This thick and creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup with potato is family-friendly and lick-the-bowl good – one of my most popular soup recipes!
Broccoli Cheese Soup with Potato
When I was a kid, broccoli and cheese was my favorite thing to eat. Whenever we had leftover broccoli, I would heat it up the next day with melted cheese. This easy broccoli cheese potato soup reminds me of those after-school meals I would make for myself. What are some of your favorite childhood soups? Comment below to let me know! Some other broccoli soup recipes I love are this Cream of Broccoli Soup and this Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Broccoli.
This Broccoli Cheese Soup, a one-pot meal ready in under 30 minutes, is pure comfort in a bowl. As the weather gets cooler, it’s the perfect soup to warm up, and leftovers are great to pack for lunch. Also, if you have picky kids or family members, I think they would love this soup!
Is broccoli soup healthy?
This healthy broccoli cheese potato soup is loaded with veggies and has 239 calories, 16 grams of protein, and more than three grams of fiber per serving. The protein from the cheese and milk makes it extra filling.
Can I use frozen broccoli instead of fresh for soup?
I always use fresh broccoli when making this dish, but frozen broccoli would also work. You don’t have to thaw it before adding it to the soup.
How to thicken broccoli cheese soup?
I do a few things to thicken this broccoli cheese soup:
- Potato: The potatoes help thicken the soup without adding any cream.
- Dairy: The reduced-fat cheese and skim milk add creaminess without many calories.
- Blending: Using the immersion blender to puree the soup thickens it. If you don’t have one, you can transfer the soup in batches to a regular blender and pulse. You want the soup to be a little chunky, not totally smooth.
Can you freeze broccoli cheese potato soup?
I don’t typically freeze dairy, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing this broccoli cheese soup. However, if you want to try, let me know in the comments how it worked. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for three days.
What to Serve with Broccoli Cheese Soup:
Bread ideas to serve with broccoli and cheese soup:
- I love soup and a salad with a piece of bread like toasted whole grain or sour dough as classic side.
- These garlic knots would be great as a side dish to dunk in the soup.
- These easy garlic and rosemary biscuits make a delicious side.
Meats that go with broccoli and cheese soup:
I grew up having soup as a starter before my protein. So many options work here! Here’s a few:
- Pickle Brined Baked Chicken Tenders
- Oven Fried Chicken
- Bacon Wrapped Air Fryer Chicken Breast
- Oven Fried Pork Chops
- Air Fryer Steak
Variations:
- Potatoes: Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes are good options. If you’re watching your carbs, you could try swapping the potatoes for cauliflower, but I think the flavor is better with potatoes.
- Cheese: If you don’t have American cheese slices, you can add more shredded cheddar.
- Gluten-Free Soup: Swap the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour or a tablespoon of arrowroot or corn starch.
- Vegetarian Broccoli Cheese Soup: Use vegetable broth instead of chicken.
How To Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
More Soup Recipes You May Enjoy:
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Turkey Chili Taco Soup
- Beef, Tomato and Acini Di Pepe Soup
- Baked Potato Soup
- Cream of Broccoli Soup
Your comments are helpful!! If you’ve tried this healthy Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe or any other recipe on Skinnytaste, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! And if you took some photos of video, share it with me on Instagram or Tiktok!
Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 medium carrot chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour AP, whole wheat or gluten-free flour
- 2 1/2 cups less sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 cup fat free milk
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced small
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt and fresh pepper
- 4 cups broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces about 2 heads
- 1-1/2 cups reduced fat shredded sharp cheddar
- 2 slices 2% cheddar or American cheese
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic in a chopper or mini food processor.
- In a large soup pot, melt butter. Add chopped vegetables and sauté on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add flour, salt and pepper to the pot and stir until smooth.
- Add chicken broth, milk and potatoes and set heat to high until it comes to a boil, then cover and cook on low until potatoes are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add broccoli florets, Parmesan cheese, and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered until broccoli is cooked, about 5 minutes.
- Add cheddar and American cheese, stir well and remove from heat.
- Using an immersion blender quickly blend part of the soup for a quick second or two. If you don't have an immersion blender, remove about 1-2 cups of potatoes and broccoli, place it in your chopper, then add it back to the soup. This helps thicken it a bit.
