Stir in the cream, then add the cheddar a handful at a time, letting each handful disappear before the next one goes in.
- Serve straight away, with a little extra grated cheddar and cracked pepper on top. It thickens as it stands, so loosen it with a splash of stock if it sits.
Notes
Cheese: grate it from a block. Pre-shredded cheddar is dusted with starch or cellulose that never dissolves and reads on the tongue as grit.
Off the heat: press cancel and wait two minutes before the cream and the cheddar go in. Much above 160F the proteins tighten and the soup splits.
Frozen broccoli: set the pressure time to zero. It is blanched before freezing and is already half cooked.
Make-ahead: cook and thicken the base, refrigerate it for up to 4 days, and add the cream and cheddar on the day you serve it.
Storage: 4 days refrigerated. Reheat on low with a splash of stock and never let it boil. Freeze the base only, without dairy, for up to 3 months.
Gluten-free: 2 tablespoons cornstarch in the cold water in place of the flour.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 562kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 985mg | Potassium: 520mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4250IU | Vitamin C: 92mg | Calcium: 520mg | Iron: 1mg