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Thick and creamy broccoli cheddar potato soup is packed with veggies and flavor for a hearty favorite in under an hour!
A Family Favorite Soup
Soups are an obsession in our house! We make them so often you could practically call it a hobby. One we make A LOT is this creamy broccoli cheddar potato soup.
This hearty variation is similar to our classic Broccoli Cheese Soup but with the addition of bacon and potatoes making it even more amazing!
It’s so hearty (packed with veggies) and full of flavor. This soup ends up pretty thick making it almost a chowder. It can be made soupier by adding more broth or milk, which is how we prefer it. Either way, we know you’ll LOVE it!
Rolls or French Bread are perfect for enjoying with your hearty soup.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Packed with veggies. This easy soup is not only delicious and filling it is packed full of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and Iron.
- So creamy. Velvety and delicious, this soup is thick and creamy – a stick-to-your-bones kind of dish.
- Great for weeknights! From start to finish, this is on the table in under an hour, perfect for any night.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 30 minutes
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth – or chicken stock or vegetable broth
- 4 medium potatoes peeled and cubed – We used Russet potatoes but Yukon Golds work as well. See Types of Potatoes and When to Use Them for more info.
- 2-3 large carrots diced – Peel and dice into coins.
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 small heads broccoli diced small – or thaw frozen broccoli. Two small heads produce about 4-5 cups of florets.
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter – or use bacon grease
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour – see How to Make a Roux
- 3½ cups milk plus more as needed – We use whole milk or 2% milk. For a creamier soup use heavy cream of half and half. For a thinner soup, lower-fat milk can be used.
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese plus more for topping (optional) – use mild or sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic pepper
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped – Use turkey bacon or even omit the bacon. See Bacon in the Oven.
How To Make Broccoli Potato Cheddar Soup
- SIMMER. In a large pot, add 2 cans of chicken broth, 4 cubed potatoes, 2-3 diced carrots, and 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add 2 small heads of broccoli florets, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. The vegetables should be fork-tender.
- THICKEN. While that’s simmering, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in ⅓ cup flour and cook for another minute, until golden brown. Whisk in 3 ½ cups milk, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Use a fork or immersion blender to mash up some of the potatoes, making the soup even creamier.
- SEASON. Add 4 cups shredded cheese and stir until it is all melted. Add 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon garlic pepper. Pour cheese sauce into the soup pot and stir until well combined.
- SERVE. Add more milk for a thinner consistency and add any additional salt and pepper needed. Top with 6 sliced cooked crumbed bacon and extra cheese (if desired) and you’ll be in heaven!
Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2-3 large carrots, diced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 small heads broccoli, diced small
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3½ cups milk, plus more as needed
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic pepper
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, add broth, potatoes, carrots, and onion powder and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add broccoli, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook for another minute, until golden brown. Whisk in milk, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Add cheese and stir until it is all melted. Add salt and garlic pepper. Pour cheese sauce into the soup pot and stir until well combined.
- Add more milk if you like a thinner consistency, and season with additional salt and garlic pepper to taste.
- Top with bacon pieces and extra cheese, if desired, and serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Store leftover potato soup recipe in airtight containers for 3-4 days or heavy-duty freezer bags for up to 1 month. To cook, let the soup thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat the soup carefully over low to medium heat, whisking frequently and stirring well.
Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
I made this soup tonight. It was delicious! Had great flavour! Next time however I will be careful about measuring my broth as my soup was not thick but my husband loved it. He had 2 helpings. I will follow the advice of adding soup to cheese sauce gradually as I found there was a little gritty taste. I think the cheese sauce may have curdled a bit. I will make it again though. I like hearty soups for the Fall.
Thanks for giving it a try and I’m glad your hubby liked it and you! More milk will make it thinner, it just depends on how you guys like it. This is a great, hearty soup for sure!
Can someone tell me if you drain the water out of the veggies or do u leave it in ??
You do not! You’ll need the the liquid to mix with the other ingredients. Glad you stopped by!
This soup is delicious! I used fresh onions (1/2 of a large) instead of onion powder, followed the rest of the recipe to a tee and it was great! Love that it is so easy to make also!
I use the onion powder, because I’m not a fan of onions. If you love onions, I’m sure they make it even better 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
I’d like to make this tonight, but only have frozen broccoli on hand. Would you recommend cooking the broccoli first and then adding it, or putting it in frozen and letting the soup cook a little longer? I’m so excited to try this, it looks amazing 🙂
The broccoli will be going in boiling water, so it’s ok if it’s frozen. We LOVE this soup..hopefully, you will too!
I finally got around to making this last weekend, and OH.MY.GOODNESS. It was one of the most delicious soups I’ve ever made!!! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
So glad to hear that!!! This is one of my favs 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!!
Is it just me that hasn’t heard of garlic pepper?
You’d find it with the spices. We use it a lot! Adds more flavor than just pepper.
So I’m at work, surfing through Pinterest when I came upon this. Stomach instantly starting growling! How yummy does this look!!! When the weather gets cooler here in a month or so, I will be making this. Thank you for this amazing recipe. 🙂
LOL!! This is one of our favs! I don’t usually wait until cooler weather!
I’m making this again tonight! My family of 5 just loves it! I really like that it makes two meals for us! For those that are complaining about making the roux, you can use cornstarch in it’s place. The first time I made it, I only had roughly 30 minutes to get it done, and my roux went all wrong. So I went to my pantry and followed the directions on my cornstarch and it turned out perfect. I also noticed a lot of people asking about serving size….. I have three young children, they all went back for seconds, and a husband who probably ate two serving sizes. I ate about 1 serving size, and we still had enough left over for both my husband and I for lunch the next day. This recipe is really great, and super simple. It really doesn’t take that long. If you’re short on time, buy pre-cut carrots, and make your bacon in the oven (it’s the only way I cook bacon now), while your soup is cooking. You could also cut your broccoli in advance, and you could pre peel and cut your potatoes in the morning, just be sure you submerge them in water and store in the fridge until you are ready to cook them (not recommended for more than 24 hours). This recipe is worth every minute, and every calorie, lol!
Thank you so much Jen for sharing all of that!! It really is an easy and delicious recipe! I hope that helps anyone needing it! Thanks again!
No problem! I would hate for others to miss out on such a great recipe because they think it will take them a long time to make. It turned out fabulous again tonight! I can’t thank you enough for this recipe, it is so wonderful! The fact that my kids will eat it and ask for more, means everything!!!!
I love my soups, Thank you for these lovely additions to my collection can’t wait to try them. Going to try the Potatoe,Bacon and Cheese today.
Thank you!! How’d it turn out? That’s one of my favs!!
Hello, I made this soup tonight and it’s delicious. The only thing I would change is to stir hot soup gradually into the cheese sauce stirring constantly because when I added the cheese sauce to the soup (as the directions indicated) the cheese sauce curdled a little. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thanks for sharing!! I’m so glad you liked it!!
I made this soup tonight for my husband and myself and it was delicious! It took a little bit of time between the prep, simmering, and roux making, but wasn’t complicated and it was so worth it! We both loved it and will be making it again 🙂
Thank you for giving it a try! I’m glad you both liked it!! Thank you for letting me know!