If you’ve ever had Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup you know it’s thick, cheesy, and so delicious. So we set out to recreate this soup at home, and omgggg dare we say it’s even better than the OG?!
Don’t want to take our word for it? The ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews speak for themselves.
“I was soo stoked to see this recipe posted and it did not disappoint. Pretty simple to make. I used chicken bone broth for added protein and nutrition. Perfect texture and great flavor! Well done!” — Lennie
Where are my Panera fans at? This incredible broccoli cheddar soup recipe is for you and it tastes exactly like the one from Panera.
Serve it in a bread bowl or in a normal bowl with a slice of crusty bread!
- Our #1 tip for this soup is to use freshly grated cheddar cheese. That’s right, we suggest buying a block of yellow cheddar cheese and shredding it yourself. Why? We find that freshly shredded cheese melts and mixes so much better in this soup than pre-shredded cheese.
- #2 tip is to use a flour roux rather than cornstarch to thicken the soup: IMO, a roux tastes so much better than cornstarch and does the job to thicken it as well. We’ve tested the roux with AP flour, white whole wheat flour and GF 1:1 AP flour, and all work great.
Ingredients You Need
Great news! This recipe calls for basic, easy to find ingredients:
- Shredded cheddar cheese: the star of the show is freshly shredded cheddar cheese. The fresher the better. Make sure to buy a block and to shred your own cheese.
- Broccoli: this recipe calls for fresh broccoli. We only recommend using fresh broccoli, so make sure you don’t use frozen!
- Onion: onion is such a great soup starter flavor. It adds depth and savoriness. We used yellow onion, but white works, too.
- Chicken broth: technically any kind of broth works, but we love the flavor chicken broth adds to this Panera broccoli cheddar soup recipe.
- Carrots: matchstick carrots add another veggie into this soup, plus a pop of color.
- Flour: flour is used to help thicken this soup. No cornstarch needed!
- Milk: milk is used to thin the soup out a bit and to add volume.
Serving Recommendations
Did you know that Panera actually sells bread bowls in store?! Genius right? We highly recommend either eating this soup in a bread bowl or with bread on the side.
As my husband would say: “Something about the way the cheesiness tastes with the bread bowl is so much better than other soups.” Yes, that is a direct quote from him.
Otherwise, you can absolutely top this soup with something crunchy like:
- oyster crackers
- croutons
- goldfish
- saltines
Let your soup cool completely. Then, transfer it into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Unfortunately, we don’t recommend freezing this soup for later. The broccoli would likely get very mush.
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Heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add butter.
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When the butter is melted, add the onion and ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pot and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes.
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Add the broccoli, garlic powder, and another ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pot and sauté for 2-3 additional minutes.
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Pour the broth into the pot and bring to a boil.
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Turn the heat to low and carefully remove 1 cup of the broth from the pot and set aside.
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Add the carrots, black pepper and the rest of the salt to the pot and stir. Let the ingredients simmer over low heat.
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Next, add the 1 cup of broth removed from the pot to a medium bowl and whisk the flour into the broth. The mixture will thicken quickly.
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Pour the thickened broth back into the pot and whisk all the ingredients together.
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Add the milk to the pot and whisk.
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Turn heat to medium and let the soup simmer for 4-5 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and slowly add the shredded cheese to the pot. Consistently stir the cheese into the soup until it is completely incorporated.
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Let the soup simmer over low heat until it is thick and reaches desired temperature and consistency.
- Nutrition information does not include bread bowl.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”8iRuA0XD” upload-date=”2021-10-09T09:00:00.000Z” name=”Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup” description=”Try our homemade Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe for an easy soup dupe you can make in your own kitchen. “]
Calories: 444 kcal, Carbohydrates: 20 g, Protein: 23 g, Fat: 31 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 6 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
