When I think back on my childhood, I vividly remember our trips to Jason’s Deli after church, or for weekend lunches. I always, always got a cup of warm, hearty broccoli cheese soup to accompany half of a BLT sandwich. I remember thinking I could eat that soup every day of my life and never get sick of it. It’s been quite some time since I’ve had one of those glorious bowls of warm cheesy goodness, so I figured I should make some of my own broccoli cheddar cheese soup at home. Let me say, Chandler LOVED this one, which is how I know it will be in my recipe box for years to come.
My version is not quite as thick, and likely has much better ingredients than that of my beloved Jason’s (no knock on that one because it is the OG). I tried to limit the amount of dairy – limit is used lightly 😉 – and really focus on getting the creamy texture from blending up the onions and broccoli. This is a great #lemondrop for other soup recipes that you need thickened.
LEMON DROP
To thicken a soup without using a ton of dairy, keep onions in large pieces for easy removal and cook until softened in your soup broth base. Once soft, transfer your onions to a blender, or use an immersion blender (I have this KitchenAid one and LOVE it) and puree until smooth. Add back to your soup to finish cooking with the remainder of your ingredients.
Of course, this broccoli cheddar cheese soup is delicious with croutons and an extra sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese on top, but if you don’t want to get extra fancy, it’s delicious as is.
Classic Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 4 c broccoli florets and stems about one large head, chopped
- 1 yellow onion medium, diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil as needed
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 ½ c chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp ground mustard
- ½ c heavy cream optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 c cheddar cheese can be a mix of cheeses as well – this is delicious with a blend of yellow & white cheddar, and gruyere!
Instructions
- Prep vegetables: finely dice onion, mince garlic, and chop broccoli into bite size pieces. Set each aside separately.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat
- Once hot, add onions and cook until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the pot and cook for one minute, stirring constantly as to not burn garlic.
- Sprinkle flour in the pot, whisking constantly. Cook until onion and garlic are coated and flour starts to smell toasty, about 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth, making sure that flour clumps dissolve. Then add in broccoli, bay leaf, and ground mustard.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf before blending.IMMERSION BLENDER*: Using a hand blender, blend your soup until most of your ingredients are blended, leaving as many/as large of broccoli chunks as you prefer.TRADITIONAL BLENDER: Transfer about ½ of your soup to a blender. Carefully** blend your soup until there are no more chunks. Transfer back into the pot with the other ½ of your unblended soup.
- Mix in heavy cream and cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and thoroughly combined.
- Top with fresh time, croutons, and an additional sprinkle of cheese. Enjoy!
