Broccoli Potato Soup

This creamy, hearty Broccoli Potato Soup is loaded with crisp-tender broccoli, golden buttery potatoes, and even more veggies. On a cold, drizzly day, there’s nothing like enjoying this soup served in a crusty sourdough bread bowl or with dinner rolls for dipping!

Broccoli Potato Soup

This creamy, warming soup is exactly what a cold day calls for! It’s thick, hearty, and total comfort food.

This soup is loaded with veggies, a creamy broth, and lots of cheese. We also grab a little extra cheese to add on top. 🙂

A steamy mug or bowl of Broccoli Potato Soup is the perfect antidote to chilly, drizzly wintery days. And to me, the ultimate way of serving this soup is in a carved-out bread bowl. 

Broccoli Potato Soup Shortcuts

This soup recipe requires a bit of chopping, but below I’ve got a few short-cut ideas to help save some time in the kitchen.

• Pick up mirepoix (also called soup starter at some stores). Most stores sell pre-chopped mirepoix (a French phrase for diced onion, carrot, and celery) in the produce section. If you’re in a hurry, grab that fresh-chopped mirepoix or you can even use frozen mirepoix–found near other frozen veggies in the store.
• Use jarred garlic or a garlic press. Instead of mincing your own garlic, you can use jarred to save time. Alternatively, a garlic press gives you fresh-minced garlic in a fraction of the time that hand mincing requires.
• If you have a food processor with a grating attachment, you can have freshly grated cheese in a flash!
• Blast some music and chop everything at once. I know this doesn’t seem like a shortcut, but somehow it is. When I’m dancing around the kitchen, time seems to pass by faster!

Variation Ideas

• Top the soup with cooked bacon. To avoid dirtying another pot, dice up and then cook the bacon in the pot before beginning the soup.
• We love this Broccoli Potato Soup chunky and thick, but feel free to increase the broth or milk in the recipe to make it a bit thinner. 
• Make this soup vegetarian by using vegetable stock in place of chicken stock. You may want to slightly increase the seasonings with this change.
• Top this soup with more cheese! We love some extra-sharp Cheddar cheese sprinkled on individual bowls.
• Swap out the potatoes. Although we prefer baby gold or Yukon gold potatoes (see quick tip” section below), red potatoes or russet potatoes can be swapped in. You’ll want to peel russet potatoes if using those.

QUICK TIP

We love the creamy, tender, and buttery flavor Yukon golds deliver. Their skin is thin and delicate, so you really don’t need to peel them first. Learn a bit about what makes this type of potato so special in this article!

Broccoli Potato Soup Tips

• Make sure to dice the potatoes into small pieces (1/2-inch) so they can cook through in the indicated time listed in the recipe. Larger potato chunks will need to simmer a lot longer and will further reduce the broth.
• Chop the broccoli finely. The finer the broccoli is chopped, the quicker it will become tender and the better the soup tastes. It’s much more enjoyable to eat this soup with tiny pieces of broccoli instead of large florets.
• Cut veggies generally the same size for even cooking; if some pieces are a lot larger than others you’ll have some mushy and some crisp veggies in this soup.
• For the ultimate thick and creamy soup, make sure to use whole milk, not a milk substitute or lower-fat milk.

QUICK TIP

Cheese for lactose-intolerant folks? Many times, people find they can eat lactose in small doses, but as it accumulates in their system, symptoms return. Tolerance levels vary from person to person, but many people can still eat cheese if they choose carefully. Hard, aged cheeses like Swiss, Parmesan, and Cheddar are lower in lactose. Soft and semi-soft cheeses like ricotta and cream cheese, are higher in lactose. Always discuss your condition with your doctor before making changes to your diet.

Broccoli Potato Soup Tips, Continued

• I recommend freshly grated cheese; pre-grated cheese has a cellulose coating that results in a greasier/clumpier soup that can turn grainy. You’ll also want to make sure to use a sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar cheese–this makes a big difference to the overall flavor. Plain Cheddar cheese will leave the soup tasting flat.
• Seasoning as you cook. Seasoning every part of the soup with salt and pepper helps the flavors permeate the soup. I’ve included my recommendations for adding salt and pepper to each step of this soup, but add to your personal preference. If the soup tastes flat, it may just need a pinch more of salt and/or pepper. Note that not all salts will season the same (you’ll need more or less depending on the salt used). I use fine sea salt in this recipe.
• The better the quality stock used, the better this soup will taste. Bonus points for homemade stock, but a good store-bought stock will also reward you with a deeply flavorful soup.

