Broccoli Cheese Soup
I blasted my heater on the way to the gym today. It was a chilly 68 degrees. Don’t laugh. This Arizona/Florida girl likes the heat. Anytime I have to put real shoes on, besides my flip flops, I get grumpy and agitated. The cool front had me craving some real comfort food and it seems like I always turn to Mel’s Kitchen Cafe for that.
Let me tell you something about broccoli cheese soup. A couple of years ago I was in charge of making soup for 250 women. We had a couple of different flavors but the broccoli cheese soup was gone WAY before the others. It tends to be a crowd favorite. This soup is thick, creamy, cheesy, and easy to make. I love the flavor that the Swiss cheese adds.
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 small onion , diced finely
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese , preferably sharp or extra sharp
- 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 3 cups chopped , lightly steamed or blanched broccoli (I left mine in pretty big chunks)
Instructions
- Note: I used Mel's tip of cooking the broccoli in a glass bowl covered in saran wrap in the microwave for 3-4 minutes while you prepare the rest of the soup. The broccoli comes out perfect.
- Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour, salt and pepper. Cook together, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium heat until soup starts to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. Add warmed chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended.
- Add cheeses and stir until completely melted. Stir in cooked broccoli. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Mine was really thick because I think I added more broccoli than it calls for but that's how I like it. If you need to thin it out you can whisk in some more milk or chicken broth. If it's too thin, you can simmer it a bit longer to thicken it up.
- Serve immediately in bowls or bread bowls. Makes 4 servings.
Recipe Notes
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Is the Broccoli Cheddar soup freezable?
I think so but I haven’t tried.
I made this tonight and it was wonderful! It was very flavourful and the tip on microwaving the broccoli worked perfectly. It was nice making a cream soup that didn’t involve using a “cream of something” soup as the base. Thanks for sharing and the pictures are oh-so-enticing. Thanks!
Barb! So glad you loved it!
eating it right now and it’s amazing. i used monterey jack cheese cause i didnt have swiss but its still great. taste like it’s made with heavy cream
Can I use vegetable stock instead of chicken? Looking for a vegetarian soup.
Of course!
Made this tonight for dinner! My husband loves broccoli cheese soup because he had some one time that was really good but has not found one he liked sense. He absolutely loved this recipe! He said make it and freeze it this is good! Thank so much for sharing!
I cook in a restaurant. I tried this recipe, tripling it. It’s a little dicey making such a large amount of roux, and I don’t think I would try it tripling it on a non-commercial range. Anyway, it came out GREAT. Customers raved, and it was gone in a wink. The swiss cheese makes the recipe, and I would not hesitate to go 50/50 on the 2 cheeses, as long as the cheddar is sharp. I made some pesto crostini (using a couple of day-old baguettes) to serve with it.