This creamy, cheesy, easy broccoli cheddar potato soup comes together quickly on the stovetop for a crowd-pleasing weeknight meal that everyone will love.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Surprisingly easy and quick. Turned out great! Really nice winter dinner when broccoli, potatoes and onions were all on sale.” -Judith, FoodieCrush reader
This Soup Is Made in One Pot, with 10 Ingredients, in Just 30 Minutes!
Right alongside French Onion Soup and Chicken Noodle Soup, I’ve loved broccoli cheese soup since I was a kid. Yes, even the broccoli bits because cheese with broccoli is masking magic.
As an adult, I sought a version that was a healthy-ish revision of my childhood fave. One that didn’t sacrifice flavor in its ingredient modifications. I’m proud to report this easy broccoli cheddar soup recipe does the job.
It’s lightened up with a few simple swaps — whole milk instead of heavy cream (I swear you’d never know), and like in my simple Potato Soup recipe, I’ve cooked it with potato and then blended part of it for extra creaminess, less butter, and less cheese — but no less flavor.
Fret not, this broccoli potato cheese soup is still supremely creamy and cheesy.
Heidi’s Tip: How to Prevent the Cheese From Clumping Up
There’s a trick to adding the cheese so the broccoli potato cheddar soup doesn’t break and turn into a chunky mess.
- First, toss your freshly shredded cheese in a bit of flour
- Add it to the soup in small batches
- Stir 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?
You’ll Need These Basic Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Butter — Just 1 tablespoon adds a nice buttery flavor without having to go overboard.
- Yellow onion — My favorite flavor foundation for most soups.
- Potatoes — Spoiler: 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.
- Chicken broth — You can use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian.
- Kosher salt and pepper — If your soup tastes at all bland after it’s simmered away, it likely just needs more salt.
- Broccoli florets —I used fresh broccoli, 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.
- Whole milk — This has a good amount of fat, which will make this soup super creamy and flavorful. In a pinch, you could probably get away with 2% milk, but I don’t recommend using milk with less fat than that.
- Shredded cheddar cheese — I prefer medium cheddar, use sharp cheddar cheese if you prefer a stronger cheese flavor.
- Flour — I always toss the cheese with flour before stirring into soups to keep it smooth and melty.
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup in 30 Minutes Flat
- Sauté the onion in a little butter. It’s always a good sign when any recipe starts with butter and onions.
- Sauté the potatoes until fork-tender. Then, blend the mixture with an immersion blender to make it smooth.
- Add the broccoli and milk to the soup and cook until the broccoli is al dente.
- Add the cheese to the soup 1 cup at a time, stirring until melted between additions.
Heidi’s Tip: This broccoli potato soup is best enjoyed immediately. I like to garnish my bowl with a twist of freshly ground black pepper and an additional sprinkle of cheese.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- 3 large white potatoes , peeled and cubed
- 4 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth to keep vegetarian)
- 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
Instructions
- 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 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Side Dish Suggestions
Want to Freeze This Soup? Here’s Why I Don’t Recommend It
In general, soups made with a dairy-rich base don’t freeze very well. The cheese and milk mixture tends to split once frozen, and once reheated the texture isn’t very appetizing.
More 30-Minute Soup Recipes You’ll Love
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chef joe
amazing thank you. i did it a little differently. I cooked the onions and potatoes then added stock. then cooked broccoli separately.blended stock broccoli potatoes. added milk. then cheese then added partial cooked potatoes fresh broccoli some stock to thin a little. seasoned and perfect.
trudy bognar
Can I cook this in a crockpot?
Hi Trudy, I haven’t tried it in the Crock Pot but if you do, I might try it with evaporated milk instead of regular. I use evaporated milk in my Instant Pot Mac and Cheese so it doesn’t curdle and I have a hunch that may be a good idea here.
Judith
Surprisingly easy and quick. Turned out great! Really nice winter dinner when broccoli, potatoes and onions were all on sale.
Hayley
Thanks for sharing, Judith! We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Jamila
So good!!
Hayley
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Jamila!
MARGI
THIS SOUP IS SPECTACULAR. PERFECT, I HAD FROZEN BOILED POTOTES LEFTR FROM THANKSGIVING, LOVE LOVE LOVE
So glad you were able to use those potatoes up Margi. Thanks for the 5 stars!
