Soups · American
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Smooth, bright green and very cheesy, ready in under an hour.
- Hands-on
- 50 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Serves
- 6
50 minutes total. Cook is the step times added up (about 21 min of simmering plus blending, reheating and melting the cheese). You stay at the stove the whole time.
- easy
- soup
- weeknight
- cozy
- make-ahead
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? A double batch needs a bigger pot and more blender batches. Simmer times stay about the same once the pot is simmering, but it takes longer to get there. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large pot (Dutch oven) · wooden spoon · blender · ladle · box grater · folded kitchen towel
Contains: milk
Method
Soften the onion
Melt 42 g (3 tbsp) butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring now and then, for about 5 minutes.
Ready when: The onion is soft and see-through, not browned.
Garlic
Add the 2 chopped garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute.
Ready when: You can smell the garlic clearly; it hasn't turned brown.
Start the stems
Add the broccoli stems (not the florets yet) and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring.
Ready when: The stems are bright green and just starting to soften at the edges.
Otto tried this firstOtto dumps in stems and florets together. The florets go soft and khaki before the stems are cooked. Stems first: they need a head start.Add broth and simmer
Stir in 950 ml (4 cups) broth, turn the heat to medium-high and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Ready when: Steady small bubbles, and a knife slides easily into a piece of stem.
Florets, cream, nutmeg
Add the florets, 240 ml (1 cup) cream and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Simmer for about 5 minutes more.
Ready when: The florets are tender when poked with a knife and still green.
Blend in two batches
Take the pot off the heat. Ladle half the soup into the blender and blend until smooth, then pour it into a bowl and blend the second half. Follow your blender's instructions for hot liquids, start on low, and hold the lid down with a folded towel. Pour everything back into the pot.
Reheat, then add the cheese off the heat
Bring the soup back to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then take the pot off the heat. Stir in 340 g (3 cups) shredded cheddar a handful at a time.
Ready when: The soup steams and shows a few lazy bubbles before the cheese goes in. After stirring, the cheese has fully melted and the soup is smooth, with no strings or grains.
Season and serve
Taste, then season with salt and a pinch of cayenne. Serve with a little extra cheddar on top.
Swaps
- Instead of mild cheddar: sharp or extra-sharp cheddar, same amount Stir it in off the heat as well. Expect a stronger, tangier soup.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Make it up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Reheat gently (see reheat).
- Storage
- Cool it and refrigerate within 2 hours, in shallow containers so it chills fast. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. There's no tested freezing advice for this soup.
- Reheat
- Reheat over medium heat, stirring, until hot, to at least 74°C (165°F). Don't let it boil, or the cheese will separate.
If something goes wrong
- Grainy or separated soup Why: It boiled after the cheese went in.
Add the cheese off the heat and never boil it afterwards, including when reheating. - Too salty Why: Salt added before tasting: broth and cheddar both bring salt.
Use low-sodium broth and taste before you salt.
Good to know
- Peel the tough outer skin off the stems before chopping; peeled stems blend smooth.
- Shred the cheese yourself from a block for the smoothest melt.
Safety
- Hot soup expands and can blow the lid off a blender. Blend in two batches, use the lid the way your blender's manual says for hot liquids, start on low, and keep your face and hands away from the lid. Kids should not blend hot soup.
- A big pot of soup cools slowly. Split leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours.
- Chicken broth means this soup isn't vegetarian. Check broth labels if you're cooking for allergies.