Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Here is what we came up with. 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.
As you incorporate the milk and broth into the cooked onion and flour mixture, keep the heat at medium and stir continuously with a whisk. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Slowly add chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. You can have Broccoli Cheddar Soup using 13 ingredients and 17 steps. Here is how you achieve it.
Ingredients of Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- It’s 1 of large onion, roughly chopped.
- Prepare 3 cloves of garlic,minced.
- It’s 2 of carrots, diced to the size of your liking.
- You need 4 tbsp of butter.
- Prepare 1/4 cup of flour.
- It’s 1 of bay leaf.
- It’s 2 cups of half and half.
- It’s 3-4 cups of chicken stock*.
- You need 6-7 heads of broccoli crowns.
- You need 3-4 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.
- It’s of salt.
- It’s of pepper.
- Prepare 4 oz of cream cheese.
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Working in batches, if needed, pour soup into a blender. Secure lid on blender, and remove center piece to allow steam to escape. It's a favorite of kids because of it's creamy texture and cheesy flavor, and loved by parents because it's secretly loaded with a ton of nutritious veggies.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup step by step
- Melt butter in a large, heavy duty saucepan..
- Sauté onion and carrot on medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Sweating them down. Add minced garlic..
- Add flour. Stir flour into veggies. Turn heat down if browning too fast. You want to be able to cook the flour for about 5minutes..
- Add half and half..
- Add chicken stock. *If you like your soup thin, add all 4 cups. If you like a thicker soup,just add 3 cups..
- Add bay leaf..
- This is where I add my salt and pepper. I start out with 1tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. You can adjust to your preference..
- Bring soup up to a gentle boil, medium-high heat..let simmer for 10 minutes..
- At this point, I use my immersion blender. I've got kids that would die if they knew onions were in this. This way, you dont sacrifice flavor over the tastes of picky eaters..
- I threw about 1/2 tsp salt in and dumped my broccoli in. My broccoli was mostly florets,but I also left a head, with more stalks…for texture. Completely up to you…
- I lightly simmered, for 20 minutes. Or until your broccoli is tender..
- Remove bay leaf..
- Once you have tender broccoli, remove a couple cups of broccoli to a bowl. I used the immersion blender again, in the soup..
- Return the chunks of broccoli to the soup..
- Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese..
- Stir all that yummy cheese until it melts into the soup. 😆.
- Ladle up and enjoy!! I served this in bread bowls. Delicious!.
If you like Panera's broccoli cheddar soup, this blows the pants off it. I kept the soup vegetarian by using low-sodium vegetable stock rather than chicken stock, and made it healthier by using fat-free half-and-half. I love broccoli and used plenty because I prefer big chunks of broccoli in. This is a great, very flavorful soup. Good for serving at luncheons or special gatherings with a quiche.
