I have an interesting discovery to share today:
Healthy broccoli cheddar soup still tastes as rich and comforting as the classic version.
For this recipe, I took out all the flour, butter, and cream and thickened the soup with a cauliflower and onion purée.
I loved it (no surprise), but (to my amazement) it was also 100 percent family approved.
This broccoli cheddar soup is a lighter, more veggie-filled version of the hearty, classic winter comfort food.
Aside from the obvious (broccoli!), this soup is also loaded with fresh produce like shredded carrots, onions, and cauliflower purée.
This is a slightly sneaky dish because you can’t actually taste the healthy cauliflower purée.
But it does add some healthy nutrition to the soup, along with a thick and creamy consistency.
Serving Note: This soup is not starchy enough to hold its consistency when stored and reheated as leftovers. I recommend cutting this recipe in half if you’re only cooking for two.
I’m now convinced that broccoli cheddar soup just needs the right combo of fresh ingredients and flavorful seasonings to taste amazing.
On the next cold, dark, wintry night, pair this soup with some freshly baked bread and let me know if you agree!
Here’s the recipe for Skinny Broccoli Cheddar Soup:
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Skinny Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soups & Stews
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups riced cauliflower (you can find bags of riced cauliflower in the produce aisle or the freezer section)
- 2 cups organic whole milk
- 3 cups broccoli florets (you can find bags of broccoli florets in the produce aisle or the freezer section)
- 1 cup shredded carrots (you can find bags of shredded carrots in the produce aisle)
- 1 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups organic, shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- If you’re using frozen cauliflower or frozen broccoli, be sure to thaw it first in the microwave.
- Prepare the broccoli by chopping the florets into bite-sized pieces, according to your preference. I prefer quarter-inch mini florets.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chopped onion, and riced cauliflower and cook until softened, about 6-7 minutes. Add the milk and season with salt and pepper.
- Use an immersion hand blender to puree the mixture until it’s smooth (or transfer mixture to a food processor to purée). The mixture should have a thick and creamy texture. Set aside.
- Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the broccoli and shredded carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are softened, about 5 – 7 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to a light simmer. Stir in the dijon, honey, and paprika. Adjust the heat to low.
- Carefully stir in the cauliflower purée and the shredded cheddar until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
For Related Recipes, Check Out:
30-Minute Tomato Soup Au Gratin
Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Dumpling Soup
Vegetable and White Bean Soup with Pesto
Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup [Vegetarian]
30-Minute Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake
Cheesy Broccoli Skillet Potatoes
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That soup looks perfect!!!!
Bonnie
http://www.recipeshappen.com
We just hit temparatures below zero this week, this soup arrives right on time!
Love, love, love the pictures of Racecar Calvin! And I can’t wait to try the soup. It sounds delicious!! Thank a bunch.
Joy
I love that you still kept all the cheese! Sometimes I feel like it’s too much to eliminate ALL the “bad” stuff from a recipe…it compromises the taste! This looks great, I’ve been meaning to try cauliflower puree lately on its own but it sounds even better in this 🙂
Healthy cheesy and delicious? You rock 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
More points to you for taking delicious food and making it more healthy without compromising taste. I can’t wait to try this recipe! And those photos of Calvin are priceless.
I usually avoid broccoli cheddar soup (especially in restaurants!) because of all the fat, but I love your skinny, loaded with veggies version!
Oh and Calvin is adorable!
Looks so good. Does Calvin hire out? How cute. Good and good for you – got to be a great combination.
Ooooh, broccoli and cheddar is one of my fav combos! Yum! Also, I can’t believe Calvin is the same puppy from your amazing dog biscuits post (I still make those for my guy btw, he loves them!) – he’s grown so much. Still a cutie though 🙂
Absolutely love the inclusion of honey here: that extra touch! Oh, Calvin, why do I feel he would be better around the wheel than some with whom I drive 🙂 !
Such a good idea to puree the veg! I love broccoli cheddar soup but I usually steer clear and try and be a good girl 🙂 Will have to try your version, this is like the ultimate comfort food
Great twist on a childhood favorite and absolutely love how Calvin uses his nose for balance! That was a laugh out loud moment for me!
I am in love with Calvin. SO cute!! YUMMMM to this soup!
THis looks incredibly delicious. You had me surprised because I totally thought you would have added flour and a little butter to thicken this up, cauliflower is brilliant. Of course, you definitely need lots of cheese to compensate for the lack of butter, but at least it’s good for you. I love this idea, bookmarking it.
Couldn’t agree more with using veg purées as thickeners. I’ve just concocted this cauliflower risotto in much the same way.
http://www.fdathome.co.uk/cauliflower-risotto-with-chocolate-jelly/
We’ve been going soup crazy over here at my house…it’s been pouring down rain for days on end so soup has been hitting the spot. We haven’t made a broccoli cheddar yet and it sounds soooo good! I’ll try your recipe and let you know how it goes!
Naww Calvin is just the cutest! Maybe in another life he was the worlds best bus driver 😉
I better never find out where you live, because I’ll come and steal Calvin. 🙂 Thanks for the pictures of the little four legged race car driver. Love the broccoli soup recipe. I bet the cauliflower not only adds flavor, but a little thickness for the soup as well. It sounds good to me!
The cheddar plays a big part. I always wondered what type of soup stock is best for soup or risotto. I’ve tried the Knorr’s non-MSG chicken and veggie cubes, they don’t seem to taste right. I must try THIS recipe. I love the creamy cheddar and broccoli in soup.
I love a good, creamy broccoli cheddar soup! I’ve been looking for ways to make it healthier without losing flavor. . .must try!
