The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup (Better-Than-Panera Copycat) — Make the best soup of your life at home in 1 hour! Beyond words amazing and WAY better than Panera!
Table of Contents
- The BEST Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
- Broccoli Cheese Soup Ingredients
- How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
- What’s the Best Cheese for Broccoli Cheese Soup?
- Can Frozen Broccoli Be Used?
- Tips for the Best Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- Recipe Video Tutorial
- The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup (Better-Than-Panera Copycat) Recipe
- More Easy Soup Recipes:
The BEST Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
This is the best broccoli cheese soup. Not only that, it’s some of the best soup I’ve ever tasted, period.
If you like Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup, this blows the pants off it.
It’s an easy soup to make and is ready in 1 hour. It’s absolutely perfect comfort food and I couldn’t stop eating it. I ate it for lunch and dinner for a couple straight days until it was gone. I loved this soup beyond words.
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. But you’d think that it was made with heavy cream based on how thick, rich, and truly decadent it tastes.
Broccoli Cheese Soup Ingredients
For this better-than-Panera copycat cheesy broccoli soup recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable stock
- Half and half
- Broccoli florets
- Carrots
- Spices
- Extra sharp cheddar cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
This is a very easy broccoli cheddar soup recipe, but there are a few fast-moving stages. Read the recipe before you start making the soup so you know what’s coming up next.
- In a small saucepan, add a little butter, the diced onion, and sauté until the onion is translucent and barely browned.
- Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set pan aside.
- In a large heavy-bottom pot, add the remaining butter, flour, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until flour is thickened.
- Slowly add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add the half-and-half, whisking constantly.
- Allow mixture to simmer over low heat until it has reduced and thickened some.
- Add the broccoli, carrots, and the onion and garlic you previously set aside.
- Add the spices.
- Allow soup to simmer over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes.
- While soup simmers, grate the cheese. After simmering about 20 to 25 minutes, add most of the cheese, reserving a small amount for garnishing bowls.
Tip for Softening the Vegetables
If you prefer very soft broccoli and carrots, you can either steam them before you add them to the pot and/or make sure the broccoli florets are quite small and the carrots are cut into very thin pieces.
I’ve never found pre-steaming necessary because the soup continues to simmer for 20-25 minutes after adding the broccoli and carrots, which is ample time for me personally for them to soften to my liking. However, in case you prefer very soft vegetables, steaming and/or paying closer attention to their size is an option.
What’s the Best Cheese for Broccoli Cheese Soup?
Use a high-quality cheddar cheese that you grate yourself. Don’t use the cheapest cheese you can find because the flavor just isn’t there.
I prefer extra-sharp, although sharp may be used. Pre-grated cheese in ziptop bags is resistant to melting and won’t incorporate well.
Can Frozen Broccoli Be Used?
You could try, but it will be mushy. I hate mushy vegetables so I personally never would use frozen broccoli in this soup being that the broccoli is the star of the show.
Tips for the Best Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Broccoli: I love broccoli and used plenty because I prefer big chunks of broccoli in every bite but you can use less.
I also used some stalks to make use of the entire head and not waste any, but you can use florets only if preferred. Even people who ‘don’t like broccoli’ should love broccoli when it’s bathed in a creamy, cheesy broth.
Spices: There are a few optional spices like smoked paprika, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper. They’re not mandatory if you don’t keep them on hand, but they do add extra depth of flavor, albeit subtle. The cayenne doesn’t make the soup hot in the least, it makes it not taste boring.
Recipe prep: Read the recipe at least twice before beginning because while it’s a simple soup, there are a few fast-moving stages. While one thing is simmering, you need to be chopping for the next stage, while stirring the simmering pot intermittently between chopping.
You’ll be rewarded with the best, creamiest, richest, and most amazing soup.
