You'll love this cheesy broccoli soup recipe! A healthier, vegetarian broccoli cheddar soup with white beans that the whole family will love.
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Hello, Rhubarbarians! This cheesy broccoli soup recipe is one of our all-time favorite weeknight dinner recipes. Easy, vegetarian soups are a staple in our house, and this is one that the whole family loves!
It's vegetarian comfort food, but lightened up quite a bit. A healthier broccoli cheddar soup. Emphasis on healthi-er, and not healthy, lol.
We blend in white beans along with the bean broth to make the soup thick and creamy without adding flour and cream. Oh yes.
Looking for more weeknight dinner ideas? Here are our favorite quick and easy vegetarian dinner recipes!
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Why you'll love this
If your family is anything like mine, you need a dinner that's going to be satisfying and tasty enough to please both adults and children. This broccoli soup hits it out the park.
The white beans get pureed into the soup and create a rich and creamy consistency. You'll never know that creaminess is from beans!
This family friendly soup can be made with either fresh or frozen broccoli and is ready in just about 30 minutes. Hello dinner!
When is broccoli in season? Broccoli is in season in the cold fall and winter months in the northwest US.
More vegetarian soup recipes:
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Ingredients and equipment
Here's what you'll need to make this cheesy broccoli soup at home. Full ingredients with instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article
Ingredients:
- Neutral oil for cooking. I like to use olive oil.
- Onion and garlic.
- Broccoli. Fresh or frozen.
- Vegetable or chickenless broth. My favorite is the Better Than Bouillon chickenless base.
- Cannellini or great northern beans.
- Grated sharp cheddar cheese. (Skip the pre-shredded if you can)
- Milk.
- Salt and pepper.
Equipment:
- Sharp knife and cutting board. For chopping the veggies.
- Can opener.
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons.
- Cheese grater. I love this OXO cheese grater that has an attachable container with lid.
- Stove top or cook top.
- Soup pot or large dutch oven. I have a Lodge dutch oven and use it all the time.
- Stirring utensil like a wooden spoon or silicone spoonula.
- Small bowl. For the reserved broccoli.
- Immersion blender or blender. I love my Cuisinart immersion blender for soups.
- Bowls and spoons for serving.
Step by step instructions
Here's a visual guide to help you make this broccoli soup recipe perfectly at home! Full instructions with ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article
- First, make sure all of your veggies are chopped. You can measure out the broth and grate the cheese while the onions are cooking if you need to.
- Heat the oil in your dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Saute the onion until browning, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, stir to combine, and saute until fragrant. Only about 1 minute.
- Add the broccoli florets, stir to combine, and cook until they are just dark green.
- Add the vegetable broth to the pot and deglaze the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits.
- Add the beans with the bean broth and bring the soup to a boil.
- Simmer until the broccoli is very tender, about 5 minutes.
- Scoop out about half of the broccoli florets and set aside in a small bowl.
- Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth.
- Add the broccoli florets back in to the soup and stir to combine.
- Add the cheese a bit at a time, stirring it in to melt in small batches.
- Add the milk and stir to combine.
- Season generously with salt and pepper to your liking.
Serving suggestions
I find this soup to be very filling, so usually serve it as a main course for dinner with my family. Serve it hot with some extra shredded cheese on the table for topping.
Here are some side dishes to serve alongside:
Recipe tips and substitutions
- If you'd rather not use canned beans, go ahead and use ½ to 2 cups of cooked white beans. If your beans don't have bean broth, go for the full 2 cups.
- For an even creamier consistency, add 2 Tablespoons of flour to the onions about 2 minutes before they are brown.
- Fresh or frozen broccoli will work!
- Go for a very flavorful sharp cheddar cheese.
- If possible, don't use pre-shredded cheese. The caking agent makes it harder to melt.
This vegetable barley soup is one of our favorite soup recipes!
Storing and freezing
Storing: Store any leftover soup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Freezing: To freeze, store the soup in an air-tight freezer safe container for up to 3 months. You can heat the soup from frozen on the stove top or defrost in the refrigerator before heating. The texture may be a bit grainy due to the dairy.
I recommend using Souper Cubes to freeze the soup and then transferring the frozen cubes to a tightly sealed Ziploc bag!
Have you tried this 20-minute broccoli cheddar quesadilla yet?
FAQs
A flavorful sharp cheddar. Be sure to freshly grate the cheddar rather than using pre-shredded cheese.
Pre-shredded cheese contains an anti-caking agent that keeps it from melting. Freshly grated cheese is best. You may have also added your cheese too quickly and it clumped together or your heat is turned up too high.
This cheesy broccoli soup will last for 4 days in the fridge in a sealed container.
Add 1 Tablespoon of flour to the onion when it is almost browned. Use heavy cream rather than milk and add more cheese.
This creamy vegan asparagus soup is a reader favorite and ready in just 30 minutes!
More broccoli recipes to try:
Did you make this recipe? Leave us a review and star rating in the comments below! We read every single review and appreciate your feedback.
Recipe
Cheesy broccoli soup with white beans
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced. About 2 cups
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups small, bite sized broccoli florets
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15 oz can cannellini or great northern beans.
- 1 packed cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup milk of your choice (I used whole milk)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until browning, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add the broccoli florets and saute until dark green, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil, 1 medium yellow onion, diced. About 2 cups, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 5 cups small, bite sized broccoli florets
- Add the vegetable broth to the pot and deglaze the browned bits from the pan. Add the beans along with the bean broth from the can. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes, or until broccoli is very tender.4 cups vegetable broth, 1 15 oz can cannellini or great northern beans.
- Scoop out half of the broccoli florets and set aside in a small bowl. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the remaining soup. Now add the broccoli florets back to the pot.
- Make sure the soup is very hot, but not boiling. Add the cheese, a few tablespoon at a time and stir to combine until all the cheese is mixed in. Don't add the cheese too fast or it will clump together.1 packed cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Add the milk and stir to combine. Generously season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!½ cup milk of your choice (I used whole milk), Salt and pepper
Notes
- If you'd rather not use canned beans, go ahead and use ½ to 2 cups of cooked white beans. If your beans don't have bean broth, go for the full 2 cups.
- For an even creamier consistency, add 2 Tablespoons of flour to the onions about 2 minutes before they are brown.
- Fresh or frozen broccoli will work!
- Go for a very flavorful sharp cheddar cheese.
- If possible, don't use pre-shredded cheese. The caking agent makes it harder to melt.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians
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Jessica
This was delicious, and the idea of adding the beans was genius! Paired with a salad for a wonderful summer evening family dinner. However, by my calculations, each serving has about twice the calories you list here -about 343 calories a serving. Just 1 cup of cheddar cheese is 440 calories, the can of beans is 385 and the olive oil is 238. I used skim milk. Just an FYI for those watching their calories!
vivian
Very good soup. It was a little thinner than I expected, so I think next time I would either drain the beans or add a russet potato. Thanks for the recipe!
Lauren Schmidt - The Schmidty Wife
Made this tonight! Great recipe! I did end up adding a handful of shredded carrots otherwise I kept the recipe as is. I didn’t tell my son or husband there was beans in it until the end and they were so shocked they had no idea! It was absolutely delicious, my 3 year old even had two bowls! Will definitely make again, thanks for sharing the bean trick!
Patricia Bozeman
I'm so glad to hear it, Lauren! The carrots are a great idea!