Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli and cheese soup made with Velveeta cheese.

Broccoli Cheese Soup is so creamy and cheesy and made easy in just one pot with frozen broccoli and Velveeta cheese (the secret ingredient to the best broccoli cheese soup!). Even kids will love this veggie packed soup that is so creamy and smooth.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword broccoli cheese soup recipe, broccoli cheese soup with velveeta

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings people (1.5 cups each)

Calories 363kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 white onion finely diced
2 bags (16 oz each) frozen chopped broccoli
4 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth *see notes
16 oz Velveeta cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups half and half
1½ teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cornstarch

Instructions

In a large soup pot, over medium-high heat, add the butter and chopped onion. Cook until softened, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for about 5-7 minutes.
Add the frozen chopped broccoli and chicken broth (RESERVE 1 CUP FOR CORNSTARCH SLURRY).
Bring to a boil, you may have to increase the heat as needed, once boiling reduce heat to medium and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until broccoli is softened to your liking.
* I like to cover my pot with a lid while the broccoli is cooking. This helps the broccoli cook faster
Add the Velveeta cheese, shredded cheese, half and half, and garlic powder. Stir together and let it cook for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and combined.
Combine the cornstarch and reserved 1 cup chicken broth in a small bowl. Stir with a fork until mixed. Add into the soup and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the soup is thick enough to your liking.
* Once you add the cornstarch slurry it will thicken fairly quickly so watch it carefully and make sure the heat is not too high so it does not burn.
Serve immediatley. We like to top ours with some additional shredded cheddar cheese.
The soup will thicken up slightly as it cools.
Store leftovers in an air-tight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. This soup can also be frozen as well. Heat up frozen leftovers in a soup pot with some additional water (like 1/2 cup or so).

Notes

SERVING SIZE : Nutrition information is for 1 serving of soup which is equal to 1.5 cups of soup per serving.

BROCCOLI : I prefer to use the frozen chopped broccoli because there is no need to chop it up. Just dump it into the soup. If you use whole frozen broccoli or something else, then you may want to chop it up roughly before adding it into the soup. You can also use an immersion blender and blend up the soup as wanted. Don't be too aggressive when blending it or else the soup can turn into a gummy texture. Or just blend up some of the soup but not all of it.

CHICKEN BROTH : Because the soup does not call for any additional salt I prefer to use 2 cans of regular, full-salt chicken broth + 2 cans of the 33% reduced-sodium chicken broth. If you use all low sodium chicken broth then you may want to taste the soup at the end and add additional salt as needed.

HALF AND HALF : I have made this recipe with fat-free half and half and it works just fine. The flavor of the final soup is not as rich and thick but it's still delicious. Use whichever you prefer. Nutrition information includes using full-fat half and half.

Nutrition