My husband like Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup, but because it’s so pricey right now, we decided to make our own, better version. What we came up with is seen here. Serve with cheese on top.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ onion, chopped
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
- 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
- 2 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Whisk 1/4 cup melted butter and flour together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue to whisk and cook, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk if necessary to keep the flour from burning, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Gradually add milk while whisking constantly; stir in chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until mixture is thickened, about 20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, celery, and sautéed onion; simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in Cheddar cheese until melted; season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
- There are tons of variations and options to make this soup your own. You can add extra veggies, different cheeses, garlic to your onions, a little nutmeg to the finished soup, green onions, sour cream, etc. The list goes on and on!
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 304 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 11 g |
| Cholesterol | 71 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 624 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 23 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I changed the amount of milk I used 1 cup of milk with 1 cup of heavy cream. This was delicious. I also added 2 cups of brocoli and next time I’m going to add some bacon. In the end I had to add an extra splash of milk because it was kinda thick.
So good and so easy..thank you
Didn’t change a thing (except omitted the salt and pepper because I was waiting to taste it, and then didn’t think it needed it.) Also to note, I made this for my daughter (not really a broccoli soup fan, myself), then ended up standing over the pot and eating almost half of it. So yeah, it’s that good.
Very tasty. I added garlic, hot sauce and a diced russet potato. The picture is before adding the cheese
I didn’t have sharp cheddar so I just used mixed shredded cheese, it was bomb fs
I had to add more broth because of all the veggies. Will the cheese make the soup thicker or do I need to add more flour first?
It wasn’t exactly “copy cat” for me…. but it was very delicious. I added a few more seasonings per reviews. Garlic, nutmeg, basil, sea salt, and pepper to my husband’s taste. It was awesome. Will definitely be making again. And again. And again.
Loved it. I have to admit I did put alittle more broccoli in..
This was such an easy recipe to make and good too!
I made it exactly to the direction, with exception to the cheese. I about doubled it with 16 ounces of cubed Velveeta and 8 ounces of shredded cheddar.
I always add some dry mustard to anything cheesy and a lil Velveeta- helps keep it from breaking… it sits on a shelf. It helps stabilize real cheese.
Tasty! I added a little more broccoli, but will add a bit more next time. I followed the recipe and advice at end, only difference being a tad more broccoli and powdered garlic added during simmering. and so yummy!
Really good. Way more veg then needed. But an amazing dish. I almost added zucchini also I’m glad i didn’t
Added garlic
Was heavy on the veg to make it heartier.
Excellent. I followed other reviewers advice and added the veggies earlier. Otherwise I followed the directions. Will make again.
This was great! I followed another comment, about cooking the veggies (first sautéing the onions, then adding the chicken broth and the veggies to simmer) while they simmered, I made the flour/milk mixture, and then added it later to the broth. Excellent!!!! Thank you for making this so easy to make!
After reading many of the reviews, we decided to build this soup slightly differently than what was authored here. My 12-year-old (who loves Panera Bread’s version of this), who made the recipe herself, rates this as 4 stars. We started by sauteeing the vegetables just a bit, adding the flour, and heating through. Then she added the chicken stock, simmering until thickened. We slowly added the milk and let simmer just a short while longer till warmed through before adding the cheese.
I used low fat milk and low fat cheese. It is wonderful! Everyone loves it!
I love this recipe and always get wonderful response for making it. It’s simple and delicious. I always add sharp cheddar cheese, bacon bits and green onions on top as I can never get enough of that to compliment this soup.
Made this tonight and it was delicious, the carrot strings were a little Al dente which my family liked, it was flavorful and hearty. Will be adding this to my soup rotation. It was also a easy to put together who can ask for more, I served it with bakery Italian bread.