Broccoli Cheese Soup
This no-velveeta homemade broccoli cheese soup is sure to win you over! The soup is simple and incredible and comes together quickly.
I could sum up this post by the following statement from my husband while devouring this meal: “This is the ultimate perfect dinner.”
Of course it could have been the atmosphere since it had snowed all day and was the perfect night for soup, but still, when we were fighting over the last scoops in the pot, I knew this had to be a winner.
I received this recipe from a commenter, Liz, who has tried several recipes from here. Come to find out, after a few months of back and forth commenting, we figured out we went to high school together and went to the same church growing up.
What a small world – especially now that we both live several states away from where we grew up!
She mentioned the other day in an email that she had used the Italian Bread Bowl recipe for her broccoli cheese soup and her kids ate it up…plus it was a no-velveeta recipe.
Of course, I begged and pleaded for her recipe. While I don’t have anything against velveeta, I wanted a recipe with less processed flavors, and if my kids would eat it…then I knew it would be a keeper.
This soup was incredible, and sure enough, my kids ate it with minimal fuss even with the broccoli. I was quite pleased (shocked, actually, but then quite pleased). It’s since became one of our family’s favorite soups of all time!
FAQs for Broccoli Cheese Soup
It turns a little grainy after being frozen due to the cheese, but it reheats pretty well (texture is slightly less creamy).
Yep!
I’d recommend cooking it on the stovetop and transferring it to a slow cooker to keep it warm (only for an hour or so – it might lose it’s smooth texture if in there too long!)
This soup won’t curdle as long as you moderate the heat well. It’s very smooth and creamy; not as artificially smooth as Velveeta recipes – it has a little texture from the roux.
What To Serve With This:
Artisan or Italian Bread Bowls
Simple green Salad (or for an extra special salad this Spinach Salad with Spicy Nuts)
Fresh, seasonal fruit
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth
- 1 small onion, diced
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
- ½ cup shredded swiss cheese
- 2 ½ to 3 cups chopped lightly steamed or blanched broccoli
Instructions
- Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 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 steamed broccoli. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve immediately in bowls or bread bowls.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted very slightly from my friend, Liz K.
add some ground beef/real bacon bits/chopped clam/shrimp and it’d be perfect. Thanks for the idea, I’ll be saving this recipe.
Getting ready to make this in a few mins..Plan to add in Carrots and peas as well, just sounds heavenly to me :o)
I just made this soup for dinner tonight, it was to die for and my step daughter ate it up!
Thanks, Mia!
Your recipes are so good! I am very thankful to have found your website through a search engine. This soup was sooo good. I am so happy to have found a recipe without the use of processed cheese. 🙂 Great job!
Thanks, Justine! I’m glad you found your way here, too…thanks for checking in on this recipe!
I’ve been looking for a broccoli cheese soup recipe for a while, this one looks delicious. One question: what kind of milk do you use? I drink skim milk so that is what I have around the house but I’m not sure that would work well with this recipe.
Kerry – I usually use 1% but have also splurged with whole milk when I have it in the house and definitely adds to the creamy richness – but most often I stick with 1%. I’m guessing skim milk will work but your soup will probably lack a bit of richness. Let me know if you try it!
made this for dinner the other night. added a little more chicken broth and also added a package of moose sausage that I browned up separately. It was so good! nice and thick-pleased the entire household. will def. make it again!
Callie – well, I have to say I’ve never had moose sausage but it actually sounds delicious in this soup. Thanks for letting me know!
Are you going to add a printable copy soon?
Auntie Patch – just added a printable link!
I made this yesterday and it was so good and easy! Thank you so much for all of these great recipes! I also made the Italian Bread Bowls to go with it. Yumm!
Thanks, Lisa!