Recipe Video Tutorial
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The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup (Better-Than-Panera Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon + 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 small or medium sweet yellow onion, diced small
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced finely
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, chicken stock may be substituted
- 2 cups half-and-half*
- 2 to 3 cups broccoli florets, diced into bite-size pieces + 1 cups stems, optional (I used 3 cups florets and 1 cup stems
- 2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and sliced into very thin rounds, about 1/16th-inch
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika, optional and to taste
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder, optional and to taste
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste (doesn’t make soup spicy and serves to enhance flavor)
- 8 ounces grated high quality extra-sharp cheddar cheese, with a small amount reserved for garnishing
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add 1 tablespoon butter, the diced onion, and sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and barely browned, about 4 minutes. Stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and set pan aside.
- In a large heavy-bottom pot (I use this Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 6-3/4-Quart Oval French (Dutch) Oven) add 4 tablespoons butter, flour, and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until flour is thickened. You are making a roux and it’s very important the mixture is thick or soup will never thicken properly later.
- Slowly add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add the half-and-half, whisking constantly.
- Allow mixture to simmer over low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened some. Whisk intermittently to re-incorporate the ‘skin’ that inevitably forms, this is normal.
- While mixture is simmering, chop the broccoli and carrots. After simmering 15 to 20 minutes, add the broccoli, carrots, and the onion and garlic you previously set aside.
- Add the salt, pepper, optional paprika, optional dry mustard powder, and optional cayenne. If you don’t have these seasonings on hand, it’s okay, but they do add subtle depth of flavor. Stir to combine.
- Allow soup to simmer over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened some. Whisk intermittently to re-incorporate the ‘skin’ that inevitably forms, this is normal.
- While soup simmers, grate the cheese. It’s important to use a high-quality cheese (not the cheapest thing you can find) because the flavor of the soup depends on it. Do not use pre-grated cheese in ziptop bags because that cheese is resistant to melting and won’t incorporate well. After simmering about 20 to 25 minutes, add most of the cheese, reserving a small amount for garnishing bowls. Stir in the cheese until melted and incorporated fully, less than 1 minute.
- Transfer soup to bowls, garnish with reserved cheese, and serve immediately. Soup will keep airtight for 5 to 7 days in the fridge. Reheat gently in the microwave. I find the soup is less likely to ‘break’ or separate when reheated in the micro rather than on the stovetop, but do what you think is best. I don’t recommend freezing the soup because I feel like the cheese and half-and-half will not do well upon thawing and soup could break, but I haven’t actually tried freezing it.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is a great recipe. I made as is with just a couple minor adjustments for my own taste. Once the broccoli was cooked and before adding the cheese I took out some of the broccoli and carrots then used my immersion blender lightly in the cooking pot to chop everything up further then added the larger pieces back in with the cheese. The other small change was to add only half the smoked paprika again just my preference I made up the difference with regular paprika.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad you enjoyed the soup!
I meant to leave a 5 star rating. Not sure what went wrong but it’s a good recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review!
I had 3 things I didn’t like about the recipe. My wife also thought the carrots tried to steal the show from the broccoli. I could taste the black pepper and the soup was too thick. However I won’t deduct any stars from the rating because I’ve never attempted to make this soup before now. I made the soup again tonight doubled the recipe but cut the carrots and pepper in half. Put carrots in food processor to make wife happy. And added an extra cup of chicken broth to thin the soup. Turned out better than the first time. This is a great recipe! If you don’t like something about it just alter the recipe to make it what you want.
Hands down BEST broccoli cheese soup I have ever made or had! Real talk, I never ever comment or rate recipes so that’s how you know it was amazing! When I made it I did add potatoes because I love potatoes in soup and I loved how it came out. I just chopped them up and added them the same time as the onions and it was delicious! I’ll not be using any other broccoli cheese soup recipe again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s hands down the best broccoli cheese soup you’ve ever had or made! Glad you won’t cheat on this recipe and will always use it!
