Broccoli Cheese Soup for the Soul

Broccoli Cheese Soup for the Soul

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Servings: 4

    • About This Recipe

    “This is real comfort food for me. Very warming on a cold day.”

    Ingredients

  • 2cupslow sodium chicken broth
  • 3cupschopped broccoli( , peeled stems included)
  • 1/2 cupchopped celery
  • 2tablespoonsbutter
  • 4tablespoonsflour
  • salt, to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper, , to taste
  • 4cupslow-fat milk( don’t use skim, though)
  • 1/2 cupsharp cheddar cheese, grated

    • Directions

  • In a medium saucepan, bring broth, broccoli (about 1 med. head will yield 3 cups chopped broccoli) and celery to a boil over high heat.
  • Reduce heat to medium and simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir occasionally.
  • Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute.
  • With a whisk or wooden spoon, add milk gradually, beating constantly to prevent lumping.
  • (It will thicken like paste at first; keep beating in milk to thin it.) Bring to a boil.
  • If you want a smooth soup, puree broccoli in blender.
  • Now add broccoli mixture (smooth or chunky) into large saucepan with the milk.
  • Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
  • Serve immediately.

    • Reviews

  • “This recipe says “soup for the soul”….and THAT it IS!!My husband and I just loved it, and it has become a very favourite our home.It is so delicious, easy and quick to make, and so, so comforting and soothing. I chop the broccoli fairly fine and then use a potato masher on it once I put the cooked broccoli in the milk mixture, and it give just the right texture for us.We like it a bit on the chunky side, but not too chunky.With a piece of homemade bread, we find this soup hearty enough for supper. Thank you Lennie for sharing it with us!”

  • “Whenever anyone asks me to peel broccoli, I usually run..Indeed, I did not bother with the stems, but this is just what I was looking for.Easy, and tasty.I did increase the cheese by about 50%, and it held up fine. Well worth the effort.”

  • “I love it! I used skim milk and no-fat cheddar, but it still yields great taste. I suggest you puree bout 1/3 of the boiled broccoli and add it to the sauce. Plus, parsley and cayenne is a good way to garnish the dish. Thank you!”

  • “I am not big on soup and hardly ever make it from scratch.This recipe was very easy.I pureed the broccoli but left it a little chunky and the flavor was very good.I put it in a quart-size mayonnaise jar and carried it to work for a couple of days lunch.”

  • “I increased the sharp cheddar to 2 cups and it was barely cheesy enough for us. Needed more flavor.”

  • “We had no celery, so I used carrots, chopped fine. I liked that it wasn’t heavy. The family all enjoyed this one!”

  • “I made this recipe exactly as it says except I used American & shredded Cheddar cheeses. My family is very honest and they told me the soup tasted very bland, and also that you could taste the flour. I would like to say though, I feel it could just be something on my part, because this is the very first time I have made this soup!”

  • “I really enjoyed this soup (and will probably enjoy it more once the snow hits!).I like my veggies on a bit of the mushier side, so I might simmer the broccoli a bit longer next time, and I’ll warm up the milk, because it took a LONG time to boil :)I served with Recipe #345899 and it was a lovely blend of cheesy/salty.”

  • “I have made this soup so many times and experimented so many ways I I have only the following comments:I love this soup but find freezing it does not do it justice so I make the 1st part of the recipe (broth, veggie, celery (carrots, onion garlic optional) and puree and freeze for up to 4 months).I add carrots only when veggies are not at there peak.You can substitute a wide variety of veggies (cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, carrot, potatos,sweet potatoes, butternut squash) and prepare same way. For mushrooms and asparagus add one extra teaspoon of flour to the rue.I would recommend whole milk (though you can reduce to 3 cups with one extra cup stock) if you must with only mild taste difference.)You can substitute or blend in some cheeses (1/4-1/2cpepper jack to make it spicy, swiss or Munster, or 1/8c blue or Gorgonzola mixed with cheddar,parmesan).You can add a variety of seasonings if you wish(garlic with potato, squash, mushroom or cauliflower), sage with squash/sweet potato, thyme withbroccoli, dill or ginger with carrot).Lastly you can garnish with a variety of items.I always freeze a small amount of uncooked veggies (tops from asparagus, silvers of carrot and mushroom, florets of broccoli and cauliflower,cubes of potato/squash.) These can be steamed or sauteed and placed on top of soup prior to serving.Because I have pureed the main soup this adds a nice texture.Also crisp leeks or shallots and/or crumbled bacon or sausage make great topping as well.Thanks Lennie!”

  • “This is a very nice broccoli cheese soup that isn’t complicated to prepare.Lessons learned: Do be careful with how much salt you put in because sharp cheddar has a healthy dose of saltiness on it’s own and will amplify the flavor.Also, be sure not to overthicken the milk mixture or your soup will get too thick.We did add extra cheese so the soup was really cheesy and very delicious.Thanks!”

  • “Very good. I did add a bit more cheddar than was called for though.”

  • “I loved this recipe.It was easy to make and it was really good.I had to make some forced substitutions like using velveeta because I was out of cheddar but it still turned out good.I’m not a big fan of celery so I used 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions.Thank you, it was very good.”

  • “This soup was really good! It was super easy to make and didn’t take very long either. I would say the only change I made was that I added 1 cupplus a little more of the cheddar cheese. Other than that it was a GREAT recipe!”

  • “Loved this soup…made it last week when I wanted something really creamy and hot.I got a great deal on broccoli crowns and organic milk so broccoli soup was on the menu!I used Better Than Boullion for the chicken broth… and organic 2% milk.Two huge crowns yielded over 4 cups for me and I used it all.I LOVED the fact that there was no velveeta to be seen… I don’t care for it.I thought that 1/2 cup of cheese wouldn’t be enough to make it cheesy, but I was wrong.I used extra sharp and it was just perfect.My BF loved it and the texture was just lovely.I didn’t even puree it, just left it chunky.Thanks so much for a wonderful soup!!!”

  • “I have to say this was one of the best soups I have ever tried. So easy to make and a huge hit with my friends and fam… Thanks!”

  • “This is the first time I have made broccoli cheese soup without velveeta and it was amazingly simple.Couple of things – we had to add a LOT of salt and pepper once this made it to the table.I added it while I was cooking, but it clearly was not enough.I did add more cheese too as I like soup nice and cheesy.Finally, this recipe says that it serves 4.I fed a family of 3 and there is still a TON left.I am looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow.I might even freeze some for a quick dinner one night.Overall it was very good and very simple.Thanks Lennie!”

  • “Fantastic!I pureed the broccoli before cooking.Thank you for sharing this simple but delicious recipe.”

  • “I loved this soup. Easy and quick to make, it was delicious and satisfying. One addition I I did make was, I sauteed some onions in the butter, then added the flour to make a roux. This is my new favorite soup!”

  • “It is a little chilly tonight.Good soup night,so I decided to try this one. Didn’t choose wrong. Simple to make and very tasty. The only change I made was to add 1/2 cup more cheese. definitely will make again”

  • “This is definitely a treat. It was very tasty and very easy to make. I followed the recipe as shown, but added a 1/2 cup of chopped carrots, and used ‘light’ cheddar cheese. I will be making this again!”

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