Copycat Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

As you know, if you’ve followed this blog for a while, I’m a huge fan of soups. I’ve been known to crank down the air conditioned in the summer to make soup make sense!

One of my favorite soups is broccoli and cheddar and I think that Panera has some of the best I’ve had. Luckily for me, Pinterest is full of Panera copycat recipes so I looked at a bunch and created this version which is pretty darn perfect.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth, could use vegetable broth for meatless version
• 2 cups half and half
• 2 large bunches broccoli, cut/torn in small florets (gave me about 4 cups of small florets)
• 2 carrots, julienned into small sticks or 4 ounces of a 10-ounce bag of shredded carrots (what I use)
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp. each salt and pepper
• 8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, cook the onion in a tablespoon of butter until softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Set aside for later use.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining butter then incorporate the flour. Cook, whisking often, for 5 minutes – this is called a roux.
3. Add the broth and the half and half to the roux and whisk to fully combine. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add the cooked onions, the broccoli and the carrots to the soup and cook for 25 minutes over low heat, partially covered.
5. Add the nutmeg, salt, pepper and the cheddar. Stir until fully-combined then add half the soup to a blender. Purée for 2 minutes then return to the pot. The goal is to have a smooth soup with some florets intact. If you prefer a completely smooth soup – purée the whole thing, in batches.
6. I add about a tablespoon of grated cheese on my as “garnish”.

Serves 6.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2016-10-24 15:14:34

Serves 6

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup Copycat Recipe

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

1 hr

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

1 hr

Ingredients

1. • 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2. • 1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
3. • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
4. • 2 cups chicken broth
5. • 2 cups half and half
6. • 2 large bunches broccoli, cut/torn in small florets (gave me about 4 cups of small florets)
7. • 2 carrots, julienned into small sticks or 4 ounces of a 10-ounce bag of shredded carrots (what I use)
8. • ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
9. • ½ tsp. each salt and pepper
10. • 8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. 1. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, cook the onion in a tablespoon of butter until softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Set aside for later use.
2. 2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining butter then incorporate the flour. Cook, whisking often, for 5 minutes – this is called a roux.
3. 3. Add the broth and the half and half to the roux and whisk to fully combine. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
4. 4. Add the cooked onions, the broccoli and the carrots to the soup and cook for 25 minutes over low heat, partially covered.
5. 5. Add the nutmeg, salt, pepper and the cheddar. Stir until fully-combined then add half the soup to a blender. Purée for 2 minutes then return to the pot. The goal is to have a smooth soup with some florets intact. If you prefer a completely smooth soup – purée the whole thing, in batches.
6. 6. I add about a tablespoon of grated cheese on my as “garnish”.

By Veronique Deblois

Food & Wine Chickie Insider https://www.foodandwinechickie.com/

Veronique