Friday, November 13, 2009

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Comfort in a bowl. That is what this soup should be called. As Sugarcrafter, where I got the recipe, stated, I love the broccoli cheedar soup at Panera Bread. Not surprisingly, this soup was even better!

Since I was craving this soup, I made it as soon as I saw it in a bread bowl. Since I didn’t have a batch of bread dough sitting in the refrigerator and was very hungry, I just poured this soup in a bowl. I plan to make bread later, though. Then I can dip some warm, fresh bread into this cheesy, warm soup.
There was one missing step in the recipe on her site (adding in the garlic), so I added it in the recipe below. Also, it involves adding cardamom and nutmeg, but I didn't taste the spices at all. I also added a few shakes of hot sauce; next time I'll add more. Enjoy!
*Update* I made a bread bowl today for the leftovers of this delicious soup. It was really good. I used the bread for Artisan in Five's master's recipe. I apologize for the dark, blurry photo. I made it in a hurry.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
adapted from Sugarcrafter
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups chicken stock (I used bouillon cubes + boiling water)
  • 1/2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped
  • 1 cup carrot, shredded and chopped
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 4 ounces grated Colby jack cheese (I used Velveeta)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Hot Sauce (optional)
Sauté the onion (and garlic) in the butter over medium heat. Remove the onions (you can actually leave the onions in there) and add in the flour, stirring constantly. Add in the half and half, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to almost a boil.
Add the onions back in, along with the broccoli and carrots. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.
Season the soup with the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom. Stir in the cheeses (and you can play around with the amounts; use however much or little you like) and let simmer for 10 minutes longer before serving.
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39 comments:

  1. Glad you enjoyed the soup! What did you think was the missing step?

    (Also, I'm a girl.) :-)

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  2. Hi, Tracy! I didn't see when you were supposed to add in the garlic, so I added it in with the onions. Thanks for a great recipe!

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  3. Cross-posted too!

    Memoria – Ah yes, thanks for letting me know! I’ve updated the post. :-)

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  4. This is the second blog in the past half hour that I have visited that has broccoli cheddar soup on it. It must be a sign! I'm adding fresh broccoli to the grocery list. Oh, yes, and I'm totally intrigued with the addition of cardamom and nutmeg.
    ~ingrid

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  5. Memoria I love your shot of this beautiful soup. Broccoli cheese soup needs to go on my winter comfort food list now!

    Laura

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  6. Nice looking broccoli soup! I like that you did not puree all of the broccoli.

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  7. Okay, Mem, I think I can handle this one! It look so cheesy and fresh :o) Although I don't have any half and half, I am going to try this recipe right away! Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now! Bye!

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  8. Ingrid - I hope you do make it. I've been seeing all the other blogs with their broc cheddar soups, too. I didn't taste the cardamom and nutmeg, but I'm sure the spices added some goodness to this soup.

    Cooking photographer - Thanks for the compliment; I like the shots, too. It really was a good soup.

    Kevin - I actually didn't know that broccoli is typically puréed in this soup. I do prefer it whole, though. It's more chunky and substantial that way.

    Mom - Did you make it? I'm going to call you and find out.

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  9. Memoria, my daughter and I made this soup for lunch. Both of us as well as the twins really enjoyed it. I don't have an immersion blender so we just chopped the broccoli in small pieces. I could very faintly taste the warmth of the nutmeg and cardamom and will add a bit more next time. Yup, I'll be making this again!

    Thanks!
    ~ingrid

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  10. I made this recipe about a month ago, and we were having a new TV delivered while I was making it and the guys that delivered it thought it smelled so good they asked to try some. Lol. It was delicious. Actually, scratch that..It was AMAZING! I don't like broccoli as a rule, but when I had some of this "grown-up" broccoli and cheddar soup...Well, let's just say I've never wanted broccoli more! Wonderful recipe, looks beautiful, tastes beautiful and now I want to make more.
    The only difference is I used Old cheddar instead of sharp. Very, very good.

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  11. Anonymous - I'm glad this soup worked out so well for you!!! Did you let the delivery guys try some? haha Old cheddar sounds like a great addition to this dish. YUM!

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  12. I just finished eating my soup...delish! I changed the recipe quite a bit, to fit my needs.

    I had no half and half or cream to make it, so I used whole milk instead. To combat the loss of creaminess I used about a quarter cup more flour, less broth, and more veggies.

    I used some garlic salt instead of garlic cloves. I didn't have cardamon, so I edited the flavors by using a bit of nutmeg, some paprika and pepper instead.

    We used LOTS of cheddar cheese and then also some colby jack.

    After the entire soup has been made, instead of serving, I blended/pureed half of the soup, then added it back to the pot and mixed. It came out DELICIOUS and I will be using the recipe again!

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  13. I made a version of this soup, and it was delicious! I did the same as you, with keeping the onions in the pot, mostly because I thought it would be a major pain to try to fish them out while keeping the butter in. I think next time I might cook the onions separately - since the onions were in the soup the longest, the whole soup took on an onion-y flavor. Perfectly okay with me because I love onions! Thanks for the inspiration

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  14. I used vegetable stock instead, made it vegetarian but you need to add a bit more cheese for it.

