Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup quite possibly has the fewest ingredients yet the biggest flavor a soup can offer, which is why it’s probably one of the most googled soups of all time.
When it comes to comfort food, few dishes can compete with the rich and creamy goodness of broccoli and cheddar cheese soup. Not only is this classic recipe a favorite among foodies and home cooks alike, but it also is one of Panera’s top selling soups of all time!
But restaurant soups can be very high in carbs and sodium. Panera’s soup has 20 grams of carbs and 930 mg of sodium in just a cup of soup. Some of the carbs come from the broccoli itself along with the flour to thicken it, but still it’s more carbs and sodium than I like to consume.
I went back and forth with whether to label this Keto friendly or not b/c this recipe does have a Tablespoon of flour in it. Is 1 Tablespoon enough to kill this as a keto recipe? I’ll wait for you guys to let me know.
I guess you could leave the flour out or I’m open to alternative flour suggestions if any of you have tried them in this type of soup.
The ratio is 86% Fat, 6.3% Carbs, 8% Protein in case you are counting macros.
A Classic Recipe for Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup
- Begin by finely dicing the onions, carrots and chopping the broccoli florets into bite-size pieces. Some readers have said the broccoli took longer to cook than the recipe states, so you can either blanch it in a saucepan or the microwave first and set aside.
- Sauté the onions and carrots in butter (or ghee) in a large stock pot on the stove top until they turn translucent. Add the garlic.
- Next, add the flour to make a roux and allow it cook for at least 1-2 minutes, stirring with a whisk until there are no lumps.
- Next, pour in chicken or vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the heavy cream.
- Add the cream cheese and sharp cheddar cheese (please don’t use pre-shredded cheese, it contains wood pulp). Allow it to simmer.
- (Optional) Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy.
- Finally, add the chopped broccoli and simmer until all the vegetables are tender.
Don’t underestimate the power of broccoli and cheese soup. It’s more than just a comfort food; it’s a nutrient-packed dish that can improve your health and wellbeing. From its high levels of calcium and vitamin C to its fiber and protein content, this soup is as delicious as it is healthy.
Here are some ways to serve it:
- Classic bowl: Of course, the most common way to enjoy broccoli and cheese soup is in a bowl with a spoon. You can garnish it with croutons, herbs, or extra cheese for more flavor and texture. Don’t forget to have some bread on the side to dip in the soup!
- Bread bowl: For a more fun presentation, you can hollow out a loaf of bread and pour the soup inside. This way, you can eat both the soup and the bread together. It also makes for a great Instagram photo!
- Baked potato: For a hearty meal, you can ladle broccoli and cheese soup over a baked potato. It’s a filling and satisfying combination that will keep you warm for hours.
These are just some suggestions to show you how versatile broccoli and cheese soup can be. Feel free to experiment with your own ideas and let us know how it turns out!
BROCCOLI AND CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP
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Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Keto Friendly)
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A creamy delicious cheddar cheese soup with bits of broccoli.
Ingredients
- ÂĽ Cup Onion, diced
- ÂĽ Cup Carrot, shredded
- 1 Clove Garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Flour
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth, warm
- ½ Cup Water
- 2 Cups Broccoli, chopped in small pieces
- 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream, warmed
- 1 Tablespoon Cream Cheese
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese (sharp or mild)
- Salt and pepper to taste (I used ½ tsp salt and ¼ pepper)
Instructions
- Begin by melting the butter (or ghee) in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and sautĂ© until they soften – approx. 3-4 min. Season with a little salt and pepper as they cook.
- Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add the warmed chicken broth and water allowing the soup come to a boil. Turn the stove down to low (or take it off the heat entirely) and add the cream. Stir to incorporate.
- Add the cream cheese and slowly add the cheddar cheese about ¼ cup at a time, ensuring it has completely melted before adding any more. If you would like a smoother soup, now is the time to use an immersion blender to the desired consistency.
- Add the broccoli and taste for seasonings. Let the soup simmer 10 min or until broccoli softens.
