This weekend I went to our local farmer’s market and was surprised to find a local farmer still offering fresh broccoli. He said this was his last batch until fall since the weather has been so warm already. I grabbed a pound of it and came home to make this fresh broccoli cheese soup recipe. Broccoli and cheddar go brilliantly together and this is an easy one-pot meal that is nice and filling. It’s a great addition to your Meatless Monday recipe lineup as well! Doesn’t it look heavenly?
Table of Contents
Fresh Broccoli vs Frozen
Personally, I try to buy fresh broccoli whenever I can rather than frozen. I really just don’t care for frozen broccoli. Sometimes I can find it locally and in season. Occasionally I actually find organic broccoli but that is usually pretty rare.
Most of the year I just deal with the fact that my fresh broccoli is probably coming from someplace far away. I wish that wasn’t the case but broccoli does not particularly like the heat of the south!
You could probably make this broccoli cheese soup recipe with frozen broccoli. Just thaw it out first and cook it a little bit less since it usually isn’t as firm as fresh broccoli.
If you live in a cooler climate, you could grow broccoli in your organic backyard garden and have an endless supply for this fresh broccoli cheese soup. I tried growing it here once but couldn’t plant it until October and by the time it was ready for harvesting in January there was snow on it!
This is a hearty soup and we had it for dinner with some corn muffins and were quite satisfied. You could certainly serve it as part of a larger meal just make sure you serve smaller bowls. This recipe fed 4 adult-sized people with no leftovers.
Shredding the carrots
Preparing the shredded carrots for this broccoli soup is probably the most time-consuming part of the recipe, however, if you have a food processor, it goes MUCH faster. I have an 8-cup Cuisinart Food Processor and it can shred several carrots in mere seconds. It would take me half an hour to do that with my box grater.
So, whichever way you choose to shred them, you will need to shred a couple of large carrots to make this soup.
Love a good homemade soup? Try a few of these soup recipes as well!
Love Italian flavors? Make my Italian Bell Pepper Soup. It’s loaded with fresh bell peppers, this is a hearty soup recipe loaded with Italian herbs and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese.
Try my pureed vegetable soup recipe, loaded with healthy vegetables and made creamy with the addition of coconut milk.
Pressed for time? Make a simple egg drop soup recipe this week.
Fresh Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
This homemade broccoli cheese soup is made with plenty of fresh broccoli and shredded carrots. It is rich and creamy with loads of cheddar cheese and the fresh rosemary gives it a savory finish.
Yield: 4 servings
Fresh Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
3 cups fresh broccoli florets, small
1/2 large onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp fresh or dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
In a large pot, heat butter over medium high heat
Add the carrots, onion, and broccoli and saute 5 minutes or until broccoli is just starting to get tender
Add in the flour, salt, pepper, and rosemary and stir to coat the vegetables.
Pour in the stock, milk, and cream and stir until slightly thickened (about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add in the shredded cheddar and stir until melted.
Remove from heat and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 265Total Fat: 13gCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 17g
Like this Fresh Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe? Pin it for later!
Looking for more fresh broccoli recipes?
Try thisbroccoli apple salad!
Diane Hoffmaster
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician atGood Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at theUniversity of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Soup needs some fat to smooth out the texture and help the ingredients bind together. If your soup is too lean, it will taste grainy. Try adding some additional cream or milk to the soup until it reaches the desired consistency.
Mild cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack, mozzarella, Swiss and queso blanco can all work well. “The best cheeses to melt into soups are cheeses that are higher in moisture and have a lower melting point,” says Bauer. In addition to cheddar and Monterey jack, he recommends Fontina and Gruyère.
Slowly add the cream or milk and continually stir after adding. This will help prevent it from curdling. Use shredded cheese and always reduce the heat to about low to medium before adding. Don't add the cheese all at once or you risk clumping.
You can thicken soup with flour or cornstarch, which do not add any additional flavor. If you want more flavor, a roux is the best way to thicken up a soup. Starchy add-ins are another great way to create thick and creamy vegan soups.
Whether you use a few tablespoons or a few cups, cream gives soup a silky mouthfeel and rich flavor. You can definitely add milk or other dairy as well, though it will taste gradually less creamy as you go down in percent.
Add other vegetables: Incorporate other mild or sweeter vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, or sweet potatoes to balance out the broccoli's taste. Cream or dairy: Adding a splash of cream, milk, or non-dairy alternatives like coconut milk or almond milk can help mellow the flavor of the soup.
If heated too high, you risk clumping and if too low, not melting properly. With soup, you might be able to fix it with an immersion blender, or you might not. At a temperature of 150 or so, the protein bonds in the cheese break down and as a result, too much fo the moisture escapes too quickly.
Curdling in a cream soup usually occurs when the milk or cream is added at too high of a heat. As you incorporate the milk and broth into the cooked onion and flour mixture, keep the heat at medium and stir continuously with a whisk. Once all is mixed in, then proceed to heat to a boil.
Chevre goat cheese, farmers cheese, feta, halloumi, ricotta or paneer do become softer with heat, but they won't spread out and melt. Aged cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano aren't a great choice, either.
When it's time to add the cheese into the soup, sprinkle it in in batches, stirring until each batch is melted before adding the next batch vs dumping it all in at once. This will ensure there are no clumps in the final soup.
Another way to fix it is to mix it with flour. The flour will make your cheese more tender, but it will leave a grainy texture. Acid-curd cheeses aren't suitable for melting. They contain an acid that dissolves the calcium glue that keeps casein proteins together.
Broccoli also can be the culprit behind a slew of stomach-related symptoms. Not only does the veggie — or more specifically, the intestinal bacteria that breaks the fibrous content down — cause gas, but that gas can actually be painful, too. Because the gas expands the intestines, its lining and walls become stretched.
Not much you can do to fix other than thicken it with a small starch slurry maybe. Also, if they used pre-shredded cheese that cellulose tend to leave it grainy. But totally agree with fixing a boiled dairy based soup with a slurry.
One of the most common problems cooks run into when they make broccoli cheddar soup is a gritty or grainy texture. Your soup may become grainy if the cheese or dairy curdles. With a recipe like the one that follow you shouldn't have trouble because the cheese is added as a finishing component, off heat.
You end up with a grainy, curdled consistency. Unfortunately there is no way to fix it once it's happened, so just be really careful to keep this soup on a very low flame once the dairy has gone in. If the soup remains hot and steamy, without boiling, it will stay beautifully silky and creamy.
Your soup may become grainy if the cheese or dairy curdles. With a recipe like the one that follow you shouldn't have trouble because the cheese is added as a finishing component, off heat. But to avoid “breaking” the dairy while reheating (or with other dairy-rich soups), take it low and slow.
If you add cheese to your soup when it's too hot or boiling vigorously, it can become overcooked and develop a grainy or curdled texture rather than melting smoothly. To avoid this, reduce the heat to low or medium-low before adding the cheese.
Address: Apt. 171 8116 Bailey Via, Roberthaven, GA 58289
Phone: +2585395768220
Job: Lead Liaison
Hobby: Lockpicking, LARPing, Lego building, Lapidary, Macrame, Book restoration, Bodybuilding
Introduction: My name is Sen. Ignacio Ratke, I am a adventurous, zealous, outstanding, agreeable, precious, excited, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.