Freezing This Soup

Leftover Broccoli Potato Soup can be refrigerated for 3-4 days, but I don’t recommend freezing it, because of the milk and cheese in it. The milk solids will separate as the soup thaws, resulting in a grainy texture that often separates.

Reheating This Soup

Reheating a creamy soup made can be tricky; we want to avoid separation and a grainy texture. To reheat, add the leftover Broccoli Potato Soup to a pot and slowly increase the heat while stirring frequently. Don’t boil the soup or reheat it at a high temperature; this will likely cause the ingredients to separate.

More Soup Recipes:

• Chicken Parmesan Soup– in just 20 minutes!
• Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup—hearty and rich
• Butternut Squash Soup—vegetarian and velvety
• Stuffed Pepper Soup–hearty and filling
• Lentil Soup—a classic meal

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Broccoli Potato Soup

5 from 8 votes

- Review this recipe

This creamy, hearty Broccoli Potato Soup is loaded with crisp-tender broccoli, golden buttery potatoes, and even more veggies. On a cold day, there's nothing like enjoying this soup served in a crusty sourdough bread bowl or with dinner rolls to dip in it!

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Broccoli Potato Soup

5 from 8 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

This creamy, hearty Broccoli Potato Soup is loaded with crisp-tender broccoli, golden buttery potatoes, and even more veggies. On a cold day, there's nothing like enjoying this soup served in a crusty sourdough bread bowl or with dinner rolls to dip in it!

Course Soup, Vegetarian

Cuisine American

Keyword broccoli potato soup

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 767kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $6.41

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• ▢ 3 cups mirepoix (celery, carrots, onion) (See Note 1)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic ~4 cloves
• ▢ 3 cups diced potatoes baby (Yukon) gold
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon EACH: ground mustard, paprika
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper optional
• ▢ Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock for vegetarian
• ▢ 3 cups finely chopped broccoli florets (~2 large heads)
• ▢ 1/3 cup flour
• ▢ 3 cups whole milk
• ▢ 2 cups (8 oz.) freshly grated sharp (or extra-sharp) Cheddar cheese
• ▢ Optional: additional cheese for topping, crusty bread/rolls for dipping or bread bowls for serving, fresh chives

US - Metric

USMetric

Instructions

• SAUTE VEGGIES: In a large pot over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons (28.4g) of the butter. Add diced mirepoix (carrots, celery and onion) and season with a tiny pinch (1/8 teaspoon) of salt and pepper. Sauté 7-9 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds longer.
• SEASONINGS, POTATOES, and BROTH: Add in the diced potatoes, and seasonings: 1/4 teaspoon thyme, 3/4 teaspoon paprika, 3/4 teaspoon ground mustard, scant 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and more salt and pepper to taste. (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.) Sauté for 2 minutes, still over medium heat. Pour in the 4 cups chicken stock and increase the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and rapidly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are mostly tender. Stir in the 3 cups finely chopped broccoli and sauté for 4-5 more minutes or until all veggies are tender (fork easily pierces potatoes).
• MILK MIXTURE: Meanwhile, in a separate medium-sized pot, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons (56.7g) butter over medium heat. Once melted, add in flour and cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add in the milk. Briskly whisk until no lumps remain and the mixture thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper here.) Cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens; stir into the soup when the veggies are all tender.
• ADD CHEESE: Stir milk mixture into soup over low heat. Turn off the heat and then add in the Cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Season a final time with salt and pepper (taste and adjust to personal preference). I add another 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• SERVE: Use a soup ladle to serve up soup, either in bread bowls or regular bowls and top with fresh chives if desired. If not serving in a bread bowl, serve with crusty bread or rolls and enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Mirepoix:  You can make your own mirepoix by mincing 1 cup of each veggie: yellow onion, celery, carrots. This is approximately 1 small yellow onion, diced (1 cup; 138g), 3-4 stalks celery, diced (1 cup; 110g), and 2-4 large carrots, diced (1 cup; 127g).

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 767kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 874mg | Potassium: 1295mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 2148IU | Vitamin C: 134mg | Calcium: 788mg | Iron: 3mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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