Still dreamy but lightened up in the load, this cheesy potato and broccoli soup leaves the cream right out of it.
I was a bit of an an0maly as a kid.
I didn’t care for peanut butter, opting for liverwurst instead. I loved oatmeal for breakfast and salad was one of my favorite snacks. And what was my pre-dinner ritual? Two tall glasses of milk before the food ever even hit the table.
Who was this kid?
I also liked broccoli. I mean I really, really, liked broccoli. When other kids wouldn’t touch their “green trees” unless they were camouflaged under a blanket of cheddar cheese (not that there’s one darn thing wrong with that!) I loved them simply steamed with a little butter, salt and pepper and drizzled with vinegar. That side put me in heaven every time.
But even while I enjoyed my broc in that cleaner way, the soup that always rang my bell was a creamy cheddar cheese broccoli fusion. I don’t know that my mom ever made it at home, but when we went out, it was my kryptonite.
Like most recipes you love as a kid, the cravings for them simply don’t go away. And as things go as an adult, the extra lbs don’t always go away as easily either. But this recipe doesn’t sacrifice flavor in it’s ingredient modifications, but instead is a healthyish version of my childhood fave.
There’s no cream in this recipe, just milk and chicken stock. The creamy factor to the broth is thanks to potatoes cooked in the broth that have then seen the bottom side of my immersion blender before the broccoli goes in.
I use fresh broccoli in my soup but if you keep a prepared freezer stocked with frozen broccoli, and you have potatoes and cheese on hand, this is a great recipe to pull out of your magic hat when you’re not sure what to cook for dinner tonight.
One important thing to note: There’s a trick to adding the cheese so the soup doesn’t break and turn into a chunky mess. Toss your freshly shredded cheese in a bit of flour first, then add it to the soup in small batches, stirring each batch until completely melted before adding another.
If you dump all of the cheese in at once, that’s what you’ll have…dumpy soup instead of creamy soup. And what kid of any age is gonna want to eat that?
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 large white potatoes, cubed, about 4 cups
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the cubed potatoes, chicken broth and the kosher salt and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a rolling simmer and cook the potatoes for about 8 minutes or until soft and easily pierced with a fork. Whiz the potatoes and broth with an immersion blender to the consistency you desire (I like to leave some chunks of potato), or mash with a potato masher. Add the broccoli florets and the milk and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 5-7 minutes or until the broccoli is al denté.
- Toss the cheese with the flour and add to the soup 1 cup at a time, stirring until melted before adding the next batch of cheese. Season with black pepper and more salt to taste.
#eatseasonal February
As we have for the past few seasons, Becky of The Vintage Mixer has posted her list of what’s in season to eat now and from that list, has amassed a group of us who are posting #eatseasonal recipes today. Some are some are sweet, some are savory and they’re all in season now. They’re all good and they’re all seasonal and are listed below.
We’d love to see what you’re eating seasonal now, too. Share your eats and follow the #eatseasonal hashtag on Instagram to discover more seasonal eats.
Please hop over to their sites, say hi and enjoy their seasonal inspiration.
Tilapia with Tangerine Salsa from Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Cauliflower Chickpea and Crispy Kale Tacos with Orange Tahini Sauce by Vintage Mixer
Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Bread from Joy Food Sunshine
Beet and Apple Salad with Citrus Honey Yogurt from Flavor the Moments
Beet Buckwheat Pancakes from Simple Bites
Citrus and Yogurt Fruit Pizza with Granola Crust from Completely Delicious
Coconut Quinoa Bowls with Roasted Broccoli and Tahini Sauce from Cafe Johnsonia
Meyer Lemon and Honey Lassi from Kitchen Confidante
Meyer Lemon & Thyme Semifreddo from Suitcase Foodist
Orange and Arugula Smoothie Bowl from Floating Kitchen
Roasted Veggie Buddha Bowls with Pesto from She Likes Food
Spicy Cashew Spring Greens Soup from Letty’s Kitchen
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Yummy! This looks indulgent
Oh my gosh, I love hearing about you as a kid! That is so funny!! I’m a big broccoli cheese soup fan too so I’ll be giving this a try soon.
This soup looks so delicious! I can eat broccoli and cheese every day of my life! I’ll try it as soon as possible.
Mmm…I can taste the coziness from here! I love using potatoes are a thickener. Great way to lighten up soups, and still keep them super creamy and delicious! Can’t wait to try this one!
