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!! 😂
I needed to add a lot of cheese to make the consistency nicer. Just “meh” overall in terms of flavour. I served with garlic bread which did help though, it was a tasty dipper.
Hi Nagi, I made this soup today for lunch because I had broccoli to use up. It turned out wonderfully and I was able to freeze the rest. The cheese really adds a little something to this soup. Thanks so much for sharing a great recipe!
Winner winner broccoli soup dinner! Just want I needed for a easy Meat Free Monday dinner and with the change of season here in Canberra.
I used the scale, to scale down the Soup for two and noted the comments. I used 2 cups of chicken stock (I didn’t have low salt so I omitted adding any salt) nor did I add any extra water. I did add plenty of pepper, one medium potato, and two cloves of garlic (one can never have too much garlic). No cream or milk needed.
I love that the whole broccoli can be used 🥦🥦 No wastage. Next time, I’ll add some jalapeños to give a little kick
Made this tonight with a couple of changes. Both of us loved it.
I used 4 potatoes as mine were only medium and we like potatoes. I didn’t have cream so used canned milk, The cheese was Tex-Mix mix from Costco. But the main change was that has He prefers thick soups, I did not blend it but left it chunky. That left the broth rather thin so I did thicken it a bit. I often use instant potatoes for this.
This recipe is so easy and so delish… I also added a heap of baby spinach as my daughter needs her iron… used smoked cheddar as the cheese & sprinkled with crispy bacon bits on the top… so so good!
Thanks Ngai for the delicious and creamy soup recipe. I added one small zucchini and one grated carrot to the broccoli. Decreased water to one cup and did not add the 1-1/2 cup (that’s a lot!) of cheese but after pulsing the soup was thick and creamy. Served with garlic croutons and a bit of grated cheddar cheese. Yum!
Lots of comments said this recipe was very watery. So I doubled up on the potatoes, and completely omitted the water.
I made it last night and it was alright. Decided to have left overs for dinner and it was unbelievable!!!!!
This soup is delicious – deffo my go to broccoli soup.
Made this last night along with some cheesy croutons. Really tasty soup, but even with added potatoes it was a little thin. In future I’d probably do 3-4 of them depending on size as that would help thicken the soup a lot more.
Hi Nagi! I love your recipes. I only have a tub of pub cheese (sharp cheddar) on hand. Do you think I can use that in place of the regular shredded cheddar? I really want some broccoli cheese soup and don’t want to go out and buy more cheddar cheese. Thanks!
Made it as written and it tasted like green water. Had to add multiple packs of Oxo, more salt and pepper and herbs de Providence seasoning to try and make a taste.
You need to ween yourself off processed/artificial flavors
Soup was very tasty, but my husband thought it was too watery.
I did it exactly to the recipe, but added curry, as someone else commented.
Over-the-top-yum! Made your no-knead dinner rolls, dinner is done, done, done. Thank you for the recipe. A keeper for sure!
This tastes AMAZING! My husband said it’s some of the best broccoli soup he’s ever had! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for a quick, healthy weeknight meal!
Easy and delicious. Thank you Nagi (once again).
Very tasty, quick & easy to make. I added frozen spinach and reduced the broccoli. I added sage and basil while frying the onions and garlic. I also mixed olive oil and butter. Thank you!
Quick, easy and wholesome. Used lactose free cream. Only added cheese when serving so people can adjust to their liking – the cheese takes it to another level!
Made this 2 days ago, home crook. Didn’t have enough broccoli so topped up with cauli. Added 1/2 tsp curry, marjoram & thyme with garlic shoots to the butter. Have had it for breakfast for 3 days, it’s so good. Will definitely make again.
The best broccoli soup ever.
Loved this soup, wondering how it would work for someone who couldn’t eat onions and garlic? What tasty additions could I use in place to make it “Mum friendly”?