This creamy broccoli cheddar potato soup is a hearty and delicious homemade soup recipe that is made with broccoli florets, red potatoes, cheddar cheese and a creamy soup broth that is so good. An easy weeknight dinner the whole family will enjoy.
I think the thing I love most about this creamy broccoli cheddar potato soup is how easy it is to convince myself that I am eating something healthy. It tastes so amazing, so the fact that it has broccoli in it and I can count in my veggies for the day is a total win. There are some vegetables that just taste incredible when you add cheese to them. Okay, granted, cheese will make anything good, but this broccoli cheddar soup isn’t just good. It’s great!
If you are new to making your own soup, or could just use a few tips on making broccoli cheddar soup the way I do, I have all the help you need right here. To start with, let’s talk about creamy soups versus other kinds you might make at home. Then we can get into the nitty-gritty of the potatoes you choose as well as how to peel and dice them.
Making a Creamy Soup
Making soup is always easy if not the most accessible. You may not always have the ingredients you want for a particular kind of soup. However, you likely have all the ingredients you need for some kind of soup. And if you aren’t sure what to make for lunch or dinner, you can pretty much always rustle enough out of the fridge and pantry to create a soup, however unorthodox it may be. Some of the richest and most satisfying soups are creamy soups, but those are not often considered by those of us who want a quick and easy meal solution. It seems so much easier to just use stock or broth or canned tomatoes and call it a day.
The tendency to shy away from a recipe that may seem more complicated is understandable, but creamy soups are no more difficult to make than any other. All it really takes is some heavy cream. You may have to run out to the store for it if you don’t regularly cook with cream, but once you have that ingredient a whole world of opportunities awaits you. If you enjoy broccoli cheddar soup, potato soup, clam chowder, etc. This is an indispensable resource for you. The way you make this soup is just by adding the heavy cream (whipping cream) and the chicken broth together.
You can use stock too if that’s what you have. Stock is just thicker and more gelatinous because it comes from bone rather than meat. Despite the difference in appearance, the two can be used interchangeably as long as you don’t mind the difference in color and thickness.
The Best Potatoes for Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Potatoes come in all kinds of varieties. Unsurprisingly each kind of potato is used best in different ways. On the other hand, it might surprise you to find out that broccoli cheddar soup has any potatoes at all. It does! The potatoes contribute so much more to the soup that broccoli alone could never accomplish. For this recipe, I use red potatoes because they are waxy, low-starch potatoes. That means that they retain their shape better in the soup because they aren’t as absorbent as other types of potatoes.
Starchy potatoes like Idaho potatoes are not ideal for soup because of how mushy they’ll get in the simmering broth. Yukon potatoes are starchy, but they may make a good soup if you are looking for a thicker, starchier broth and not necessarily chunks of intact potato. Potatoes like Yukon and the more colorful purple Peruvians are known as all-purpose potatoes, but that does not mean they necessarily do the trick for all recipes.
Peeling and Dicing Potatoes
One potential downside to red potatoes is that they have a smaller surface area. Also, thinner skin and the aforementioned waxy flesh make them not the easiest potatoes to peel. That’s probably why when you have mashed red potatoes, or enjoy them in other forms, they tend to have their skins intact. Not so with the broccoli cheddar soup. It’s essential that you peel the potatoes so that the skin texture does not impact the enjoyability of the soup.
An easy way to peel red potatoes is to simply blanch them. Then you can rub off the skin with a basic kitchen towel. All you need is a pot, a bowl of ice and some water. Bring the pot of water to a roiling boil. fill a large bowl with ice and add water until the ice is just submerged. Boil potatoes for 3-5 minutes and then move them to the ice bath. Only blanch a few potatoes at a time and change out the ice bath to keep it cold enough. The potatoes should be cool enough to touch after about 30 seconds.
Dicing the potatoes is super easy. Cut the potatoes in half so you can place the flat surface on the cutting board. Then simply make a grid of whatever size chunks of red potato you prefer.
The Onions
Dicing onions is a little tougher than dicing potatoes. The trick to dicing an onion is to keep the bulb intact. Otherwise, you will have pieces of onion everywhere and keeping the whole together for any length of time while you try to hack it to pieces will be an awful mess that can only end in tears.
Again, to start chopping, cut the onion in half so you can place the flat end on the cutting board. Make one or two horizontal slices toward the bulb to create two or three layers. Then cut slices into the onion running from near the bulb to the tip. make them as thick or as fine as you like. Once you have made all of your cuts, chop up pieces of the onion by cutting across the slices you just made. Start with the tip and work your way back toward the bulb. When you reach the end, toss the remaining nub away, scoop up your pile and start browning the onions along with the potatoes.
Ingredients Needed for Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup
- Olive oil
- Red potatoes
- Onion
- Broccoli
- Corn starch
- Chicken Broth
- Heavy whipped cream
- Pepper
- Salt
- Sharp cheddar cheese
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preparing the soup – Dice the onions and dice the red potatoes into bite sized pieces.
Cooking the potatoes – In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Brown potatoes and onions slightly above tender. Add salt to taste.
Adding the broccoli – Add the broccoli to pot with potatoes and onions.
Thickening up the soup – Stir in corn starch until everything is coated evenly.
Adding in the liquids – Add chicken broth and heavy cream to pot.
Simmering the soup – Bring to a simmer and add shredded cheese. Let simmer until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serving the soup – Serve hot. Enjoy it with crackers or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Try This Hearty Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup Today
Here are a few more delicious recipes that can be found on the blog:
You may also enjoy this Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup from Great Grub Delicious Treats.
Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds red potatoes peeled, diced into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup onions diced
- 12 ounce bag broccoli florets
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 32 ounce chicken broth
- 8 ounce heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat, add potatoes and onions and cook until slightly above tender.
- Add broccoli florets and corn starch to pot. Stir until everything is coated evenly.
- Pour chicken broth and heavy cream into pot. Stir to combine.
- Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat and cook until potatoes are tender and then add the shredded cheese. Stir.
- Let simmer until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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