I made this for my lunches this week and it is truly amazing! I used 1 3/4 Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar and omitted the American Cheese. I also added about 3/4 tsp of curry powder with the other spices as I do for anything that involves broccoli and cheddar!
Fabulous. Lots of prep, but well worth it. Using the food processor is genius.
Made this recipe last night – I wish we had a volume (cups or grams/lbs) instead of 2 medium potatoes. I used 12 little creamer potatoes but I think it may not have been enough. Loved the idea of blending the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a chopper (or food processor) — reminded me I should do this more often. Very time saving.
Taste is okay and comes out a bit like baby foood. Good, but Im not sure we’ll remake.
Absolutely fantastic soup, easy and so flavorful. Only had full fat sharp cheddar so had to add the calories. Thanks Gina!
We were going out of town and I had a half a bag of baby carrots, half an onion, a ton of potato’s that were already cooked and broccoli I need to use! This was perfect! I didn’t have milk, but did have half a block of cream cheese that needed to be used, so I subbed that. I didn’t have American cheese or sharp cheddar, but I did have sliced medium cheddar. It was so good!!
Sooo good and just in time for fall! Thanks for recipe!
This soup is so yummy and easy!
Is the immersion blender supposed to pure the potatoes? They’re still chunky. They are cooked well and crumble with a fork to the touch!
This should be a chunky soup.
Made it and it was delicious! Although not a common “add”, I served it with chips for an extra crunch and yuummmmm.
Yummy! Made with 1 & 3/4 cup cheddar chesse (not low fat) no American cheese .My family really enjoyed it, even caught my husband licking the soup ladle, while cleaning up the kitchen! Will be making again soon.
😂😂😂😂
Just made this in the instant pot. Here is what I did: 1) I made the recipe with a few modifications—I omitted the American cheese, used two already baked potatoes that were leftovers in fridge, and increased broth to 4 cups. 2) I used the sauté function to cook onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. (I melted the butter and cooked the veggies in that just like if I did it in a Dutch oven for five minutes.) 3) Once veggies were soft I threw all ingredients in the instant pot EXCEPT Parmesan and shredded cheese. 4) Cooked soup for 6 minutes on high pressure then a natural release for about 20-25 minutes. I tried to do a quick release after five minutes and it just made a mess so I turned the spout back and just let it release naturally. 5) After pressure was released I opened the pot up and used my immersion blender to Purée the whole thing. THEN I added the two cheeses. They melted instantly. Just had my first cup……DELICIOUS!
Thanks for this. I was wondering if it could be made in an instant pot. I prefer to make soups in slow cookers or the instant pot. Worked really well!
Yes, thank you! I was about to cook on the stove but my large pots were in the dishwasher which is sooooo slow. Instant pot going now based on your notes!
Is this soup freezer friendly.?
I froze two leftover portions and it heated up very nicely. The dairy may separate, but comes together when re-heating.
This recipe looks great! Do you think it’s possible to do it without any flour? My boyfriend needs gluten-free but we don’t have any gluten-free flour on hand at the moment.
Thanks!
You can use arrow root powder as a gluten free option. That’s what we do.
I used some instant mashed potatoes I had on hand to thicken the soup after cooking down the veggies
Fun to make and delicious, whole family loved it! Thanks for this recipe!
What is AP?
All purpose.
It might sound silly but I am in awe of this soup. I made it spontaneously when I found out my sister and brother in law were coming over and I didn’t have enough dinner. It used ingredients we already had and it came together so quickly and tastes great!!
We love this soup! It is a very forgiving recipe. I sub some frozen cauliflower for one of the potatoes and use a 1lb bag of frozen broccoli to make it easy. 5 stars!
I made a double batch today. I doubled the milk and used a very good quality aged swiss slices instead of the American cheese. I added some chili flakes too. This soup is FABULOUS! I will definitely be making this again soon! Thank you Gina!
Is there a way I can do this in a slow cooker? If so for how long?
I just made this soup with a few modifications to lower points on green plan. I added an extra celery and carrot stalk, substituted cauliflower for potatoes (about 2 cups) and didn’t use any milk. I also added a bit more broth (used the whole box), used 2 tbsp of parmesan, and only 150grams of shredded cheddar cheese (no American cheese). It it absolutely delicious. I entered everything into my WW app and it’s 5SP on green when divided into 6 servings. My husband loves it too. Will definitely make it again!