One-Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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Broccoli cheddar soup is the only way I’ve found to get my kids to eat a full bowl of broccoli without a single complaint. It starts with a butter and flour roux, gets thinned out with broth and half-and-half, and finishes with 8 ounces of sharp cheddar stirred in off the heat. Everything happens in one pot and it’s ready in 45 minutes.

Adding the cheese off the heat is the whole trick. Cheddar breaks and turns grainy when it gets too hot, so pull the pot off the burner and stir the shreds in a handful at a time, letting each one melt before the next goes in. Shred it off a block while you’re at it. Bagged shredded cheese is coated in starch to keep the pieces from sticking together, and that coating is exactly what makes a cheese soup gritty.

I blend about half the pot with an immersion blender and leave the rest alone. That gives you a soup thick enough to coat a spoon with real bites of broccoli still floating in it. No immersion blender? A few passes with a potato masher gets you close enough, and it saves you from ladling hot soup into a countertop blender.

Why You’ll Love This Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

• One pot, start to finish. The roux, the simmer, and the cheese all happen in the same Dutch oven.
• Thick and genuinely creamy. Half-and-half plus a proper roux gives you a soup that coats the spoon instead of running off it.
• Sharp cheddar you can actually taste. Eight ounces of sharp cheddar melted in off the heat makes this taste like cheese, not like thickened milk.
• Broccoli that disappears into dinner. Even the picky eaters at my table clear the bowl.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Ingredients

Buy a block of sharp cheddar and grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is dusted with potato starch or cellulose so the shreds don’t clump in the bag, and that dust is the number one reason homemade cheese soups turn out grainy.

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 4 cups broccoli florets, chopped small (about 1 large head)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (about 2 medium)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded from a block (about 2 cups)
• Crusty bread, for serving

Recipe Variations

• Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth to make it vegetarian; everything else stays the same.
• Swap 4 oz of the cheddar for gruyere if you want a nuttier, slightly more grown-up flavor.
• Stir in 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken at the end to turn it into a full dinner instead of a starter.

How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup

1. Soften the onion: Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
2. Make the roux: Sprinkle the flour over the onion and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes. It will look like a thick paste and smell slightly nutty, which means the raw flour taste has cooked off.
3. Add the liquids slowly: Pour in the chicken broth a little at a time, whisking after each addition so no lumps form. Once it’s smooth, whisk in the half-and-half and bring it to a gentle simmer.
4. Simmer the vegetables: Stir in the broccoli florets and shredded carrots. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the broccoli is fork-tender and the soup has thickened noticeably.
5. Blend part of the pot: Use an immersion blender to blend about half the soup right in the pot, leaving plenty of broccoli pieces whole. Stop when it looks thick and creamy with texture still in it.
6. Melt in the cheddar: Take the pot completely off the heat. Stir in the shredded cheddar a handful at a time, waiting for each addition to melt before adding the next. This is the step that keeps broccoli cheddar soup smooth instead of grainy.
7. Season and serve: Stir in the dijon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust, then ladle into bowls and serve hot with crusty bread.

Recipe FAQs

Why Did My Broccoli Cheddar Soup Turn out Grainy?

Two usual causes: the pot was still on the heat when the cheese went in, or the cheese came pre-shredded. Pull the pot off the burner first and grate your cheddar from a block.

Can I Use Milk Instead of Half-And-Half?

Yes, though the soup will be noticeably thinner. Whole milk works best, and you can add an extra tablespoon of flour to the roux to make up some of the body.

Can I Use Frozen Broccoli?

You can. Add it straight from frozen and expect it to soften a few minutes faster than fresh, so start checking around 12 minutes.

Does This Soup Freeze?

Not well. Dairy-heavy soups separate and go grainy after thawing. It keeps beautifully in the fridge for 4 days, so make it for the week instead of the freezer.

Can I Make It in a Bread Bowl?

Yes, and it’s worth doing once. Hollow out a round sourdough loaf, leave about an inch of wall, and toast it at 350°F for 8 minutes before ladling the soup in so it holds up.

Cooking Tips

• Chop the broccoli small, around half-inch pieces. Big florets take longer to soften and make the soup awkward to eat with a spoon.
• Whisk the broth in gradually instead of dumping it all at once. Adding it slowly is what keeps the roux from seizing into lumps you’ll have to blend out later.
• Let the cheddar sit out while the soup simmers. Room-temperature cheese melts faster and more evenly than cheese straight from the fridge.

Storage and Freezing

To store: Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens as it sits.

To freeze: Freezing isn’t recommended. The half-and-half and melted cheddar separate once thawed and the texture never fully comes back.

To reheat: Warm gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring often, with a splash of broth or milk to loosen it. High heat will break the cheese.

How to Serve Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli cheddar soup is made for dunking, so a hunk of crusty bread or a sourdough boule turned into a bread bowl is the move. A simple green salad with apple and a sharp vinaigrette rounds it out into a full meal. This is one of the recipes in our August one-pot dinner collection, and more cozy soups like it are on the way.

Loved This Recipe?

Broccoli cheddar soup is the easiest way I know to make a pot of vegetables disappear before anyone thinks to complain.

Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.

One-Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli cheddar soup made in one pot with a butter roux, half-and-half, shredded carrots, and sharp cheddar melted in off the heat.

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Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:30 minutes mins

Total Time:45 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 4 cups broccoli florets chopped small, about 1 large head
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots about 2 medium
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded from a block, about 2 cups
• crusty bread for serving

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Instructions

• Soften the onion: Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
• Make the roux: Sprinkle the flour over the onion and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes. It will look like a thick paste and smell slightly nutty, which means the raw flour taste has cooked off.
• Add the liquids slowly: Pour in the chicken broth a little at a time, whisking after each addition so no lumps form. Once it’s smooth, whisk in the half-and-half and bring it to a gentle simmer.
• Simmer the vegetables: Stir in the broccoli florets and shredded carrots. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the broccoli is fork-tender and the soup has thickened noticeably.
• Blend part of the pot: Use an immersion blender to blend about half the soup right in the pot, leaving plenty of broccoli pieces whole. Stop when it looks thick and creamy with texture still in it.
• Melt in the cheddar: Take the pot completely off the heat. Stir in the shredded cheddar a handful at a time, waiting for each addition to melt before adding the next. This is the step that keeps broccoli cheddar soup smooth instead of grainy.
• Season and serve: Stir in the dijon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust, then ladle into bowls and serve hot with crusty bread.

Notes

Pull the pot completely off the heat before stirring in the cheddar, a handful at a time, so the cheese melts smooth instead of breaking into grainy curds. Simmer until the broccoli is fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes, and grate the cheddar from a block rather than using pre-shredded.