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  15. I love broccoli cheddar soup! I made this and it was better than most soups I've bought, definitely a keeper!! I used a little less shredded cheese than the recipe called for.

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  16. Me encanta esta receta! y a mi esposo también. Muchas gracias por compartir! La encontré por Tip Junkie. Ahora sigo tu BLOG, estoy ansiosa de tratar otras recetas!
    Fara

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  17. I plan on making your soup for dinner sometime this week but I was just wondering approximately how many people it serves?
    Cassie

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  18. Broccoli cheese soup is one my favorites and I would love if you linked this recipe to my blog hop!
    http://theiowafarmerswife.blogspot.com/2011/05/vegetarian-recipes-blog-hop.html

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  19. My mouth is watering!! I love broccoli cheddar soup, thank you for sharing this recipe! I sent you some link love today: http://themombot.com/food/2011/09/16/link-love-recipes-im-dying-try

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  20. I made this for dinner tonight! Very tasty tasty! I love how versatile soup is. For example - we didn't have colby jack and I had planned on subbing in some gouda...only to find that my gouda was no good-ah (I just couldn't help myself). I ended up using all sharp cheddar and it was slamming! No chicken broth to be found, but I did have veggie broth, which was a-okay! I also didn't have the onion on hand, and was too lazy to mince the garlic; I ended up using dried onion flakes and garlic powder - didn't feel like I was missing out. Lastly, I forgot to put in the nutmeg, and my husband said he was glad (apparently he's not a fan of that spice - learn something new everyday right?) and it didn't feel like it was lacking. Actually, I didn't feel like this soup was missing anything. Thank you for sharing :)

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  21. I made your soup for dinner tonight. It was yummy. Thanks for sharing.

    http://makinglifewonderful.blogspot.com/2011/09/broccoli-cheddar-soup.html

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  22. Thanks for sharing, it was a hit here tonight!

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  23. This looks fantastic I can't wait to try it!

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  24. I saw this on Pinterest and immediately put it on my recipe board. I've been waiting for the weather to cool down to soup weather here in North Georgia, which it finally has. So it's broccoli cheddar soup for dinner tonight!

    Thanks for the recipe.

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  25. Made this for dinner and everyone loved it. I doubled the cheese (and used velveeta instead of colby) and added in 8 shakes of tabasco sauce. It was great!

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  26. Glad I found your recipe on Pinterest! We all enjoyed it. I also loved that it was quite easy to throw together. Thanks

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  27. This was delicious! Thanks for posting. My fiancee couldn't eat enough of it!

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  28. I enjoyed making the soup, but I think I may have cut the broccoli into too small of pieces and/or maybe the pieces dissolved smaller while I was prepping other ingredients and it was cooking. I'm really not sure how else to explain why it ended up being incredibly chunky instead of soupy (looking nothing like the amazing pictures above!) Any idea as to how to make the leftovers more "soupy"!?

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  29. Why, why, why do people insist on taking a perfectly good vegetarian recipe and add chicken stock? I'm going to substitute vegetable stock...

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  30. To the poster asking about how to make it less chunky, going to guess its because of the flour. Make sure that the flour is coated everything and is hot before adding the cold stock.

    Going to try this soup tonight! Cant wait!

    NMyers

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  31. wonderful soup! made it last night!

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  32. How many servings does this make? I can't wait to try it!

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  33. Wonderful soup! I found this on pinterest and am posting to let you know that I linked your page (with your original recipe) onto my blog :]

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  34. I just made this, love it! I made a couple changes...I sauteed carrots, celery, onion, and garlic, then pureed smooth in my blender with the chicken stock, then added to the roux, and added 2% milk. Used fresh broccoli and Old Cheddar. It was perfectly thick, cheesy and smooth. Will make forever, thank you! (Saw this on Pinterest)

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  35. petandpurr@gmail.comNov 8, 2012, 3:35:00 PM

    Made this last night and it was AMAZING!!! As always, I tweaked it a little. I used cauliflower as well as broccoli and I only used 1/2 the amount of Half & Half. This is a keeper!

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  36. I made this soup today and it was phenonemal. Thank you for posting it!! Truly one of the best sous I have ever made.

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  37. I followed the recipe exactly the first time. It was really good but the broccoli wasn't great. The 2nd time, I did everything the same except I steamed the broccoli separate from the soup, and then added that after the soup began to cool down. Came out almost perfect...especially the second day.

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  38. Thank you for the recipe. I followed the link for the bread bowls have a question- does the dough really need to sit in the fridge for two weeks before baking it?? Or does it mean it will last for up to two weeks??
    Thank you

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the refrigeration refers only to storage. You can also freeze the dough for up to 2 months. However, you are free to use the dough immediately after it has risen and proved properly. Enjoy!

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