This broccoli cheese soup is seriously creamy, flavorful, and delicious! Simply roast your vegetables toss them in the blender with milk and cheddar cheese, and blend until creamy.
Broccoli cheddar soup is a staple in our house. We grew up ordering broccoli cheese soup whenever it was available and making it at home! We wanted this broccoli cheese soup to actually taste a little like broccoli and vegetables so we roasted everything together and blended it until smooth.
Another goal when developing this soup was making sure it was super creamy. We accomplished this by adding cheddar cheese that was super melty and blending starchy, cooked potatoes.
What You Need for Broccoli Cheese Soup
You will need a baking sheet, a big pot, and a high-speed blender or immersion blender (we love the Vitamix) for this recipe.
As for ingredients, you’ll need vegetables, milk, broth, and cheddar cheese. Roasted, melted, and blended into a delicious soup.
Great Jones
The Dutchess
This is hands-down our favorite Dutch oven. It’s a 6.75 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven that’s super high-quality and gorgeous.
Substitutions + Variations
We used red potatoes to cream up this broccoli soup, but Idaho or Yukon gold potatoes would work, too.
We recommend using cheddar cheese, but Fontina or Monterey cheese would be delicious as well. If you are a big Velveeta fan, try our Velveeta Broccoli Cheese Soup.
don’t have shredded cheese?
Don’t have shredded cheese, but have a block of cheese? Check out our post on how to grate cheese WITHOUT a cheese grater!
FAQ
Can I use a different cheese in this broccoli cheese soup?
You sure can! We use cheddar cheese because the flavor pairs so nicely with broccoli and it melts so well! If you are short on cheddar cheese use any of the following cheeses (or a mixture) in place of cheddar cheese. Just be sure you shred it first!
Gruyere
Fontina
White cheddar
Parmesan
Why is my broccoli cheese soup curdling?
Sometimes broccoli cheese soup will curdle because the soup has gotten too hot too quickly. The proteins have tightened in the cheese because of the sudden change in heat.
To avoid this, we removed the broth from the heat and slowly whisked in the milk so that the liquid wasn’t scorching hot, but still warm enough to melt the cheese.
Storage Instructions
This soup will last about 5 days in the refrigerator if stored in an airtight container.
To reheat the broccoli cheese soup, place the soup into a stock pot over low/medium heat. Slowly add in an extra 1/2 cup to 1 cup of milk and stir until the soup is thinned and creamy.
Freezing Instructions
Yes, this broccoli cheese soup can be frozen! After blending the soup, let it cool completely before placing it in a freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer for up to three months.
What to Serve with Broccoli Cheese Soup
Serve this broccoli cheese soup with cheesy garlic bread, focaccia, or a delicious arugula salad.
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 1 head of garlic cut in half
- 1 large red potato chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup 2% milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil.
- Next, add the broccoli, onion, garlic, and potato to the baking sheet.
- Drizzle the vegetables with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and toss vegetables until they are coated in oil and spice.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes (or until potatoes are soft), tossing the vegetables half way through.
- While the vegetables are roasting, bring the chicken broth to a boil and then remove from heat and slowly whisk in the milk.
- When the vegetables are soft remove them from the oven and remove 2 cups of vegetables from the pan and set them aside for later. These vegetables will be added to the soup right before serving for more of a chunky broccoli soup.
- Next, carefully squeeze the garlic cloves from the head of garlic into the blender (being sure discard the paper from the head of garlic) the paper on the outside of the .
- Add the rest of the vegetables to the blender along with the cheese and hot broth.
- Blend on high until all ingredients are combined and the soup is smooth.
- Finally, add in the last two cups of vegetables to the pureed soup, mix, and enjoy.
This is soup is so delicious! Because I was feeling lazy, I threw everything in a crockpot on low. I added more garlic (because I always do) and my favorite cheese (dutch spicy kaas from Trader Joes). Blended and added more cheese (duh). 100 percent recommend:)
*forgive my typing error* I was too busy shoving this soup in my face.
LOL
The soup was delicious! Plus,
I learned more about cooking through making the soup. I love cheese and can’t wait to try more of the cheese knees recipies!
YAY! So glad you loved this!
Made this over my lunch hour. It was easy and it is FULL of flavor. I always get nervous making soups because I just suck at making them. I feel like they end up flavorless. NOT WITH THIS ONE! Ugh this soup is DELICIOUS!
YAHOO!!
Loved this soup, I omitted the garlic powder since it used a whole head of garlic. I also used about 5 smallish red potatoes which made the soup really thick.
Yay! And love the idea of upping the potatoes — I bet that was delish 😀
I didn’t have a big enough blender so I used an immersion blender. It worked well! Thank you for a fun and easy recipe 🤩
Ohhh GREAT idea to use an immersion blender, Mel!