Ohhhhh… I suddenly have a soup craving. This looks just lovely and comforting and indulgent. So clever using the potatoes to thicken it up…
How to sell broccoli to a broccoli hater, by Heidi Larsen aka Foodie Crush. What an enticing soup to surprise those broccoli-averse folks!
Ha! I’m so glad it might inspire you to cross the green line Letty 🙂
Love broccoli cheese soups! This looks so delicious and comforting!
I LOVE plain broccoli, but blanketed in cheddar cheese is a super close second. 🙂 This soup looks so silky and delicious!
I was raised by a very healthy mom and ended up eating a ton of “weird” vegetables that other kids didn’t love. I feel like it’s one reason why I love so many vegetables today though! This soup looks so creamy ad I’m loving all that melty cheese on top 🙂
It is still so cold out here; this soup will definitely make my day ! Thank you so much !
This was delicious! I used my potato masher instead of the blender and I loved the consistency. Hot tip on the cheese and flour–worked like a charm. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
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Great recipe for potato soup I have found ever. Now, my husband won’t quarrelling with me. I must try these at home.
Thanks for sharing an awesome recipe
I made this tonight and it turned out really delicious. I added garlic and diced carrots (that I blended w/the potatoes) and it was nice and creamy. My broccoli took a lot longer to cook, I think because I bought some sort of fancy kind rather than normal broccoli, but once they finally softened, it was perfect. 🙂
I’m really impressed with your article, such great & usefull knowledge you mentioned here
My family LOVED this! I made it pretty much as the recipe says and it was delicious.
It was one of those moments… tired, not sure of what to make, not a lot of items on hand, hungry kids, and it was almost dinner time….
Thanks, it was exactly what I needed.
I made this soup. It had great flavor and it was really easy! The only problem was that it separated in an unappealing way after I added the cheese. Maybe it was the flour? Any idea? Thanks!
Mine also!! Wonder what I did wrong?
Just made it for the first time, and I must say it is AWESOME!! thanks for sharing!!
I made this soup tonight and it was wonderful. I usually doctor up recipes but I didn’t do a thing to this one and it was delicious.
Do you have to mash the potatoes or could you leave then diced up in the soup?
Made this tonight and very good. Mashed the potatoes and mashed again when broccoli cooked leaving some chunks. Added crumbled bacon when I added the broccoli. Very hearty on a cold night and husband loved it too!
I just made this exactly as directed. It is delicious. Thank you
Nom ,Nom ,Nom! This Broccoli Soup was amazing! Ican’t wait to try the Beet Buckwheat pancakes.
making this tomorrow i was looking for a yummy potatoe and brocolli cheese soup cause with all of this cold weather we need soup.
OMG soooo yummy. I did change a bit but only because I had to use some ham up and only had 3 cups broccoli so I halved the recipe. I had a ham bone so put that in the 4 cups water. I strained ham out and used the water to boil 1.5 c of potatoes, fried and added onions & when done used an immersion blender til semi smooth. Added 2 c milk. Added the broccoli cooked and blended, a bit more than I wanted, but worked, added one packet leek soup mix…added 1.5c cheese tossed in flour and then put 1.5 c ham cooked but cold ( cool down the soup somewhat so we could eat earlier 😉
Just made this soup…. Yum Yum!!!!
I made this and it was great! I used miso broth, brown rice flour, and soy milk. I also mixed medium and sharp cheddar because that’s what I had. I may try this with asparagus instead of the broccoli. Can it be frozen? Thanks!
I made this soup today, and I don’t regret it, the soup was so delicious! I really recommended it, very easy to do too.
Have made this soup today. Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe but, being a thrifty person, I also added some of the broccoli stem to the potatoes. Will definitely make this again. Thank you very much!
Hi Christine, and so smart to use ALL of the broccoli. They add more body, have all the nutrients, and so no need to waste, right??! Thanks for the comment!
Very good recipe, thank you for posting. It works for my meat eaters and the single non-meat eater in my household – I cooked up some bacon to add to the top for those who wanted it.
I made this tonight. I had leftover mashed potatoes so it was super fast to make! I added ham that I still had from Easter brunch. I used fresh broccoli and a mixture of half and half and 1% milk as I wanted to use up (I didn’t use quite 3 cups because I didn’t want it too thin). Cheese melted perfectly-used an old cheddar. No dumpy soup!