Christine
Yum! Made this for lunch today, sooooo delicious! I used leftover mashed potatoes to fast track it…..turned out amazing! Thanks for such a cozy lunch on this winter day!
Great idea hack and using mashed potatoes.Thanks for the comment and 5 star rating.
Angie
I made this last night and OMG it’s delicious!!! I used half and half instead of whole milk, since that’s all I had. Will definitely be making this again!! Love your recipe’s!!
Thank you Angie! I’m so glad you liked it, and thx for the 5 stars!
Sarah
So yummy! I am wondering what the serving size is that you used to determine the macro nutrients? Thank you in advance!
Arlene
How do you measure the broccoli florets? do you chop the florets first? Can you give an approximate weight for the 6 cups?
Ariene, It would be about 36 ounces or 2 1/4 pounds of florets.
Annette S.
This is such a fantastic recipe. It is easy to follow and you can modify it accordingly. The tip with the flour and cheese absolutely brilliant. Love this recipe. Great job
Great! Glad you liked it Annette!
Johnson
It looks amazing , I have added some different types of cheese
JT
What magic potatoes or cooking method do you have where potatoes cook in 8 minutes? You didn’t mention pressure cooker, maybe that’s it?
No, magic or pressure cooker. The potatoes are diced so they cook faster, plus the cook as the soup cooks.
Eleanor
From my local Mercado, I occasionally buy a ‘Happ Box’ which contains enough fresh produce to fill a Subaru Forester wagon, with the back seats down, front to back, side to side, and top to bottom. This past box had a case of broccoli, so of course I searched for a great soup recipe. I made for batches of this soup in my huge stock pot. All of my friends and neighbors received healthy portions, and I received great reviews, which I now pass along to you!
Matt
I used coconut milk instead to limit the amount of dairy. I also used extra sharp cheddar cheese and used a gluten free flour. I also served this gluten free dinner rolls. I have a family member with a gluten allergy. Overall this was excellent and I will be making this again. Thank you for sharing!
Happy you liked it and could make it gluten free!
Fay Brautigan
The soup was wonderful! But in who’s world does this take only 5 minutes of prep time. This was very misleading as a lot of recipes are. You should adjust it.
Ashley
The only prep is cutting the onion, potatoes and broccoli. In my world that’s only about 5 min worth of prep. But I’m sure it varies person to person. But don’t rush! No one needs missing didgets!!
Beth
Do you peel the potatoes?
Yes Beth, peel the potatoes either before boiling.
Chong
I tried this recipe after I read few comments from other recipe similar to this recipe . I am glad I did not follow the other recipe because this soup is so delicious and simple but good enough to serve my family and friends. I am sticking to this recipe from now on.
Deb
I changed the recipe size to 4 and printed. Not knowing what you considered a large potato, I went by the measurement of 4 cups. WRONG, changing the size of the recipe did not change that measurement. It was so thick….just wanted to let you know!!
Kirsten J Salvador
Super delicioius! Made the recipe for my family last night, and my son said, “WAY better than any restaurant or canned variety!” He also liked, and so did it, that it had potato and wasn’t overly cheesy – just right!
I’m glad you and your family enjoyed!
Sandy Kelley-Jones
OMG this is as good as it looks! So it’s Sunday night, after 7 and I need to make a little something to eat and make it quickly. I wanted broccoli and thought cheese with it would be good then thought of broccoli and cheese soup. I turned to Pinterest and did a search for quick broccoli and cheese soup and lo and behold found one with the added benefit of potatoes. My husband adores potato soup so I figured he would love this. He actually said he was in heaven eating it. As always I had to modify the recipe, just a little this time. I used the packages of frozen chopped broccoli and Tuscan style broccoli I had on hand, a box of chicken broth, almost a pint of half and half, a chunk of butter and 5 or 6 small to medium potatoes—but I’m sure it would be great following the recipe precisely. I actually did toss the cheese with flour and it blended in beautifully. There’s just enough left for a cup for each of us for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for sharing. I will definitely make this again!
So glad you liked it!
Vicab
OMG the best soup ever! BUT I personally think the prep time is off – it took me quite a bit to prepare and cook. I will definitely cook again. Now that I know I how long it takes to make.
Saundra
I just made it came out okay
Alexander Graham
Just made this soup. It is delicious