Thick and creamy loaded broccoli potato cheese soup is full of delicious vegetables and delicious seasonings.
If you love flavorful soups then you’ll definitely love loaded broccoli potato soup! Rolls or French Bread are perfect for sopping up the savory sauce.
BEST Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup
Soups are an obsession this time of year! I make them so often that you could almost call it a hobby. I think I enjoy them so much because they remind me of weather cooling down and holidays approaching.
It wasn’t too long ago that I spotted a recipe on Pinterest from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe that I knew I had to try. It’s called Loaded Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup. The name alone makes you want to try it, right?! I knew that if it was anything like our classic Broccoli Cheese Soup, but with bacon and potatoes, then it would be amazing!
When you know it has broccoli, cheese and potatoes you know it’s going to taste great and let me tell you – IT DID!! It was so hearty and delicious that I think the hubby sneaked a few bowls. I may have too. 😉
The soup ends up pretty thick making it almost a chowder, but it can be made more soup-y by adding more broth or milk, which is how we prefer it.
How Do You Make Broccoli Potato Soup
You wouldn’t believe how fast this broccoli cheddar potato soup is to make. Even with all the ingredients it has, it cooks in less than 30 minutes. Of course, you do have to do some veggie chopping beforehand, so I’d say total it takes about 40 minutes. WORTH IT!
SIMMER. To make the soup, begin by combining the chicken broth, carrots potatoes and onion powder. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add broccoli, cover, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
THICKEN. While that’s simmering, melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Whisk in the flour and cook for another minute (or until golden brown). Whisk in milk and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
SEASON + SERVE. Add cheese and stir until it is all melted. Add salt and garlic pepper. Pour cheese sauce into the large pot and stir until well combined. Add more milk for a thinner consistency and add any additional salt and pepper needed. Top with bacon pieces, sour cream and/or chives and you’ll be in heaven!
Tips + Storing Info
We definitely recommend using fresh broccoli, you can use frozen broccoli in this recipe. You can either give the frozen broccoli a quick steam before adding or toss the frozen florets in with the chicken broth on STEP 1. This will be boiled and will help soften the broccoli.
Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes are a good option for soups because they hold their shape well during this cooking procedure. You can really use any type of potatoes you have on hand, but be aware that they may start to become “mealy”.
Cheese Sauce: Substitute 3 tbsp butter for 3 tbsp bacon grease. Or use a combination of both that would equal 3 tbsp. Adding in the cheese slowly should help yield a smooth soup consistency.
Texture: You can easily use an immersion blender to make this more of a creamy texture than a stew texture. If you cook it fully and then take an immersion blender and gradually pulse it through the soup it should get rid of all the chunks. Just make sure you remove the bay leaves before you blend it all up.
- Add heavy cream or half and half instead of milk for a creamier soup
- Thin it out with extra broth or water
To FREEZE this broccoli soup, store in airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags and store for up to 1 month. To cook, let the soup thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat the soup carefully over a low to medium heat, whisking frequently and stirring well.
For more potato soup recipes, check out:
Loaded Broccoli Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
- 2-3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 4 medium potatoes peeled and cubed into small pieces
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 small heads broccoli washed and diced small
- 3 tbsp butter
- ⅓ cup flour
- 3 ½ cups milk
- 4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic pepper
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot combine chicken broth, carrots potatoes and onion powder. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add broccoli, cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
- While simmering, melt butter in a large sauce pan. Whisk in the flour and cook for another minute (or until golden brown). Whisk in milk and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add cheese and stir until it is all melted. Add salt and garlic pepper. Pour cheese sauce into the large pot and stir until well combined.
- Add more milk for a thinner consistency and add any additional salt and pepper needed. Top with bacon pieces.
- Serve warm.
Video
Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
Head to Mel’s Kitchen Cafe for more great recipes – she has loads of them!
We added some frozen veggies and onion and celery with some roasted garlic bullion. That made the taste better. We also lowered the milk to 2 3/4 Cups of milk instead of 3 1/2
Sounds like some tasty adaptations. Glad you enjoyed the soup!
Just made this recipe for meal prep for the week and gosh is it delicious! I used frozen broccoli and tossed it in at the beginning with the potatoes and carrots and used almond milk since that’s all I had and they turned out great! I also cut the recipe in half since it’s just me and it still turned out perfect. Can’t recommend this enough!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup. Thanks for sharing what you did too!