This creamy, cheesy, easy broccoli cheddar potato soup comes together quickly on the stovetop for a crowd-pleasing weeknight meal that everyone will love.
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“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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Mama Sue
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!
lacey
I was wondering If I could skip the flour. If it would change the texture of the soup, Brown rice flour worked well? I have almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, and rice flour in my kitchen.
Becky
Just made this soup…. Yum Yum!!!!
Michelle Gauthier
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 ;)
rosemarie johnson
making this tomorrow i was looking for a yummy potatoe and brocolli cheese soup cause with all of this cold weather we need soup.
Jill
Nom ,Nom ,Nom! This Broccoli Soup was amazing! Ican’t wait to try the Beet Buckwheat pancakes.
linda
I just made this exactly as directed. It is delicious. Thank you
Michelle Gauthier
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!
Liz
Do you have to mash the potatoes or could you leave then diced up in the soup?
Laura Dennison
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.
Phylicia
Just made it for the first time, and I must say it is AWESOME!! thanks for sharing!!
Chelsea
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!
Lacy
Mine also!! Wonder what I did wrong?
Samantha Hamblin
I found if i just buy the already shredded cheddar cheese it does not clump whatsoever, pkus u dont need the added flour :)
DIYMike
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.
EmilyGC
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. :)
Freya Osborne
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
Gilliane
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!
2pots2cook
It is still so cold out here; this soup will definitely make my day ! Thank you so much !
Izzy @ She Likes Food
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 :)
marcie
I LOVE plain broccoli, but blanketed in cheddar cheese is a super close second. :) This soup looks so silky and delicious!
Joan K
Yummy, just yummy, simple to make but tastes indulgent
Savita @ Chef De Home
Love broccoli cheese soups! This looks so delicious and comforting!
Letty / Letty's Kitchen
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 :)
Nicholas Butcher
I added a little beer before adding potatoes and broth. Also added bacon with broccoli
Lydia
Ohhhhh… I suddenly have a soup craving. This looks just lovely and comforting and indulgent. So clever using the potatoes to thicken it up…
Liz @ Floating Kitchen
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!
Silvia @ Local Gardeners
This soup looks so delicious! I can eat broccoli and cheese every day of my life! I’ll try it as soon as possible.
becky
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.
Sara @ Last Night's Feast
Yummy! This looks indulgent