Do you find yourself ordering broccoli cheddar soup whenever you go to Panera Bread? Skip the drive thru and make this easy copycat recipe in the comfort of your own home. It's easy, cheesy, and comforting.
If you love Panera soups, you'll want to check out our copycat recipes for 10 vegetable soup and summer corn chowder.
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Ingredients
All the ingredients for this copycat Panera broccoli cheddar recipe are easy to find at any large grocery store in the U.S. You probably already have most of the ingredients.
- Vegetables: We used yellow onion, carrots, broccoli, and garlic. Omit carrots for keto.
- Flour: We used all purpose flour to thicken it, but you can also your favorite gluten free flour. Omit this for keto.
- Broth: We used chicken broth, but changing it to vegetable will make this vegetarian.
- Sweetener: We used white granulated sugar, but feel free to use the sweetener of your choice. Omit this for keto.
- Dairy: We used whole milk, heavy cream, and extra sharp cheddar to make it creamy, cheesy and thick. Add 4 oz cream cheese for keto.
- Thickener: We used a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken it some more. Omit this for keto. Use xanthan gum instead.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients for our copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup. Eight cups of fresh broccoli florets and 2 cups of extra sharp cheddar cheese along with the dairy make this soup taste amazing.
- In a Dutch oven over medium high heat, melt the butter, then saute the onion and carrots until soft, roughly 3 minutes. Add the garlic, dried spices, and the Dijon mustard.
- Cook until fragrant, roughly a minute. Sprinkle on the flour and whisk for 2 minutes to cook the rawness out of the flour. Deglaze with ½ cup of chicken broth by scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden turner.
3. Whisk in the remaining 1 ½ cups of broth, and then pour in the last 4 cups for a total of 6 cups.
4. Add the sugar, Tabasco sauce, the broccoli, and the carrot puree (see recipe card). Stir until well combined.
5. Add the fresh broccoli florets, then cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to cook the broccoli. Whisk together 2 tablespoons each of cornstarch and cold water and stir it into the soup to help thicken the soup. Let it simmer for 2 minutes on medium low heat.
Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the grated extra sharp cheddar cheese one handful at a time.
6. Pour in the whole milk and the heavy cream and mix well with a wooden spoon. Let it heat through for a couple of minutes on medium low heat.
7. Taste and adjust any seasonings. If you like your soup more yellow like Panera's, add in another ⅛ teaspoon of turmeric.
8. Enjoy while it's still hot in a sourdough bread bowl or with a large chunk of baguette.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this cheddar soup is healthy. For a 1 ½ cup serving size, our copycat recipe has 430 calories. It is has 8 cups of bite sized florets and 2 cups of carrots, so it's full of fresh vegetables.
They do add flour as a thickening agent to make a roux, so it's not gluten free at the restaurant.
You can easily adapt our copycat recipe to be gluten free by using gluten free flour and gluten free chicken broth.
Panera's soup is high in net carbs, but you can add more cheddar cheese or avocado to increase the fat if you're getting this in the drive thru.
If you want to make our copycat recipe keto, omit the carrots, flour, and sugar. Use ¼ teaspoon of xantham gum as the thickener, and increase the fat by adding 4 oz of cream cheese.
They use chicken broth in their soup, but if you make our copycat recipe, swap it out for vegetable broth.
Serve
At Panera Bread they serve their broccoli cheddar soup with a French baguette, a bag of kettle chips, or an apple. You also have the option of having it served in a sourdough bread bowl for an additional fee.
If you are making this recipe at home, it would also taste wonderful served as an appetizer with grilled steak as your main course. This also goes well with mac and cheese or a simple green salad.
Store
Leftovers: Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze: If you want to freeze half of the batch, remove half the soup out of the pot before adding the dairy. Then, reduce the amount of dairy by one half for the soup that is left in the pot. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Reheat: When ready to eat, thaw the frozen soup overnight in the fridge and reheat on medium low in a pot on the stovetop. Stir in ¾ cup each of whole milk and heavy cream. Remove from the heat and gradually add the cheese.
Variations
- Need this gluten free? Use gluten free flour and chicken broth.
- Need this vegetarian? Use vegetable broth instead of chicken.
- Need this keto? Omit the carrots, flour, and sugar, add 4 ounces of cream cheese, and ¼ to ½ teaspoon xantham gum as a thickener.
- Need to lower the fat? Use fat free cheddar cheese and evaporated milk.
- Need this vegan? Use vegan butter, vegetable broth, full fat coconut milk, and ½ cup nutrition yeast flakes.
- Want garnishes? Bacon, cheese, roasted broccoli, croutons, or diced avocado (keto).
Expert Tips
- Want it to melt better? Grate your own extra sharp cheese with a box grater; it will melt better than pre-grated.
- Want better flavor and texture? Use fresh broccoli, not frozen.
- Want it the correct color? Adding the carrot puree and turmeric will give the soup the correct color. To make the carrot puree, blend chopped raw carrots with water.
- Need this keto? Omit the carrots, flour, and sugar. Add 4 ounces of cream cheese and ¼ to ½ teaspoon xantham gum as the thickener.
- Need this gluten free? Use gluten free chicken broth and gluten free flour.
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Recipe
Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
Aromatics
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 ¼ cup yellow onion, minced
- 2 cups julienned or matchstick carrots, cut in ½ inch lengths
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
Spices
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric, for color
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Other Ingredients
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
- 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 5 dashes Tabasco sauce
- 3 tablespoons carrot puree
- 8 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, for slurry
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 ½ cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated and packed
Equipment
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat until it's bubbly. Add the onions and carrots and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, dried spices, and Dijon mustard and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Add the sugar, pureed carrots (see notes), and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. Mix it well, then add in the broccoli florets.
- Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes to cook the broccoli.
- For a thicker soup, whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth. Add it to the soup and let it simmer for 2 minutes on medium low heat.
- Stir in the whole milk and the cream and let it warm through for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the shredded cheese one handful at a time. Taste and adjust seasonings, possibly adding a tiny bit more of Dijon and Tabasco. If you like your soup more yellow, add another 1/16 teaspoon of turmeric.
- Garnish with cheese is optional, but does provide extra cheesiness. Serve hot in a sourdough bread bowl or with slices of sourdough bread or French baguette.
Notes
- Want it to melt better? Grate your own extra sharp cheese with a box grater; it will melt better than pre-grated.
- Want better flavor and texture? Use fresh broccoli, not frozen.
- Want it the correct color? Adding the carrot puree and turmeric will give the soup the correct color. To make the carrot puree, blend chopped raw carrots with water.
- Need this keto? Omit the carrots, flour, and sugar. Add 4 ounces of cream cheese and ¼ to ½ teaspoon xantham gum as the thickener.
- Need this gluten free? Use gluten free chicken broth and gluten free flour.
Nutrition
Our copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup was originally posted on September 24, 2021 and was republished with resized images and refreshed content on August 12, 2022.
Emeline
If I could give it more than 5 stars I would. It was the best soup I’ve ever made!
Emma
Emeline, we are so glad to hear that! Have fun in the kitchen!
Sally Cottrell
Can the broccoli cheddar be made in an instant pot? Or perhaps slow cooker? Thank you for your thoughts!
Emma
Sally, We have only tested this recipe on the stovetop, but it would be easy to adapt it to the slow cooker or the instant pot. Let us know how it turned out!