Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup that’s packed with veggies and gut-healthy probiotics, while still being creamy, flavorful and delicious! The entire family will love this easy, vegetarian soup!
Jump to RecipeWho doesn’t love Broccoli Cheddar Soup?! It just hits the spot. But I noticed it can sometimes be a bit too heavy and ends up weighing me down, but this lightened-up version has all of the flavor of the classic version, but the benefits of being packed full of veggies like carrots and broccoli- and the addition of kefir gives it a wonderful light creaminess.
How to Properly Use Mise en Place
I always recommend preparing all of your ingredients before you start cooking, especially for a soup! This way, the whole process goes smoothly and you can actually enjoy the process of cooking.
There’s something so comforting about standing over the stove making a soup, and having all of your ingredients ready before you start cooking just makes it that much better.
For this Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup, you will want to measure out your ingredients like the flour, vegetable broth, seasonings and dairy so that they are ready to go.
Prepare your vegetables by dicing ½ white onion and mincing 4 garlic cloves. Set them aside until you’re ready to get cooking.
After washing and drying the broccoli and carrots, finely chop the head of broccoli. You will want to make sure it is very finely diced in order to get a creamy soup- but if you want it to be chunkier, you can dice the broccoli however you’d like.
The best way to prepare the carrots is to grate them. I like using a box grater like this one. By grating the carrots, you will get a very fine texture that will cook down, instead of chunks of carrots in the soup!
How to Make a Roux
A very important step in creamy soups is to make a roux. A roux is a mixture of butter and flour that will thicken the soup and give it a perfectly creamy texture!
To make the roux, you will just need 4 tbsp of butter and ¼ cup all-purpose flour. By melting the butter and then adding the flour, you will create a paste before adding the broth and stirring to combine into a wonderfully creamy soup base.
Why You Should Grate Your Own Cheese for Soups
While you have the box grater out, grate the cheddar cheese, too! I definitely recommend purchasing a block of cheese and grating it yourself instead of using pre-shredded cheese. This is because shredded cheese has additives in it to prevent clumping and sticking- which in turn make it less melty.
By using a block of cheese that you grate yourself, your cheese will melt into the soup just perfectly and add to the creaminess!
Keep in mind that since this is Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup, the cheese you buy will determine much of the flavor. My favorite cheese to use in this soup is Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese. So dang good!
Steps to Making Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
This Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup really is so good and so easy to make-
- Melt the butter in your pot and sauté the garlic and onion until fragrant
- Make your roux
- Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil
- Add your vegetables & seasonings and simmer
- Sprinkle in the grated cheese
- Slowly pour in the half & half and kefir
Did you make this soup?
If you made this soup, let me know below! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. If you’re looking for more delicious dinner recipes, you’ll love these:
- Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Skillet Kielbasa and Potatoes with Kale & Green Beans
- Kale Salad with Pan-Seared Salmon and Creamy Avocado Dressing
- One-Skillet Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Also, follow along on my Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy, easy recipe ideas!
Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 diced white onion
- 4 minced garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 12 oz (about 1 head) of chopped broccoli florets you can peel and then finely dice the stems too- they have so much flavor!
- 2 grated large carrots
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt add more to taste after adding the cheese
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 8 oz fresh grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup half & half
- 1 cup plain kefir
Instructions
- Melt 4 tbsp of butter in a large pot or dutch oven. When melted, add the onion & garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour in, stirring until onion and garlic are coated and mixture thickens.
- Pour in the vegetable broth. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the broccoli, carrots and seasonings. Bring back to a gentle boil, cover, and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- With heat on low, add the grated cheese in batches until it is melted.
- Taste to adjust salt & serve!
So good and easy to make!!!
Author
So glad you loved it! Thanks, Michelle!