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This Broccoli Cheese Soup is everything you want on a cold night: rich, creamy, loaded with sharp cheddar, and ladled into a crusty bread bowl. It’s made completely from scratch, with real cheese instead of anything processed, and it comes together in one pot in about 30 minutes. My kids go wild for it!
A Bowl You Get to Eat
I first had soup in a bread bowl at my aunt’s house in Louisville, and I never forgot it. There was something about tearing into that warm, crusty bread, scooping up soup with it, and then getting to eat the whole bowl at the end that felt like pure magic to me as a kid.
My own kids are soup lovers through and through. Rain, shine, or 90 degrees out, they’ll ask for a bowl. But serve this broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl and they act like it’s their birthday.
That’s really why I keep making it this way. It takes a soup they already love and turns a regular weeknight dinner into something worth remembering.
Key Ingredients
- Sharp cheddar: You’ve got to grate it yourself from a block. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking starch that keeps it from melting smoothly, and it’s the difference between a silky soup and a grainy one. Sharp cheddar brings the most flavor, too.
- Whole milk and half-and-half: Together they give you a rich, creamy base without needing heavy cream.
- Butter and flour: Cooked together, they make a roux that thickens the soup from the inside out.
- Nutmeg: My little secret here. Just a pinch adds a warm, cozy depth that makes people wonder what’s in it. Don’t skip it.
- Broccoli: Fresh heads cut into florets. The stems work too, just peel and chop them small so they cook through. (Want a lighter, cheese-free version? Try my brothier Broccoli Soup.)
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Melt the butter and cook the onion until soft.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple minutes to make a roux.
- Whisk in the milk and half-and-half, then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Stir in the broccoli, cover, and simmer until tender.
- Blend to your liking with an immersion blender.
- Stir in the broth to loosen it up, then add the cheese and stir until melted. Ladle into bread bowls and serve.
Smooth or Chunky? You Decide!
One of the best things about this soup is that you get to choose the texture. I use an immersion blender and give mine just a few pulses, so it stays mostly creamy with some tender bites of broccoli still in there. That’s my sweet spot.
Serving little kids? Blend it more, or all the way smooth. A smoother soup is an easier sell for anyone still warming up to broccoli, and it feels extra velvety in a bread bowl.
Want real, hearty chunks instead? Skip the blender and leave it as is. Whichever way you go, blend before you stir in the cheese.
And if you love a good broccoli and cheese combo, my Broccoli Cheddar Patties are another easy, kid-approved way to serve it.
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Storage and Reheating
- To store: Let the soup cool, then keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. Store any bread bowls separately so they don’t go soggy.
- To reheat: Warm it gently over low heat, stirring often. The trick with any cheese soup is to keep it from boiling, high heat can make the cheese break and turn grainy. Add a splash of milk or broth to loosen it as it warms.
- To freeze: This soup freezes well for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, then store it in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat gently over low heat, stirring in a splash of milk or broth to bring it back together.
More Soup Recipes
However you blend it, this broccoli cheese soup is the kind of cozy, comforting dinner my whole family comes running for. Ladle it into a bread bowl and watch everyone clean their plate, bowl included.
If you make it, leave a comment and rating below. I love hearing how it turns out for your family!
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Broccoli Cheese Soup in a Bread Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup half and half
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 bread loaves, for bowls (from a bakery or Trader Joe's)
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until soft.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion and whisk to combine. Cook the onion-flour mixture 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the milk and half-and-half, whisking constantly until smooth.
- Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Stir in the broccoli florets. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the broccoli is tender and soup is thickened, about 12 minutes.
- Blend to your liking with an immersion blender, anywhere from a few pulses to completely smooth. (Blend before adding the cheese.)
- Stir in the chicken broth and check the consistency. The soup should be thick; if it seems too thick, add a splash more broth.
- Add the cheese and stir until melted. Serve in bread bowls.
Video
Notes
- To serve in bread bowls: Use small, round crusty loaves (a boule or sourdough works well, from bakeries or Trader Joe’s). Slice off the top, pull out the center leaving about a 1-inch wall, and ladle in the hot soup. Save the torn-out bread for dipping. No bread bowls? Regular bowls work just as well.
- Grate your own cheese from a block. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking starch that keeps it from melting smoothly.
- Reheating: Warm gently over low heat, stirring often, and don’t let it boil. High heat can make the cheese break and turn grainy. Add a splash of milk or broth to loosen it.
- Make it vegetarian: use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.
My favorite recipe for both holidays is Broccoli Casserole. It has broccoli, cheese, rice and cream of mushroom soup. So simple but my mom knows she can’t have a holiday meal with out it!
We love to have wild rice/corn chowder as a first course.
Can’t get enough of the wonderful Pioneer Woman!
would love to win this! some of our favorite recipes are from ree!
My mother-in-law’s stuffing recipe is TO DIE FOR. I looooove it!!!!! I would love to win this book too!!
Our favorite holiday favorite is our peanut butter crunch cookies!
One jar of creamy Peanut Butter
One cup of sugar
One cup of clear Karo syrup
One cup of corn flakes (or more to your taste)
On medium heat cook down the sugar to a light bubble add the Karo and the Peanut Butter. Crunch up the corn flakes and add them to the peanut butter, sugar, and karo syrup. scoop out to your size liking on wax paper. Let them “dry” or get a little hard then eat them up!
Family favorite–chocolate meringue pie!!
I look forward to my MILs dressing every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yummmm!
I just love Pioneer Women…her show is definitely the best on Food Network!
All holidays in my family have to have my Pecan Nut Cups. Doesn’t matter if it is Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter, my kids have had them for 46 years, well 47 for my daughter as her brother was “almost” born the first time I made them! Now my youngest son makes sure he has them on our holiday meals menu as he and his wife have taken over from me. I just get to sit back and relax… FINALLY! LOL
THis may sound like bragging, but my family and I have always; loved my cornmeal dressing. Its really good
Favorite recipe is the strawberry shortcake! Love it, but this soup looks amazing and I plan on making it very soon.
My favorite Christmas recipe is my moms sausage egg casserole that she always made for Christmas morning. It’s not Christmas without that smell permeating the house.
I love your blog – and Pioneer Woman too!
One of our favorite recipes is Ribbon Salad.
Lime jello on the bottom.
Lemon jello with pineapple, cream cheese, etc in the middle.
Strawberry jello with strawberries on top.
Colorful and yummy!!!
I love herbal dressing and I live in the south where cornbread dressing
rules!!!!!!!!