Roasted Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Basil Belle

Borrowing from our homemade Roasted Broccoli recipe, this soup is filling, flavorful, and perfect for fall and winter weather. Besides, who doesn’t love creamy, cheesy soup that also contains veggies… then it’s healthy, right?

Fun fact: Southern Italian immigrants introduced Broccoli to the U.S. but it wasn’t popular until the 1920s! Thanks Wikipedia!

Back to the real reason you came here today:  How do I enjoy delicious broccoli cheddar soup without going to Panera everyday? Well here you go folks, an amazing soup that will also save you money.

Ingredients:

½ batch of our Roasted Broccoli
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
1 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (Don’t have this fresh? Use 1 tsp dried thyme.)
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup milk or cream
1 Tbs mustard powder (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

You’ll want to have a large stock pot on hand. I use a Calphalon 8-quart Stockpot especially if I double the recipe. A few things to note — Feel free to go half and half on the milk and cream if you want to make this a little lighter. You also don’t need to include the mustard powder but I find it rounds the soup out really nicely.

Roll up your sleeves:

1. Make a ½ batch of Roasted Broccoli
2. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add in the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, and then mix in the garlic and thyme.
3. Add broth and roasted broccoli to the pot, bring to a boil, and then reduce and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
4. Mix in milk, cheese, and mustard. Let the cheese melt and season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve and enjoy.

If you like chunkier soup, you’re done! For a pureed soup, toss this in the blender– be careful, it’s hot! And blend until content.  Serve and enjoy with some homemade French Bread! Serves 4.

Photos coming soon 🙂