My easy Broccoli Soup is a simple Cream of Broccoli Soup that’s thick and creamy with an extra hit of flavour from cheddar cheese! Essentially just throw it all in a pot, and you’re just 20 minutes away from a creamy, cheesy bowl of comfort under 300 calories.
Don’t forget warm crusty bread for dunking!
Broccoli Soup
I’m long overdue for a “green” recipe!! And there’s plenty of green in this recipe, with two giant heads of broccoli in it…..though there’s a decent wack of CHEESE to! 😉
But seriously, I joke about this being cheesy and there definitely IS cheese flavour in this. But because of the way I make this, it’s creamy and cheesy but it’s still rather healthy, clocking in at 280 calories if you make this without cream, and just 360 calories with.
A little different to the usual…
You’ll find many creamy broccoli soups are made with a roux, being melted butter mixed with flour which thickens the soup, then broccoli pieces are tossed in and cooked in that thickened soup.
I prefer making broccoli soup by cooking the broccoli until soft then blitzing it up to make a naturally thick and creamy soup. This way you actually get lovely broccoli flavour in the soup, rather than a generic creamy broth with bits of broccoli in it. Bonus is that it’s healthier!
What you need for creamy Broccoli Soup
Here’s all you need:
broccoli – fresh or frozen (lots – 700g/1.4lb!)
butter, garlic and onion – flavour base
chicken or vegetable broth/stock + water – for simmering / soup broth
cheese & cream for finishing
Cream is optional! Does it make it tastier? Of course it does! Anyone who tells you otherwise is outright lying. It adds a layer of richness that you don’t get if you skip it or use milk instead.
But I make it without cream most of the time because cream isn’t part of my standard weekly shop. Still delicious, still creamy, still cheesy – just better for your waistline!
How to make it
And here’s how to make it. A quick saute of garlic and onion to create the flavour base, then tip everything else in a simmer away: chicken or vegetable stock/broth, water, broccoli and potato.
When the broccoli is very tender (a good 15 minutes or so) blitz away until it all purees into a thick, creamy soup. Then stir in the cream and cheese (the heat melts it super quickly) and serve.
The hit of cheddar cheese in this broccoli soup adds flavour and an element of tasty naughtiness into an otherwise very healthy soup. 😈
I stir most in the soup but I like to reserve bit to sprinkle on top. Because by the time the soup gets to the table, that extra cheese starts to ooze so when you dunk the bread into it, it looks like this…..
There really is something about dunking crusty bread into thick and creamy soups, isn’t there??? Luckily, I have a decent selection of soup dunkers around these parts!!
Soup Dunkers
So – if I haven’t convinced you already, one more reason to make this Broccoli Soup is that it freezes 100% perfectly and lasts for days and days in the fridge. It’s creamy and comforting, filling and yet HEALTHY and full of nutrition.
Win, win, win! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (15g) butter (or olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , diced (brown, white yellow)
- 4 cups (1 litre) chicken broth / stock , low sodium (or veg stock)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 700g / 1.4lb broccoli florets (2 large broccoli + diced peeled stem, Note 1)
- 2 potatoes , peeled and diced into 1.5cm / 2/3" cubes
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded (or other cheese of choice)
- 3/4 cup cream or milk
To Serve (optional)
- Cream, for drizzling
- Extra grated cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, saute for 2 minutes until onion is softened.
- Add broth/ water, broccoli, potato, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, then place the lid on, turn the heat down to medium high and cook for 20 minutes or until the broccoli is soft.
- Turn stove off (but leave on stove). Puree using a stick blender until smooth (Note 2).
- Stir in cream, then add cheese a handful at a time, stirring in between to melt.
- Taste and add more salt if desired.
- Ladle into bowls. Drizzle with cream and top with extra grated cheese, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published 6 January 2016, updated 21 October 2019 with new photos, step photos, new video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
More creamy soups without cream
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup – bid Heinz goodbye!
Browse all Soups
Life of Dozer
Such focus and determination……for a cherry tomato of all things!! 😂
Thank you so much for this delicious soup. I love your recipes. They are so easy to follow and the added information you provide is greatly appreciated ❤️
This was really delish.
