Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

The student union at App had a restaurant upstairs called McAlisters. It’s a regular chain deli, but that particular one took my magical meal card.

(Can we all pour a little out in memory of those magical little cards? And also? Thanks parents. You had us so fooled into believing we were making it on our own. Joke was on us!)

Anyway. I only had classes on Tuesday and Thursday because I was a crazy person who worked full-time on top of a full course load. But every Tuesday & Thursday, you would find me and my then boyfriend, this really funny guy named Jonathan (Jokes again. He’s my husband now), ordering their broccoli and cheddar soup in a bread bowl.

Bread bowls are actually magic. Just saying.

It’s been a seriously hot minute since I’ve indulged in the cheesy, creamy goodness. So when Jonathan mentioned that he was really craving some on Sunday, the sensible adult inside of me figured our money was better spent buying the ingredients then dropping $10+ for two bowls of soup at a restaurant.

Damn adulthood. ::insert eye rolling emoji here::

I’m a pretty decent cook (when you ignore the fact that I’ve set four kitchen fires in the last 6 years). But I rely heavily on recipes. I got a little wild on Sunday and threw caution to the wind. I went to the grocery store without a list and without consulting a recipe.

I know. Wild looks a little different at 30.

By some cosmic twist of fate, I made the best dang batch of broccoli cheddar soup we’ve ever eaten. I know we’re all adults here, so I don’t actually have to tell you that a meal composed primarily of cheese and heavy cream is in no way healthy. No matter how much broccoli you dump in. But if you’re looking for a little comfort these chilly winter nights (just kidding, it’s currently 72 degrees at 9PM in Charlotte ::insert eye rolling emoji here again::), here you go.

Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Yields about 10 bowls. I wanted a big batch. Feel free to adjust the recipe as desired.

What you’ll need:

• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 48 oz Chicken Stock (it’d probably be fine to use just 32 oz if you only have one box, I was trying to use up what was in my fridge)
• 1/3 of an onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1.5-2 heads of broccoli cut up to your desired size. I like it cut up pretty small. I included the stalk, too.
• Salt to taste

What you do:

1. Melt the butter on medium high heat in a large pot (I used a 6 qt pot). Once the butter is melted, add the onion and garlic. Sauté until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the chicken stock.
3. Stir in the whipping cream.
4. Add the broccoli and let the mixture come to a gentle boil.
5. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked.
6. SLOWLY, did you hear me there? SLOWLY stir in the cheese. Add in a little at a time, stirring until the cheese is completely incorporated into the broth.
7. Salt to taste.
8. Serve & enjoy. Bonus points if you serve it in a bread bowl. Just sayin’.

Note: I would recommend adding equal parts flour to the butter (two tbsp) to create a nice rue before adding the chicken broth (that you would then need to add in very slowly). My husband is currently doing low-carb, so I didn’t use any flour to keep the carb count down. As a carb eater myself, I didn’t miss the rue.

The husband has made it very clear that this needs to make it’s way into our regular rotation. It’s so cheap to make, and just so dang good! I’m sold!