Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup – warm and comforting, this soup is simply amazingly delicious, and filled with good for you veggies.
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Soup Weather
I made this soup one rainy day recently, and Dan made fresh bread. It was so nice that there was a chill in the air. Cool colder weather. I like to think of it as soup weather.
I’ve been trying to serve more broccoli around here lately. Broccoli is a great anti-inflammatory, and that should help with a little injury that’s happened.
I think food can help heal. So, when it was cold outside, I decided that broccoli soup sounded really good. And, I love the crock pot. It makes everything taste so good, and it’s so easy. The house smelled amazing too.
Use the stalks for this soup!
Don’t forget that the stalks of the broccoli are edible. You just want to peel or cut the tough outer skin off the stalk, and chop the tender center with the rest of the broccoli. It cooks up nicely, and tastes delicious. Dan didn’t even notice that I had put the stalks in the soup! bwa ha ha!
Mushrooms in a broccoli soup?
The addition of mushrooms to a broccoli cheese soup might seem a bit odd, but my mom used to make a broccoli rice casserole and she always used canned cream of mushroom soup.
So, when I thought of warm comforting broccoli soup, I thought of mushrooms. I chop them into really fine pieces, that way the husband doesn’t mind them being there. He likes the taste of mushroom, but not the texture.
You can chop the mushrooms by hand or in a food processor; either way works well. Just make sure they are nice and small, and they’ll practically melt into the soup adding their lovely taste.
Better than Bouillon
I use the Better than Bouillon vegetable base all the time around here. It tastes really good, lasts a long time, and is easy to use. You can buy it on Amazon through my affiliate link here.
If you don’t have any Better than Bouillon, you can still substitute your favorite broth or stock for the water/bouillon combination.
Milk of choice
Use the milk of your choice in the soup: cream or half and half will make a thicker richer soup that’s higher in calories; skim milk will make a thinner soup that’s lower in calories. I recommend cream for this soup; there really isn’t that much of it in the soup, and the richness it provides is amazing. You could even use a non-dairy plant-based milk like canned coconut milk (that would give a great thick soup), or almond milk.
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Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 cups water
- 3 teaspoons Better than Bouillon vegetable base paste
- 4 cups finely chopped broccoli florets and stalks included
- 1/3 cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup finely chopped mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon kosher Salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup heavy cream half & half, or milk of your choice
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the chopped onions, and sauté until they soften and start to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Slowly add the flour, stirring constantly, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add the water and broth paste, stirring constantly as you add. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Pour the soup into a large slow cooker, and add the chopped broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Cover and cook on high heat for 2 ½ - 3 hours or low heat for 6 hours, stirring a couple of times while it cooks.
- Turn heat off, and remove about 1 ½ to 2 cups of the cooked soup, and carefully (it will be hot) blend in a blender or with an immersion blender. Return blended soup to the crock pot. Slowly stir in cream, cheddar, and Parmesan. Taste for salt and pepper, and adjust seasonings if desired. Garnish with additional thyme, chopped broccoli, or Parmesan.
Notes
I made this the other day on the stove top because I had forgotten to pop it in the crock pot. It worked great. Simply follow the directions, and rather than moving it to the crock pot at the end of step 1. Leave it in the pan on the stove and cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until the veggies are soft. Continue following along with step 2.
Nutrition
Hello! This is perfect soup for the season. Thank you for sharing and have a pleasant day !
Broccoli soup seems to be the only way I can have broccoli!, and this recipe is much more flavourful than the one I usually make. I’ll be swapping recipes permanently now! THANKS!
This sounds delicious. I love cream of broccoli soup. I’ll need to use and alternate thickener that is gluten free. Homemade is so much better than from a can (no comparison, really.) The adding of the other vegetables and blend of cheese makes me wish I had this ready for lunch.
Oh you’re speaking my language now! I love broccoli cheese soup and your recipe is so easy – I can’t wait to make this…tonight, haha!
Wish I had a bowl of your soup right now. I’ve got a old and your broccoli soup looks like it could do the trick in making me feel a little more human- lol
So perfect for cold days!
One of my absolute favorite soups! LOVE this.
Such a beautiful soup and broccoli cheese is always favorite. Love that I can make it in the slow cooker!
This soup is gorgeous and it sounds so hearty and delicious!
I really, really need to make this!
Love broccoli cheese soup — this one looks great!!
I am on such a soup kick lately…and you KNOW how much I love my crock pot! This is a must try for sure!
I already brought out my second crock pot so I can get ready for soup season and I am certainly ready for this recipe!