Easy Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli and cheddar soup is such a filling and warm option for the cold long winter days. Although some people like to purchase broccoli and cheddar soup, I like to make my own soup because I can avoid the high sodium content. 

This may come as a surprise, but my husband is actually a vegetarian. I like to make vegetarian meals and have something filling. Broccoli and cheddar soup can be made using chicken broth but I use vegetable broth. Also, chicken broth has a tendency to have a high sodium content for certain recipes. So I used vegetable broth. 

For this recipe, I made sure to not use any salt at all. Cheese also has a sodium content so do not need to add any. The idea of this recipe is to build it from the ground up. 

Making the cheese sauce is the first key to the recipe. If you have my cookbook from My Kitchen To Yours, this method is familiar to you. It’s very similar to how I make my macaroni and cheese. My cookbook is still available for purchase.  

After I make the cheese sauce I then added the vegetables. There are some broccoli cheddar soup recipes that call for celery but I accomplished this with a small can of cream of celery soup. This gives you the thickness needed for soup and the flavor of celery. When it comes to the cheese base you can use a half and half or any type of milk. I happened to have whole milk on hand so that’s what I used. If you’re averse to whole milk skim milk would be fine. 

Once everything has been mixed in, I added 5 cups of vegetable broth. To me, vegetable broth for broccoli cheddar soup is best with vegetable low sodium broth. Cheese has a sodium content that is high enough. You’ll notice for this recipe there are no seasonings-

I know it’s called Broccoli Cheddar soup but I like using Munster cheese. It’s one of my favorite cheeses for certain dishes.

5 from 1 vote

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Print Recipe

A recipe on how to make broccoli cheddar soup

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Equipment

• 1 Dutch Oven or heavy bottom pot

Ingredients

• 5 cups vegetable broth chicken broth is an option but has a tendency to be salty
• 5 cups broccoli florets detached from the stem I used fresh broccoli not frozen
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 tbsp butter can use olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk can use whipping cream; or other types of milk (2%) or skim
• 1/2 tbsp garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup muenster cheese
• 8 oz can of cream of celery soup

Instructions

• Prepare the broccoli florets. I used fresh broccoli and not frozen so I had to chop the broccoli from the stems. It is not necessary to precook the broccoli. 
• Shred the carrots and cheese (or purchase preshreded, I like to shred my own ingredients) and set aside. 
• Add 2 tablespoons of butter on low to medium heat to melt. Add the garlic and diced onions. The onions should be cooked for approximately 2-3 min until soft. 
• Once the onions are soft add the flour, can of cream of celery soup and milk. This resembles making a roux. But you do not want the flour to turn darker you want to thicken it. Once the clumps are out of the flour. You should continue to stir as the ingredients are incorpoated.

  Add the cheese until it has melted. 
• Add the carrots and broccoli florets. This will first appear to be a cheese mound of vegetables. Stir until fully incorpoated.
• Then add the 5 cups of vegetable broth. Stir and the cheese should “thin.” 
• Cover the dutch oven and cook under low/medium heat for at least 30 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently. 
• Enjoy hot!

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American, comfort food

Keyword: soup, vegetable soup

Servings: 4 people