My husband (who cringed a little when I said we were having broccoli soup) loved it too. The kids also ate their whole bowls. A winner all-round.
I served it with some cornbread too.
Will be making this one again
Nagi, I have been cooking since I was around 6 years old. I grew up watching Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Rachel Ray, and countless others with my grandma and she would always invite me to help her in the kitchen. You make me feel like a kid again with your recipes! Every time I make something with your guiding words I am transported to the kitchen with my grammy years ago just enjoying every second. Every time I have an ingredient on hand that I want to use in a new way I search “[ingredient] recipetineats” you have never EVER let me down. Some of my favorites and crowd pleasers are your sun dried tomato chicken, beef stroganoff, and now this broccoli soup! Thank you so much for all of your hard work. Your recipes bring my family and me together for a yummy good time at least once a week. Please don’t ever stop posting!!
Another winner from Nagi. I pretty much followed the recipe but kept some of the sweetest flowerets of the broccolini head aside and added them in after I had blitzed the soup. I used some small old, thin-skinned potatoes that were languishing in the crisper, which I cut up without peeling. Potatoes add to the satisfying texture of the soup.
I love this soooop! Tip: leave out the potato and water and replace the cheddar with plenty of good stilton and you’ve got a real gourmet meal.
Hi Nagi, Can I replace potatoes with something else?
FIVE servings? For whom?? Giants? For one person, I made half the recipe (which used 2 heads of broccoli), and ended up freezing half of that. It’s my belief that the Internet does weird things to recipe quantities. Anyway… It was very good and I will no doubt make it again; will be copying out the recipe.
This soup freezes well and reheats even better. I make three quarts and that my lunch for a week.
Holey Moley this was good!
It was delicious without the cream, but I put the cream in anyway. It was pretty bland after the cream…until I added the cheese (I only had parmesan) It was like a flavour bomb. Suddenly this became the most scrumptious Melbourne winter lockdown soup ever ! The Annoying Thirteen Year Old loves it, and it’s so healthy too. Thankyou Nagi, your recipes are always great ..and easy.
Hi Nagi, Can you use broccoli leaves in the soup too? How would you incorporate them?
Hi Phoebe, you definitely can add broccoli leaves into the soup & what a great idea to get some added nutrition into the soup! I’d remove any fibrous stems and then add them into the soup to cook down with the broccoli 🙂 N x
So comforting and delicious another fail proof & amazing recipe! Thanks Nagi love your work xo
Love the Celeriac Soup so smooth and creamy.Decadently I topped with a crumble of blue cheese and chopped celery leaves. Yummy indeed.
YUM! Sounds amazing Joanne! N x
Hi Nagi I’ve made so many if your yummy recipes and your my go to website when I need a recipe. I’ve made this soup a few times now and it’s a winner every time. I used a whole block of Red Leicester cheese and it’s to die for. Thank you your the best. Love your Dozer updates he’s so beautiful🐾
Hi Nagi, would the soup turn out okay if made without cheese?
Made this last night and it was a huge hit in my house!!
Wahoo!!! That’s awesome Tammy! N x
Just made this soup. Super delicious! The potatoes thickened the soup. I used milk. I also added mushrooms.
If I make this broccoli soup to freeze (for winter) do I freeze before adding the cheese & cream? PS. Luuuuv your recipes. Thanks Nagi & beautiful Dozer
You are the best..Every recipe that I have tried has been fantastic.The butter chicken was delicious..
Most delicious broccoli soup I’ve ever had! Thanks you! This will be in my regular rotation now.
I tried this recipe last night, using milk instead of cream. It’s really delicious and quick to prepare. A big hit with my parents.
FANTASTIC! Was looking for a recipe to use up a couple of broccoli heads growing in our veggie patch. They were getting a bit ‘leggy’ and ‘woody’. Perfect for this really yummy soup. Added an assortment of cheeses as that’s what I had, a dash of tobacco and went to gastronomy heaven😍
This was delish. Modified slightly by reducing to only a quarter cup of cream and half cup of grated cheese and was still creamy and cheesy to me ! Great for a meat free Monday . Love your recipes, visit your site a lot.