The Best Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup
This is the best broccoli cheddar soup you’ll ever make! Loaded with tender broccoli, carrots, and plenty of freshly shredded cheese, this homemade soup is rich, creamy, and packed with flavor. It’s everything you love about a classic broccoli cheddar soup, made even better from scratch in your own kitchen. Serve it with crusty bread for the ultimate cozy comfort meal!
This is one of those soups, that with the first hint of crisp air in the fall, I crave this immediately. Then I proceed to make it all winter long. Unfortunatley, winters are incredibly long in Maine, but cozying up on the couch with a blanket and a cup of this creamy, cheesy goodness, does make winter a little less brutal.
The key to success for broccoli cheddar soup
The key to a creamy, velvet-like texture for this soup is the combination of cheeses. You want a 3:1 ratio of a good melting cheese, like monterey jack, combined with a stronger flavored cheddar cheese, like sharp cheddar.
It’s necessary to serve this soup with a crusty bread, like french bread, because how else are you supposed to clean the bottom of the bowl? I like to keep a french loaf, or half loaf, in the freezer for nights that I make this soup. I pull out the loaf and throw in the in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minute, and serve with soft salted butter. Butter the bread, dip in the soup, take a bite, repeat.
What you’ll love about this soup recipe:
A few notes about this homemade broccoli cheddar soup
Carrots
I recommend making your own julienne carrots, as fresh cut carrots have so much more sweet flavor than the precut match stick carrots you find in the produce section. As a rule of thumb, high quality ingredients are always important when it comes to the flavor of a meal, and even moreso when there are only a few prominent ingredients. You can make julienne carrots with a mandoline {linked below}.
Cheese
I highly recommend that you shred your own cheese, as preshredded cheese is coated in cellulose, an ingredient meant to block out the moisture to keep the shreds from sticking toghether. This coating affects the melting properties of of the cheese. It will work in a pinch, but will not create quite the same velvety texure that we want here. Liquid cheese gold is what we want to achieve!
Prep your ingredients
The most time consuming part of this recipe is the prepwork. I suggest shredding your cheese and prepping all the veggies then placing into bowls to make the cooking easier. I first shred the cheese, set in a bowl. Then I cut my broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic, place in a bowl. Next, measure out all of your liquids and place spices in a small ramekin together. This is always good practice so that you can flow through each recipe step smoothly. I’ts like training yourself to make the bed each morning, make it a habit!
Can I freeze leftovers?
This recipe serves 6, but if you want to double it for leftovers, I don’t blame you! You can freeze leftovers in a large ziplock bag. Freezing this soup can lead to curdling when you reheat, so I recommend thawing in the refrigerator first, then reheat on the stove on a low temperature and stir often.
Best Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, carrots and broccoli. Sauté for 5 mins until vegetables are softened, stirring often as to not burn the garlic.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1-2 mins until the flour no longer smells raw.
- Slowly add in broth, milk, and cream, while stirring constantly to make sure there are no clumps.
- Add salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 mins until thickened and vegetables are cooked through.
- Turn off the heat, stir in cheese until melted and smooth.
- Serve with warm french bread!
- Dice 1 yellow onion, mince 4 cloves of garlic, julienne the carrots to make 2 cups, and chop 1 large head of broccoli into small, bite-sized florets (about 5 cups).
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, melt ½ cup salted butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and broccoli. Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Sprinkle ½ cup all-purpose flour over the vegetables and stir continuously for 1–2 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Slowly pour in 3 cups chicken broth, 2 cups whole milk, and 2 cups heavy cream, stirring constantly to prevent lumps and create a smooth, creamy base.
- Stir in 1½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or cayenne), and ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat as needed and cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the soup has thickened.
- While the soup simmers, freshly shred 3 cups Monterey Jack cheese and 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese.
- Once the vegetables are tender, turn off the heat. Gradually stir in the shredded cheeses, a handful at a time, until completely melted and silky smooth. Avoid boiling the soup once the cheese has been added.
- Ladle into bowls and serve warm with crusty French bread for dipping!