Once again, your recipes NEVER fail! The fall weather is just barely starting to set in and my husband called to tell me he forgot his jacket for classes tonight and he was freezing. I went straight to your soups for dinner. I added a little bit of Real Bacon Bits to it too because that sounded good too. SO delightful… i’ll be making this again soon I know it! Thanks for all your WONDERFUL recipes!
Mickie – your comment made me realize I’m excited soup season is here so I can make this one again. This is one of my favorite soups ever. Glad you loved it too!
I absolutely adore your recipes that you post on here! I’ve already tried out several of your cookie recipes and am going to do the broccoli cheese soup for dinner tonight! 🙂 I had to add your button to my blog cuz everytime I wanted to find your blog I had to sort through a friend of mines facebook page to find the link to here that she posted!
Thanks, Randie! I’m glad you’ve liked the recipes you’ve tried and I hope this broccoli cheese soup worked out well for you.
I made this tonight with the Italian Bread bowls. It was so yummy! Even my 5 year old who hates corn ate the broccoli!! I was also excited to see a recipe without the velveeta! Thank you so much for the awesome recipes! I am trying your Pineapple Meatballs tomorrow night, can’t wait to see how it goes!!
Do you care if I post the recipe on another blog with links back to your website? If not, I can just post the link. My friends and I have a blog that we all put our favorite recipes on to share with one another.
Hi Kensi – I’m glad you liked this soup (especially glad your five year old ate it up!) and I hope you like the pineapple meatballs. I don’t mind at all if you post the recipes and really appreciate you posting a link back to my site. Thank you!
Made this tonight with the bread bowls to go along with it…it was oh my goodness, so yummy! Thank you for posting all these recipes for me to try! This weekend my husband and I are having a date night in and I'm making your shrimp enchilada recipe. So excited!
Anonymous – I'm sorry for the long delay in responding – I'm not sure how I missed your comment but I apologize. I'm so glad that your husband liked this soup and that he was praising you for it. You deserve it!
Anonymous – because this soup recipe doesn't have processed cheese in it, it has a different texture than a broccoli cheese soup made with, say, Velveeta cheese. It should still be thick and creamy and smooth, but you may get a little texture difference because of the flour. Although, it shouldn't be super gritty. Sometimes if the flour and butter isn't cooked for a few minutes before adding the milk, you can get a strong flour taste. Hope that helps!
Please tell me what I did wrong… the soup turned out really gritty-like, not smooth at all like it should be. Did I do something wrong or is this just how it's supposed to be? It tasted great, just not the texture that I was going for.
Hi – so this was the first recipe I've tried off of your site. I've been married for 13 years and have never been the recipient of such glowing praise for a meal! My husband loved, loved this – and he is a fussy, heartburn-y, no spicy kind of guy. THANKS for allowing my husband to compliment my cooking! That simply doesn't happen at this house!
Brittany – how nice are you? Thank you for the sweet comment…
You are a Genious! with all your recipe’s. That’s all I have to say. Thanks for sharing.
MelanieL – I agree, more soup for the one who made it if the kids don’t like it! So glad it was a hit with you and your husband.
I made this yummy soup last night, the husband loved it like I figured he would and so did I. The kids wouldn’t try it though because of the broccoli…I saymore for us!
Allison – thanks for your comment! I’m so glad you liked this soup and that your husband liked it, despite his aversion to creamy soups. That’s a success!
I stumbled onto your blog a few month ago and have tried several recipes (al of which I have really liked). This soup was SO good though that I just had to comment. I LOVE creamy cheesy soups, but my husband usually doesn’t. I have now made this twice in the last month and both times he went back for seconds and commented on how good it was. YUM! Thanks for the recipe.
Made this tonight for my son’s 3rd birthday party. It was a hit! I 6 timed the recipe with no problems. I added a little season salt and garlic powder at the end. I ordered bread bowls from a nearby bakery (I wasn’t going to attempt making them for my first time for 20 people).
