Nothing beats homemade soup! True comfort food – a bowl of hot soup, especially on a cool fall or cold winter day, warms the tummy and the soul. This Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup fits that bill nicely.
I make lots of soups and, for my purposes, they have to be freezer-friendly. I have a large collection of single-serving plastic containers that I use to freeze my soups. Each is labelled and dated. Most days, I take a soup to work – I have the different varieties of soup I make all stacked on shelves in my large upright freezer. Each stack contains a selection of the different soups so I am not eating the same kind of soup two days in a row. My alarm clock rings at 4:50am and I am on the highway early and at work by 7:00am so I need healthy, nourishing lunches I can pull together quickly on my way out the door. Frozen soups are my lifesaver! I can pull together my lunch bag contents in under a minute – usually a frozen soup, a frozen pre-wrapped muffin, yogurt, and a couple of pieces of fruit. By noon, the soup has thawed and heats quickly, in my Corningware soup mug, in the microwave for a tasty, filling, and nutritious lunch.
This Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup is a favorite. With its velvety texture and soft green color, this soup is also packed full of flavourful and aromatic ingredients – leek, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, parsnip, potato, chicken broth, milk, cheese, and a carefully curated blend of spices for subtle seasoning.
This soup, like all good homemade soups, takes some time to make. The leeks, onions, celery, garlic, carrots, parsnips, and sliced broccoli stems get sautéed in butter and olive oil until the ingredients are fragrant and the onions transparent. Chicken broth is added along with the potatoes, broccoli florets, and seasonings. The veggies are cooked in the broth until they are soft. This method ensures that no nutrients are lost and nothing is poured down the drain. The recipe calls for 3 oz of leek. If leeks, which always seem to be sold in bundles of three, are not something you presently have other uses for (but my Potato Leek Soup, for example, would make good use of them….just sayin’) then, rather than buying a bundle of them for this recipe alone, substitute an additional half cup of chopped onion. The leeks do add a lovely layer of flavour to the Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup but, because of their expense, a substitution amount of onion is provided here. This half cup of onion would be in addition to the half cup called for in the recipe.
Broccoli is the primary ingredient in this soup and both florets and stems are used except for the big base stalk. The florets cook quickly but their stems can take longer and they can be difficult to get puréed. The more cooked the veggies are, the easier it will be to purée them and get a lovely smooth-textured soup. I have found that, if I use my small handheld mandolin to slice the broccoli stems all the way up to the florets, they cook better and faster. I slice them very thin – 1/16” thick.
The cooked vegetables need to be cooled before being puréed. I don’t like pouring hot mixtures into my blender jug. The mixture does not have to be completely cooled, but certainly cool enough to work with. I often set the stock pot in a sink of ice-cold water to flash cool the cooked vegetables so that the soup can be completed faster. Work in batches to purée the vegetables. Fill the jug of a blender with about a cup of the soup mixture to start then, when it is puréed, add another 1 – 1½ cups, never filling the jug more than half full. Purée the mixture until perfectly smooth. Transfer the puréed mixture to a clean stock pot. Continue with this process until all vegetables have been puréed.
This is a cream soup so, obviously, its texture is meant to be creamy. For this reason, I do not recommend fat-reduced milk be used in this recipe for Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup. Not only will it not have a velvety texture but, for freezing purposes, soups made with fat-reduced milk do not, in my opinion, have an appealing consistency nor appearance. I recommend using whole milk or even a combination of whole milk and cream. Cream soups are one food item in which I recommend “the really good stuff” be used. There are several steps and some time involved in making cream soup so the time and effort is worth using high quality ingredients. I like this soup fairly thick; however, if someone likes their Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup thinner consistency, additional milk may be added to achieve the desired consistency. The additional milk should be added by small amounts at a time as this soup is not meant to be watery and thin.
For this Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup, I thicken the milk separately and add it to the puréed vegetables at the end of the cooking process. To do this, use a small saucepan to melt some butter. Add the flour for thickening along with the milk, cooking this mixture until it is thickened before adding it to the puréed vegetable mixture. Once the soup mixture is heated (never boiling), add the grated cheese and heat the soup just until the cheese is melted. A medium-to-old cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded can be used for this soup. However, the soup will be more flavorful if a blend of melting cheeses, such as cheddar, mozzarella, and provolone is used. Today, there are a number of pre-shredded cheeses packaged in blends and my favorite for this soup is a mix of cheeses.
