After years of trying and failing, I’ve finally created a quick and delicious gluten-free broccoli cheddar soup recipe.
Back twenty years ago, I started going to Panera with a group of friends and our really small babies. Every time I would order Broccoli Cheddar Soup and a sandwich with Asiago Focaccia. We ate together at Panera for years! Eventually, my daughter grew up and started eating the same meal as me.
It was such a fun lunch and brings back so many memories. But after going gluten-free, that meal was completely off-limits. I missed it! I’ve probably tried 10 or 15 different Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipes at home, but none of them even came close. Twice friends have shared some of their homemade soup and I liked it, but couldn’t quite get the same flavor at my own home. Until now.
This soup is so good I keep it on hand in my freezer for quick lunches along with some frozen bread bowls for dipping. What is Broccoli Cheddar soup without bread to dip in it? Seriously! I have to have bread too.
Making the Quick & Delicious Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup
First, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onions and carrots and cook until the onions are translucent. Then add the broccoli. Cook it until it’s bright in color.
Next, add gluten-free 1:1 flour like King Arthur Measure for Measure. (If you can still eat gluten, regular all-purpose flour will work too). Stir vigorously. The flour will coat the vegetables. That is good. Keep stirring. We are essentially making a roux, but using vegetables as part of the process. Scrape any flour off the bottom as you continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Add the water and stir again. Keep stirring until all the flour is mixed into the water and you have gotten any bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add all the remaining ingredients except the cheese and make sure to reduce the heat. Let it simmer for 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
Drop the heat to the lowest setting possible on your stove. Measure the cheese. Normally I believe chocolate and cheese are measured with the heart, but if you add too much cheese it will overwhelm the soup in both taste and texture. Make sure to add the two cups only.
After the cheese has been melted into the soup, give it a taste. If it seems lacking in flavor, I would add a bit more chicken base, small amounts at a time to get the flavors where you want. You can also adjust salt and pepper, but the chicken base gives it a much more rich flavor than just salt or pepper alone. If you are not familiar with chicken base it is found in the soup aisle near the chicken broth. You can also get it at Costco in larger quantities for a better price.
Serve that beautiful Broccoli Cheddar Soup up with a bread bowl, some crusty French Bread, or a dinner roll and you have a beautiful meal.
Freeze any extras in individual portions for future lunches or dinners as part of your batch cooking plan. When reheating, keep the microwave at 50% power to prevent the cheese from separating.
Quick & Delicious Gluten-free Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, one stick
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- 4 cups broccoli, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup gluten free 1:1 flour(or regular all-purpose flour)
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 8-10 drops hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons chicken base
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large pot on medium-high. Add onion and carrots. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add broccoli. Cook until bright in color, about 3 minutes.
- Add flour to vegetables and stir well. Continue stirring and scraping flour off the bottom of the pan for 3-4 minutes.
- Add water. Stir vigorously to mix the flour into the water. Scrape the bottom to make sure to get any last flour. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Add remaining ingredients, except cheese. Stir until well combined. Let sit for five minutes.
- Reduce heat to low. Add cheese and stir until completely melted.
- Taste. Adjust salt and pepper. If the flavor seems a little lacking, add a bit more chicken base until it tastes the way you prefer.
- Serve immediately, or simmer on the lowest setting possible. If the soup sits too long and boils it will separate.
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This cheddar broccoli soup is better than Panera! I cut my broccoli a little smaller than the picture shows. I just prefer smaller pieces in my soup. Thank you for another great recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it!