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Stacie – I wasn’t sure if I read that right at first – SIX times the recipe? Wow. That is a lot of work. I’m glad it turned out well! Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks for another great recipe–we’re enjoying it right now! You are definitely my go-to gal for yummy stuff and your presentation is always beautiful too–your blog is very visually pleasing!
Allison – so glad you liked this! And thanks for the great compliment…I really appreciate it.
Hi! Just made this x 10 for a freezer meal group that I’m in. It only took me about 4 hours! 😉 But it was so yummy that it was worth the time for sure. I’m glad to have you as a go to girl when I’m out of ideas for dinner. Thanks!
J Fo – WHAT? Times ten? I cannot believe that. Talk about a ton of work…but I am SO glad it was worth it and you liked the end result!
Aaron and Grace – yay! So glad this was a hit. Thanks for letting me know.
Made this last night…. OMG!! It was delicious! The hubby loved it! Thanks!
Mom in MA – I actually buy the broth in boxes too, and for the equivalent of one can of chicken broth, I measure out 1 3/4 cups of broth. Hope that helps!
I don’t buy broth in cans, only the carboard packages. How much broth in ounces is in a can? I am estimating using 1/2 box of broth…hopefully that’s not way too much. We’ll see. Looks yummy!
Kristi – very funny!! Glad it was a hit!
My husband just called over “oh man, this is so good, I am licking the bowl like it is cake batter!”
Thank you!
Kalena – thanks for letting me know you liked this and for the tip for extra richness!
Just made this for lunch and it was delicious! Try adding the steamer water from steaming the broccoli for extra richness. Thanks so much for sharing, Kalena
Katy – I’m making this soup for dinner this week, so we must be on the same wavelength. I’m glad you liked it – thanks for letting me know!
We had this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic. I am very excited because Broccoli Cheese soup is one of my favorites, but I’ve never successfully made it a home.
Thank you for sharing!
Hey Emily – I saw your comment on the bread bowl recipe and it’s fun to see one pop up over here, too. I’m glad this soup turned out for you despite the hiccups early on. Thanks for letting me know!
I just commented on your Italian Bread Bowl recipe, but I thought I’d come over here and let you know that my family loved this recipe, only we had to change it just a little. I think I added too much chicken broth, as it was on the runny side, and I didn’t have any swiss cheese, so I ended up adding closer to four cups of sharp cheddar cheese to get it to the consistency we wanted. I also added some garlic salt since we’re huge fans of garlic. The end result was perfect – exactly what I was hoping it would be! Thank you so much, I’m having so much fun going through your blog and finding great recipes I can’t wait to try!
Hey Megan – I saw the post on your blog and I’m so glad you liked this. Thanks for letting me know!
Thanks so much for another great recipe! My husband and I both loved this. I finally got the update up on my blog. I will definitely be making this again – so simple and so good!
Anonymous – I’m pretty sure you can find bread bowls in most supermarket bakeries. I don’t think this soup would freeze very well, but it does reheat well the next day!
Hi Melanie! I haven’t tried making bread yet, but where can I find these bread bowls, supermarket, bakery? I’d love to buy some.
Also, would this soup freeze well or at the very least, be ok to reheat the next day?
Thanks!
Becky – you are hilarious! I’m going to try your “baby dinosaur” explanation and see what my kids think.
Mel, soo soo good!! Loved it! Except at my house, I had to make it on a night that Mark wasn’t home, and we called it “Baby dinosaur trees in hot magma”. Success! Thank you! You are my hero.
Hi! Do you think it would be good to add some shredded chicken to the soup?
Thank you and I absolutely adore your blog!
Melanie,
This looks so good. I told my husband tonight that your blog is my favorite food blog. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. I need to print some of these off and make them soon! My husband saw this picture and agreed that I should do this one soon!
Laura – how nice are you? Thanks for such a sweet compliment. It really made my day!
Anonymous – yes, I think shredded chicken would make a great addition to the soup. I would add the precooked chicken at the end and heat through. Good luck!