I usually don’t comment on recipes but OMG i had to. This is the best soup (like soup in general, not just broccoli cheese) I’ve ever had. So so so good. The only thing i changed is i used half sharp cheddar and half SMOKED cheddar, just cuz i love smoked cheddar in my cheese dishes. And subbed Mrs dash for salt cuz we don’t do salt. And left out the mustard powder stuff just cuz i didn’t have any. So good.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was so good that you commented! I bet the smoked cheddar was great if you love smoky cheddar in your cheese dishes.
Can I use smoked cheddar ?
Yes if you like the smoky flavor.
Where is the 6-star option??? This really is the best! I tweaked it just a bit to “keep it keto” but not by much. This recipe lends itself really well to that – thank you! All I did was use almond flour instead of all-purpose, use full-fat half-and-half, and left out the carrots. The paprika tip was divine inspiration!
It’s sitting in the kitchen taunting me right now. I think I’ll need a second bowl :)
Glad to hear the almond flour worked well for you instead of all-purpose and that the paprika tip was a winner for you!
Excellent with loads of flavor. I made it with what I had on hand. Unsalted chicken stock instead of veggie which I will try next time. I didn’t have the paprika, so I added a dash of nutmeg and a bay leaf. I used a sharp white cheddar that I always have on hand. I will definitely make again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will make it again!
Excellent, read directions twice, did just as directed and amazing. Thank you
A keeper and will be making again.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s a keeper for you!
Good soup. My soup turned out really thick, I am going to add some more chicken stock to it, I added 8 oz. of cheese that I measured not weighed, I used Kirkland Signature Sharp cheddar. I also think I added too much broccoli, I used 4 cups. I did not add hardly any salt. The soup had really good flavor!
Glad it had really good flavor and too thick is easy to fix – add more chicken stock or even more milk/cream until you get it to the consistency you like.
Wow…This was the BEST soup! I am so grateful that I came across this on Pinterest. Reading over the directions a couple of times like you suggested definitely helped. I steamed the broccoli for 3 minutes as some suggested and it didn’t turn it too mushy and the carrots were just right. It’s a house divided on that ‘texture’ so I may try your way and not do so next time. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe. I look forward to trying all of your others, they all look amazing! Karen
Glad that this soup was the best and that you will be trying other recipes as well!
I must be the only person who made this too thick! I think I read some comments of people who didn’t do the roux correctly and ended up with thin soup and went too far in the other direction! hah! It tasted super good though! I feel like I could even use less cheese next time
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you enjoyed the soup. You can always thin it out next time with more broth or milk/cream if it’s too thick.
How many carbs is a serving of this soup? And is a serving size considered 1 cup?
I’m writing again (and thanks for your reply) bacause as I was copying the broccoli cheese soup recipe and got to the broccoli florets and stems part, I was wondering if everyone knew that peeling them makes them so tender and delicious. That was something I had to learn.
I got to this recipe via a link for low-carb soups yet this recipe’s nutrition info shows it to be high in carbs. Is this all from the one quarter c of flour used in the roux? I would like to sub xanthan gum for thickener. Would this result in a truly low carb soup then? The other ingredients seem low carb. Thanks.
It is an automatic nutrition Calculator using a computer generated program and it’s not always perfect I’m sure. You can manually look up every single ingredients and nutritional values, add everything together, and divide by the number of servings. I’m thinking that the broccoli itself does have some carbs but it’s broccoli, that’s a lot different than carbs from a chocolate cake in my opinion. And I’ve only made the recipe the way that I wrote it so I’m not sure how modifying it would work with what you wrote.
I omitted the flour and added 2 tsp. Guar Gum to the melted butter as a thickener. I didn’t have carrots and did not miss them.
This was an excellent and will always double the recipe.
Glad the the GG worked for you in place of the flour and that the recipe turned out excellent for you!
I was making a quick check of a Panera copycat broccoli cheese soup recipe and stumbled on your version. I thought your additions sounded good so made it with the garlic and added spices, and it was “over the top”-much more flavorful.. I also thought cutting the carrots in rounds made the soup more sppealing. Good Job!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was over the top!