Follow our complete, step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions to learn how to make our easy but delicious, homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Printable recipe included.
Cold winter evenings call for a hot bowl of delicious soup. Our Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe is super easy and on the table in hardly any time at all.
Maybe it’s not snowing YET, but it’s getting cold right? Sweater weather calls for meals that can warm you up quick, and our Broccoli Cheddar Soup will do just that.
Sure, you love the Panera Bread version of this soup, but it’s so easy to make, by the time you’d get in the car and go pick up a quart, you could make your own at home. Besides, ours has more vegetables in it. Smile.
We’re using frozen broccoli but fresh would be great if you can find it. And, we’re going to grate our own cheddar cheese which only takes a couple of minutes and gives much better results than using the pre-shredded stuff you find in your local grocery store. They put some type of white powdery substance on the pre-shredded cheese to keep it from sticking together, and it just doesn’t melt as well as freshly grated.
This may not have been one of Mama’s soup recipes, but I’ve posted several others that are. Like her Homemade Vegetable Soup if you’re looking for something with even more vegetables in it. I’ll share the link at the end of this recipe for that one and several others.
This will make a good two quarts of soup, so you’ll have plenty for the family. It’s also a great soup to make and share with your friends when some special occasion calls for such. I do hope you’ll enjoy it.
Ready to give our soup a try? Alright then, let’s head on out to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!
Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe – You’ll need these ingredients.
We’ll begin by prepping our vegetables first. You’ll need 1 cup or diced carrots and about half of a medium sized onion diced into small pieces. Set aside for now.
Grate the 8oz block of cheese and set it aside.
I always suggest that you grate your own cheese. It only takes a minute or two and you’ll get much better results than you would by using the pre-shredded cheese you can buy. The pre-shredded cheese has a white powdery substance on it that keeps it from melting as well.
Chop up the 16oz bag of frozen broccoli. Just give it a rough chop. I prefer to find some larger pieces of broccoli in my soup, but you might like it much smaller. Make it the way you prefer. Smile.
Place a large sauce pot over Medium heat on your stove top. Add the 4 Tablespoons of butter and let it begin to melt.
Add the diced onions. Stir them around and let them cook until tender. About 3 minutes or so.
Sprinkle 1/4th cup of Flour around the pot on top of the onions.
Constantly stir the flour into the onions for 2 minutes.
Gradually stir in the whole 12 ounce can of Evaporated Milk. Stir it constantly as you’re adding it to avoid any lumps from forming with the flour.
Gradually stir in the entire 32 ounce carton of chicken stock or broth.
Add the cup of diced carrots to the pot.
Add the 16 ounce package of chopped broccoli. You could use less if you like, but it is called Broccoli and Cheddar Soup you know. Smile.
Bring the soup to a low boil, then REDUCE the heat to Medium-Low. Let the soup mixture simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the carrots and broccoli are tender.
After the soup has cooked for about 20 minutes, TASTE it to see if it needs pepper and salt. I didn’t add any salt, but I did add 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. It’s entirely up to you and what you prefer.
TURN THE HEAT OFF UNDER THE POT.
Turn the heat off under the pot and let the soup cool for about 5 minutes before adding the cheese. If the soup is too hot, the cheese will make the soup a bit grainy when you add it. It will still easily melt, so just be a bit patient and add it in after the 5 minutes have passed.
Gradually add the cheese and stir it into the soup.
Enjoy!
That’s it, you’re done. Now, just serve it up nice and warm, and forget about the snow today. Smile.
