Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup is the perfect comfort food for a chilly evening! This creamy vegetarian soup involves fresh broccoli and has great flavor. Makes 6 servings.

Love a comforting soup in the wintertime? You absolutely must make Instant Pot Gumbo, Spicy Tomato Soup and Vegan Potato Leek Soup!

This post was originally published on December 4, 2013. It was updated and republished in January 2021.

I originally made this soup years ago as we were preparing for a winter storm here in Dallas.

As a native Memphian, I have a deep skepticism for weather reports because oftentimes, we’d be told there was an ice storm coming across Arkansas. People would run out to the store to get milk and bread. Because those are essentials for a snowstorm.

And inevitably, the predicted horrible ice storm would pass north or south of the city or simply disappear, leaving us with crushed hopes and an abundance of milk and bread.

I made this recipe just in case the weather got bad. And what do you know? It did, and this creamy broccoli soup was wonderfully comforting as we bundled up together indoors.

Why I love this recipe:

This creamy broccoli soup with cheddar is pretty traditional, in terms of soup, but it’s more heavy on the broccoli than the dairy. And I really like it that way.

This is not a knockoff of Panera’s classic soup because it’s more broccoli-centric. It’s also a bit thicker and looks a lot diffferent.

I, obviously, am OK with this, and my kids also adored this broccoli soup with cheese.

This recipe is also excellent as leftovers, and it freezes well, in case you make a giant batch for yourself (and your people.)

Other soup recipes we love: Mushroom Soup| Potato and Leek Soup | Chicken Tortellini Soup |  Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup | Instant Pot French Onion Soup | Turkey Taco Soup

Need dinner inspiration? Check out my Dinner Recipe Index for some ideas!

What you need to make this Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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• Sharp knife and cutting board
• Cheese grater
• Dutch oven
• Blender or immersion blender

In addition to these tools, you’ll need a few ingredients to make this creamy broccoli soup, too.

• Extra virgin olive oil—or another lightly flavored oil, like avocado oil
• Yellow onions—or white onions work, too
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic
• Fresh thyme—but you can use dried thyme in a pinch!
• All-purpose flour—I always have unbleached AP flour on hand, but you can use whatever is in your pantry
• Vegetable stock
• Broccoli—I used fresh for this recipe, but if you’ve got frozen, that works, as well.
• Whole milk—to give us a nice creaminess at the end!
• Extra sharp cheddar cheese—I used white cheddar because that’s what we keep in the house, but you can certainly use the orange cheddar, too. The color of cheddar you use will change the color of the soup, so prepare yourself for that. 🙂

How do you to make cream of broccoli soup from scratch?

First and foremost, prep your vegetables and get your ingredients in order. Do all the chopping before you get started on the cooking, and have everything out so you don’t have to leave the stovetop.

Once all your veggies are ready, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, add the onions, and season ’em with salt and pepper. Cook them until soft, about 5-7 minutes. As they cook, be sure to stir constantly so they don’t begin to brown.

Next, add the garlic and the thyme. We’ll cook these until they’re fragrant. It doesn’t take much time so don’t walk away from the stovetop. This will take 1-2 minutes tops.

Measure in the flour and stir it into the onion/garlic mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes so that the flour can get a little color to it. (We do this because the flour will taste raw if we don’t cook it for a few minutes. It’ll also thicken up and blend better with the veggies if we let it cook for a few, too.)

Next, you’ll slowly pour in the vegetable stock. As you do this, stir constantly to avoid lumps. You can take some breaks while pouring to scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven to pull up any browned bits left behind from the onion.

Bring to the soup to boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Add the chopped broccoli and cover the pot. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, while opening the lid to stir occasionally.

When the broccoli is tender, remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup with a hand-held immersion blender or a blender.

When it’s smooth, add the milk and cheese. Stir until incorporated and melted. This might take a few minutes, depending on how hot your mixture still is. We add these ingredients when the pot is off the heat so they don’t curdle.

Serve warm, and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick tips and tricks to making the best Creamy Broccoli Soup

• Substitution alert! Fresh or frozen broccoli is gold here. You can use yellow or white onions. You can use dried thyme instead of fresh, though you’ll use about half the original amount. If you don’t have whole milk on hand, you can use another milk, but be prepared for the color to be different if the milk is lower fat. You can also use a yellow/orange cheddar instead of white cheddar. It can be mild, sharp or extra sharp, too.
• Store this soup in a food-safe storage container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave. Be prepared to add a splash of veggie broth to it because it will thicken.
• This soup freezes well, too! If you have extra (or make a double batch), simply freeze the soup in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the fridge, then reheat in the microwave.