- Serve hot.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 336
- Sugar: 1.8 gr
- Sodium: 414 mg
- Fat: 30.2 gr
- Saturated Fat: 17.9 gr
- Carbohydrates: 7.6 gr
- Fiber: 1.6 gr
- Protein: 10.4 gr
- Cholesterol: 96 mg
I plan on making this recipe tonight. I was planning on using arrowroot instead of flour. Does anyone know how much I should use? Should I make a slurry first? Thanks.
Agreed Christina! This soup is off the hook good. I’ve never had a problem making it and there is so little flour in there that I made it just as the recipe said. It was worth every drop!
Why people get so bent out of shape over the name of a recipe I will never understand. There are so many out there, if you don’t like this one, go find one that suits you. This was SUPER! Will be my go to BC soup now. Tried to follow the directions, but realized it wasn’t going to make a whole lot, so that’s when I started veering off. Used an additional cup, cup 1/2 of broth, about 3 1/2 oz. cream cheese, a VERY packed 2 cups broccoli and subbed flour for 1/2 tsp xantham gum- perfect consistency! It needed quite a bit more time to simmer than 10 min for broccoli to get right consistency. It might be better to throw in at the beginning of the process than the end. Also kept carrots..1/4 cup was less than 1 med. carrot and it was divided out into about 4-5 servings.
Very yummy
Delicious!
This is my absolute go-to Cheddar broccoli soup. I leave out the flour & carrots (keto probs) and I have never had problems with the thickness-or lack thereof. I have made this at least five times so it wasn’t a fluke that mine was nice and thick.
I add bacon on top for even more Keto goodness. I also cook down half the broccoli with the broth because I like some broccoli to be super tender, maybe that is where I’m getting the thickness without flour. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe! We love pairing it with BLT’s for a perfect fall dinner. Hopefully you didn’t completely ruin all these Keto polices’ lives with the suggestion of flour in a keto recipe. Cheers!
I would love to know what the carbs, calories, fiber, protien and fat content is per serving.
Thank you Debi!
Excellent! East,quick & tasty. I made it KETO friendly by replacing carrots with celery and I used Almond flour instead of regular white flour. Thanks!
Love it Jacolyn! Thanks for sharing
Legit speechless, that broccoli & cheddar cheese soup recipe looks unreal! Definitely, I will make it on the weekend for my family. Thanks, Debi!
Looking for a substitute recipe for Costco’s Broccoli Cheddar as they stop selling it during spring/summer. My daughter recommended this, which she loves. I have a couple questions that I didn’t see in the other comments;
1) How long can you keep this in the refer ?
2) Can you freeze for later ?
Thank you !
I have kept this soup in the fridge for 5 days without a problem. I’m not so sure about freezing it because of the broccoli
Can’t wait to try this. One tbs of flour will not keep me from eating it if it’s good!
This recipe has great potential, it was pretty good but there’re a couple of things I would do differently next time. First of all, I used mild cheddar cheese (because that’s what I had on hands), I think it would have been tastier with sharp cheddar instead. I didn’t use flour (I will be looking for a substitute) the soup could have been thicker. I put half the soup in the food processor (I will not do this again, no need for that) by doing that, the soup turned a little green-ish. 🙂 Despite all my mistakes, it was still delicious but it could have been better, (but not the author’s fault). I will make this again!!
So good – just subbed flour with hemp flour and worked perfect!
Super recipe!!! Love it!!
Just made this fabulous soup and I have to say not only is it as good as Panera, it’s actually better.
wow Lori thank you !!!!
I read the comments first before making. I have now made this three different times. To make it more keto friendly, use more cream cheese and no flour. I also use 32 oz of chicken broth. I also put the broccoli when you add the chicken stock to give it more flavor.
That sounds delish Christine !
This soup turned out really well. To make it Keto I left out the carrot and flour. I also left out the water and used another cup of chicken broth. To thicken the soup I added some cauliflower while the chicken broth boiled and used my emersion blender. I also added two cups of sharp cheddar cheese. The basic recipe was great just needed a tweak! Thanks!!
Whole wheat flour is not keto.
I used a little arrowroot and an extra 1/4 cup of cheese and omitted the water and it came our nice and thick
Are the macros and nutrition facts for the whole yield? Or individual servings?
