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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.
Thanksgiving is all about family and food! Fav food is a tie between my husband’s grandmother’s corn bread casserole and pumpkin cake roll! As a kid though, I would eat my turkey and mashed potatoes with A1 sauce. I was a picky eater! 😉 Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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I think our favorite recipe would be Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. We make them for both Thanksgiving & Christmas and they are my Navy son’s favorite dish so I love to make them for his return home. We use heavy cream of course and an insane amount of Butter. Nothin’ better on earth!!! Amen!
We never have Thanksgiving without serving my grandmother’s 24 hour salad. This fruit salad is the first thing all my nieces, nephews and all the family asks if I prepared. It takes a little time but is truly both delicious and heartwarming from all the memories.
My favorite is turkey and stuffing. With just a touch of turkey gravely drizzled over it. The best
my grandmother’s homemade manicotti. we are italian and i know it sounds absurd to eat italian on thanksgiving, but i don’t remember a single thanksgiving we didn’t have lasagna or manicotti or stuffed shells (BEFORE THE TURKEY!!). love it and miss her homemade macaroni. we love you Nanny and know you’re in heaven watching over us!
I want to win! Love The PW.
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Homemade bread a few days before, let dry and make stuffing from it.
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My favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes are homemade cranberry sauce. Then for leftovers I add to the cranberry sauce some chopped onion and celery and use it for a spread in turkey wraps…delicious!
French toast casserole for brunch Christmas morning!
Has got to be my mom’s pumpkin pie and broccoli casserole. Not the same meal without them!
My most favorite dish at Thanksgiving is Rutabagas. My mom made them like mashed potatoes. They are so yummy and yet we only have them twice a year. Watch Ree every Saturday and liked her on FB. Love her recipes and her spirit. Showing her family chowing down on the great meals makes me miss my family. We always had the holidays at our home and I loved cooking and seeing their satisfied faces. Would love a cookbook. Thanks.
Ree is my kind of a cook, I don’t think I’ve seen anything that she’s made, that I wouldn’t enjoy on my table too.