Garnish the soup with sour cream, shredded cheese, and fresh herbs, if desired.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Classic Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
1 medium-large head of broccoli (apx. 1½ lb)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 oz leek (white and light green parts only), sliced thin (about 1/8“ thick) [Note: ½ cup chopped onion may be substituted if leeks are not available]
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped
6 – 7 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup carrots, sliced thin
1/3 cup parsnip, sliced thin, about 1/16“ thick
1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced into ¼“cubes
¾ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp dried summer savory
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp dried dill
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Pinch cayenne
4 cups chicken stock
2-3 bay leaves
3 tbsp butter
½ cup minus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup cheddar cheese (or a blend of melting cheeses of choice, coarsely shredded
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2-3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Freshly ground pepper and fine sea salt, to taste
Method:
Remove broccoli stems from large thick base stalk. Discard stalk and break the broccoli head apart, leaving the long floret stems intact. Wash and drain broccoli well. Using a handheld mandolin, slice the broccoli stems thin, about 1/16” thick, all the way up to the florets. Break apart florets into smaller pieces so they will cook faster.
Melt butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add olive oil. Reduce heat slightly and add the leek, onion, celery, minced garlic cloves, carrots, parsnip, and sliced broccoli stems. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring briskly, until vegetables are fragrant and onion is transparent.
Add the potato, spices, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broccoli florets and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all vegetables are quite soft. Cool. Remove and discard bay leaves. Purée vegetables in blender until mixture is very smooth. Work in batches, starting with one cup of the mixture, puréeing it until smooth, then adding another 1 to 1½ cups, never filling the blender jug more than half full at a time. Transfer puréed mixture to clean stockpot.
In small saucepan, over medium heat, melt 3 tbsp butter. Sprinkle with the flour and stir vigorously for several seconds. Slowly whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture, ensuring there are no lumps. Stir mixture until it thickens then pour it into the pureed vegetables. Heat soup over medium heat but do not boil. Add the cheeses and stir until cheeses are melted. If soup is thicker than desired, add additional milk, small amounts at a time, to thin it to desired consistency. Lastly, add the parsley. Soup freezes well. Garnish as desired.
Yield: Apx. 10-12 servings (apx 1 cup per serving).
Notes:
To make this soup lactose-free, use lactose-free butter, milk, and cheese. To make the soup gluten-free, use same amount of gluten-free 1-to-1 flour to thicken the soup and ensure all other ingredients called for in the recipe are gluten free.
Classic Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large head of broccoli, apx. 1½ lb
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 oz leek, white and light green parts only, sliced thin (about 1/8“ thick) [Note: ½ cup chopped onion may be substituted if leeks are not available]
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ¼ cup celery, chopped
- 6 - 7 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup carrots, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup parsnip, sliced thin, about 1/16“ thick
- 1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced into ¼“cubes
- ¾ tsp dry mustard
- ½ tsp dried summer savory
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp dried dill
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- Pinch cayenne
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup minus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (or a blend of melting cheeses of choice), coarsely shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 2-3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- Freshly ground pepper and fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Remove broccoli stems from large thick base stalk. Discard stalk and break the broccoli head apart, leaving the long floret stems intact. Wash and drain broccoli well. Using a handheld mandolin, slice the broccoli stems thin, about 1/16” thick, all the way up to the florets. Break apart florets into smaller pieces so they will cook faster.
- Melt butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add olive oil. Reduce heat slightly and add the leek, onion, celery, minced garlic cloves, carrots, parsnip, and sliced broccoli stems. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring briskly, until vegetables are fragrant and onion is transparent.
- Add the potato, spices, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broccoli florets and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all vegetables are quite soft. Cool. Remove and discard bay leaves. Purée vegetables in blender until mixture is very smooth. Work in batches, starting with one cup of the mixture, puréeing it until smooth, then adding another 1 to 1½ cups, never filling the blender jug more than half full at a time. Transfer puréed mixture to clean stockpot.
- In small saucepan, over medium heat, melt 3 tbsp butter. Sprinkle with the flour and stir vigorously for several seconds. Slowly whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture, ensuring there are no lumps. Stir mixture until it thickens then pour it into the pureed vegetables. Heat soup over medium heat but do not boil. Add the cheeses and stir until cheeses are melted. If soup is thicker than desired, add additional milk, small amounts at a time, to thin it to desired consistency. Lastly, add the parsley. Soup freezes well. Garnish as desired.
Recipe Notes
To make this soup lactose-free, use lactose-free butter, milk, and cheese. To make the soup gluten-free, use same amount of gluten-free 1-to-1 flour to thicken the soup and ensure all other ingredients called for in the recipe are gluten free.
For other great soup, chowder, chili, and stock/broth recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:
SOUPS
Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup
Cream of Celery Soup
Ham Lentil Soup
Roasted Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Rich and Hearty Goulash Soup
PEI Potato Leek Soup
Cream of Winter Root Vegetable Soup
Cock-A-Leekie Soup
Roasted Cream of Asparagus Soup
Hamburger Soup
The Bistro’s Beefy Minestrone
Classic Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
CHOWDERS
PEI Lobster Chowder
PEI Mussel Chowder
Turkey Chowder
STOCKS/BROTH
Homemade Turkey Stock
Homemade Beef Stock
CHILI
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Chili
Chicken and Pumpkin Chili
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