Flour and carrots are not keto.
I totally agree. Carrots and flour are not keto.
This is an excellent recipe! I just made it for dinner. I did add some crumbled bacon and smoked paprika….I think I may or may not have had two servings!
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it! Made a few changes to keep it Keto though. Substituted the flour with almond flour…but didn’t get the thickness I was looking for so I added some xanthan gum. Doubled the cheese and left out the carrots. Ended up being the perfect creamy consistency and was super yummy!
The soup was good but was NOT 5 generous servings. I got like 3 full cups. As a person that drives an hour every 2 weeks to get good groceries, my meal plan was messed up by the servings. You might want to change the servings size. Also, I would most definatelt take off the keto label. Most recipes can be turned into keto if you change the ingredients. This is just a really good recipe that can be turned into a keto recipe.
thanks lizzie
what a whino
This really was pretty good. It reminds me of my mom’s soup, which she makes with velveeta. Since this was made with real cheese I found it great that it still tasted very cheesy with a nice consistency, and was all around healthier for not being a fake cheese. It is still a little high in calories, but wasn’t bad for a dinner portion of a hearty cup.
Wheat flour (of any kind) is not keto friendly – I tried with 2 tsp xanthan gum instead and it was veeeerrry thick, I had to nearly double recipe with broth & cream so that it wasn’t like jelly! LOL. Next time I’d use 1/2 to 1 tsp xanthan gum and it would probably be perfect. Thanks for this easy and tasty recipe!
thank you Courtney for your feedback. I know flour isn’t keto which is why I struggled with naming this recipe. Other readers will appreciate you sharing what may work instead. Thanks again!
The recipe was really good! Great flavor. I got 3 cups at most out of this recipe so not sure how it’s supposed to feed 5 with a generous cup each. It also makes the calories kinda high for one meal. But both my husband and I really enjoyed the taste. I did use almond flour instead of all purpose and it seemed to work pretty well.
I was wondering if someone tried almond flour. It’s such a good deal at Costco; we try to incorporate almond flour wherever possible. Thanks!
Almond flour does not thicken. It is nothing like wheat flour. I always use Xantham gum for thickening. It works beautifully but beware, you do not need much! Give it time to thicken. It works better than flour!
I substituted for gluten free flour and used 1/3 fat garden veggie cream cheese and added 1 tbs of turmeric powder. Fantastic
Konjac flour (glucomannon powder) is an excellent keto thickener for your soups, gravies, sauces, etc. You just sprinkle it over the top and stir it up and in a few minutes, it works it’s magic. Just a tip for future reference.
Great recipe! I left out the carrots and replaced the flour with 2 scoops of beef gelatin collagen protein. I also doubled the recipe. It wasn’t real thick, but I’m ok with that. Delicious and easy! Thank you for sharing!
What is the prep time?
I skipped the flour and just added 2 more tablespoons of cream cheese and another handful of cheddar. Delicious!
Love the changes Nicole!
I think it turned out great. The amount was modest and I added more broccoli and cheese than it called for. It was still good
I substituted the flour with zero carb xantham gum. It turned out great. 1 tsp of xantham gum to 1 tbsp of flour. I mixed it with a bit of the warm soup first then mixed in with the rest of the soup to avoid clumps.
I love it!
Ditto. Me too. It was delicious!
I may try this using unflavored protein powder in place of flour for “keto” thickener.
This looks delicious, but from everything i’ve read, you are correct, flour is not “keto”. Maybe i can try substituting almond flour? I’d be curious to see.
yeah that’s why I said that in the post itself Lisa, flour is not keto so I was really on the fence to even list it as that. I’d love to hear how it turns out with the almond flour though. Thanks for your comment
Any chance you tried this with the almond flour? I’d like to try as well. I’d also replace the chicken broth with vegetable because I don’t eat meat. Do you think that would ruin it. It looks delicious and I’m working on my keto diet so would love to give it a shot!
I’m not sure that almond flour would thicken for a roux the way flour would, although it works as a base in many other recipes. I would try xantham gum first, but if you had success w/ almond flour, I’d love to know if that would be comparable!