Broccoli Cheddar Soup Loaded With Vegetables

This Broccoli Cheddar Soup is loaded with all kinds of vegetable goodness. And there’s bacon! The soup is cheesy, creamy, and all from scratch. What’s not to love?!

Soup.

Soup.

Soup.

It’s time to bring on all the soup recipes!!

The temps have been chillier than normal for the first week of October. The sky’s been overcast, drab and oh-so-very-dreary. Plus our daylight hours are just plain shrinking away from us. I’ve been craving all the comfort foods. AND my pj’s and big fuzzy socks, as soon as the supper table is cleared each evening.

Every year, I grow to love our Soups, Stews & Chilis recipe archives more and more. It’s so hard to pick favorites, but my Chicken Wild Rice Soup, Lasagna Soup, and Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew are the most visited of these recipes, according to readers. If Hungarian Goulash, Crab Bisque, and Smoked Turkey Pot Pie Soup sound good…these also continuously get great reviews.

You are going to LOVE this latest recipe. I call it Broccoli Cheddar Soup Loaded with Vegetables, because it’s no ordinary broccoli cheese soup. Oh no. It has more vegetables than I’ve ever seen in a broccoli cheddar soup, plus an extra good helping of sharp cheddar to put it over the top. Even our oldest daughter >>> who is not a soup fan <<< asks for seconds!

* Thank you to Vitamix® for sending me the blender featured in this post, to create this soup.

The Best Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I’ve always liked a good cheesy broccoli soup.

But I’m picky.

It canNOT be gloppy, like a big bowl of melted Cheez Whiz. You know what I mean, right? I’ve encountered that kind far too many times. Which is probably part of the reason I quit ordering it at restaurants.

It also canNOT be bland, with wimpy cheese flavor. For me and my family, sharp cheddar is where it’s at.

So last year, during soup season, I decided to work on my own broccoli cheddar soup recipe. I ran out of time to get it perfected before the spring weather (finally) burst forth. But I vowed to get right back on it as soon as the leaves started falling.

When I said this soup is loaded with vegetables, I meant it.

Not only will you find the obvious broccoli here, but also cauliflower, onion, potatoes, and carrots. There’s so much goodness going on!

How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup

First, gently boil chunks of russet potato and cauliflower florets in chicken broth. When the veggies are softened, transfer all of it to a powerful blender. I highly recommend a Vitamix blender, such as this Professional Series 750.

*** Don’t miss your chance to WIN A VITAMIX BLENDER! I’m hosting a giveaway, with a Professional Series 750 prize >>> just look for my Broccoli Cheddar Soup post on Instagram and enter there! (Giveaway ends Friday, October 12th at noon.)

This blender continues to amaze me every single time I use it. There is so. much. power. It blends the potatoes and cauliflower into the silkiest consistency. Fast. And there’s not one bit of graininess to it.

The potato and cauliflower mixture somewhat “melts” into the rest of this broccoli cheese soup recipe. It adds natural thickening power, extra flavor, and good-for-you nutrients…in a super secretive way.

I also want to share about how much we like the Personal Cup Adapter and the personal size blending cups. The Vitamix is so easy (and fun!) to use, that our daughters can now regularly be seen making their own smoothies. They especially like using this cup adapter, where they can customize exactly what goes into their own individual-sized smoothie, and then cap it off with a spill-proof lid. Off they go!

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe with Bacon

You may have picked up on this already, but there’s also bacon. I love the smoky quality it gives to this soup. The bacon plays extremely well with all the vegetables and sharp cheddar. It’s so very right.

But…if you’d like to keep this recipe in the vegetarian realm, I’ve included directions for omitting the bacon.

My “perfect” broccoli and cheese soup always includes a bit of chunkiness. I do not like it when the broccoli is blitzed to oblivion, giving the cheesy soup a one-dimensional texture and obvious all-over green hue.

So I only whirl about half of the mixture of cooked broccoli, carrots, and onion in the Vitamix. The rest stays perfectly chunky.

Like so.

To finish off the soup, all that’s needed is some sharp cheddar. Or should I say ALOT of sharp cheddar?!

I’m pretty sure this is the very reason that Hatti finds this broccoli and cheddar soup especially alluring. There are so many great flavors going on with each spoonful, but the cheese does have a slight edge.

I can’t even tell you how fast this soup disappears around here. I have quickly learned to just double the recipe.

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup Loaded With Vegetables

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

You'll love all the vegetable goodness in this cheesy, creamy soup. And did you see there's bacon?!

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Ingredients

• 6 slices thick bacon
• 5 c. low-sodium chicken broth divided
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-1/2" pieces
• 2 c. 1"-sized cauliflower florets
• 4 T. unsalted butter
• 1 c. small-diced yellow onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. half and half
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 c. small-chopped broccoli florets (no stems)
• 1 c.  1/4"-diced carrots
• 12 oz. coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (use the big round-ish holes on a box grater), plus more for garnish
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste

Instructions

1. In a large heavy pot over medium heat, fry the bacon until chewy-crisp. Set bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to cool, and then crumble or chop into small pieces.
2. While bacon is frying, place a medium saucepan on another burner. Add 3 cups of the chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn heat down to medium-high. Carefully add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes more. When both the potatoes and cauliflower are fork tender, remove saucepan from heat. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, to cool just a bit. Then transfer to the container of a powerful blender and puree until silky smooth. Pour mixture back into saucepan. No need to wash the blender container - you'll use it one more time yet!
3. Remove all but two tablespoons of bacon fat from the large pot, and then add the butter. Return the pot to medium heat. Once butter is melted, add onion and garlic, stirring occasionally until onion is nicely softened. Stir in flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then slowly whisk in the half and half until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until slightly thickened. This should take 10 minutes or so.
4. Add broccoli and carrots to the broth mixture in the large pot. Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until broccoli and carrots are tender. Remove bay leaf. Ladle half of soup mixture into blender container and blend until smooth. Add blended mixture back to the large pot, along with the pureed potatoes and cauliflower mixture. Add cheese and black pepper, and stir until cheese is completely melted. Now taste the soup and add kosher salt as you like.
5. Serve in bowls, garnished with bacon pieces and a sprinkling of grated sharp cheddar.

Notes

** If omitting bacon, simply add two more tablespoons of butter (6 tablespoons total) when sauteeing the onion and garlic.

from a farmgirl's dabbles

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 371

Did you make this recipe?

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Here are a few more soup recipes you might like: Easy Weeknight Tortellini Soup from Fifteen Spatulas, Beef Stroganoff Soup from Belly Full, and Low-Carb Turkey Soup with Zucchini Noodles from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Enjoy!

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Thank you to Vitamix for sending me the blender featured in this post and for providing another one as a giveaway prize.