What a great way to thicken up your soup – very creative and healthy! It looks so delicious.
This recipe sounds fantastic! I love brocolli cheese soup – I’ll definitely have to try this one. And the pictures of Calvin are just adorable!
Your site is looking beautiful!
This is a definite “try” recipe. Can’t wait to cook it, as we love any kinda soup this time of year…especially one this good!
I’d love to try this recipe, but was actually hoping to make it as a make-ahead lunch to bring to work – would the consistency be way too off for me to try??
Hmmm, I think it will depend on your taste and you may like this soup as leftovers (I don’t love it as leftovers myself). I think it may be worth trying, especially if you eat a bowl fresh on the day that you make it (when it tastes best).
I do have a couple of other soups that I think hold up a bit better as leftovers: Creamy Chicken Florentine, as well as 8-Veggie Soup. 🙂
I didn’t get any separation when I reheated the next day. I did use my Vitamix for pureeing and 2% milk instead of 1% because it’s what I had on hand. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. It tasted even better the next day, just as most soups do. Many thanks for this wonderful recipe!
This looks extremely scrumptious! Any suggestions what to serve as a side with this?
I like to serve it with my favorite bread for dipping (baguette!) and a big salad 🙂
This looks amazing- can’t wait to try this healthy version!
just wondering what you recommend as a substitute for mustard in this soup. neither my husband or i like the taste of mustard, and i’m always wondering what to replace it with in recipes.
thanks!
My best suggestion for this soup as a substitute for mustard would be turmeric (maybe about 2 teaspoons) and white wine vinegar (maybe about 2-3 teaspoons). These two things combined should help season the soup a bit if you’re leaving out the mustard.
Would it taste okay if I don’t purée?
I know everyone has their own tastes, but in this case I do recommend puréeing the cauliflower-cheese mixture. This will provide the thick, rich consistency you’d want in a broccoli cheddar soup.
Using the base of this recipe to make a healthy zucchini and corn queso chowder tonight! It smells so good. Thanks for the idea!!
That zucchini and corn chowder sounds so tasty! Enjoy 🙂
Made this for supper last night and although I’ll have to tweak it a bit, I really enjoyed it (and hubby ate it too, which was a shock). For some reason the cauliflower puree and veg. broth didn’t mix well and it was more of a veg. broth with cauliflower puree bits mixed in. I didn’t mind it, but it wasn’t creamy as it was intended. Perhaps an immersion blender would help (just used a food processor).
Thanks for the recipe!
this looks fantastic. i also have a healthified broccoli cheddar recipe on my blog but this looks better. with the cold weather this sounds so good. i will make this tomorrow and report back 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! Just made it today and LOVE it!! Just starting to venture into the world of making stuff with cauliflower puree… this was spot on!
I just made this soup and loved it. Added some crispy leftover ham bits as a garnish on my husband’s portion – very tasty and good way to get some good veggies in!
Thank so much for your nice comment – I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! 🙂
Can I add cut up chicken breast to this recipe? I love the idea of pureed cauliflower! Do the leftovers separate too much?
Yes, I think chicken would work well in this recipe. Season the cubed chicken with salt and pepper and brown it in a bit of olive oil in the large stock pot first before you start cooking the broccoli and carrots. Then scoop it out of the pot, transfer it to a bowl and cover with foil. Add a bit more oil to the pan and follow the recipe from there, cooking the broccoli and carrots and so on. Add the cooked chicken back in at the end, when you’re adding the cauliflower purée and cheddar.
And yes, you’re right, I’ve found that the leftovers separate. Mainly, it seems, because the cauliflower contains so much water.
Total cook time of 40 minutes? 2 and a half hours late I am exhausted, but the soup is really yummy and fits the bill for the next week of lunches.
To all beginner cooks who may happen to read this: the prep work does get easier with time, much easier! I remember one of my first Rachael Ray “30-minute meals” took me 1 1/2 hours to complete. With practice, though, the process speeds up and gets a lot more fun along the way too! 🙂
Time Savers for this recipe that save tons of prep work: try a bagged, pre-shredded organic sharp cheddar cheese 2) try chopped frozen cauliflower florets (thawed in the microwave) 3) try chopped frozen broccoli florets (thaw in microwave and just be sure to chop them up into smaller, bite-size pieces before adding to the soup) 4) buy bagged, shredded carrots.
First of all, made this for dinner last night for extended family and everyone LOVED it. (Makes the hubby nervous when I prepare brand new recipes for guests – you’d think he’d be use to it by now.) As far as leftovers, I wish I could tell you what I did differently, but mine didn’t separate and is just as delicious as last night, if not more so because the flavors have melded. For convenience sake, I did buy frozen cauliflower & broccoli (and used sliced onions I had in the freezer). I kinda did a double recipe, but didn’t measure anything. It was really thick, so I probably didn’t end up adding as much milk as the recipe called for, maybe that accounted for no separation. But it was (and still is) really, really yummy!!
Author
That’s wonderful, and you must be a pro in the kitchen to brave brand new recipes for company 🙂 I think using less milk (and possibly less stock/broth too) is an excellent idea!
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Perfect for the winter!! Thanks for sharing!
One thing unclear to me while I was cooking the cauliflower was whether I should cover it with a lid or not because I wasn’t certain that if left uncovered that it would get soft enough to puree. Since the recipe did not say to cover it I cooked it uncovered for several minutes. It was taking far to long to soften so I decided to cover it and I continued to cook it on low heat. I checked it several times and there wasn’t enough moisture left in the pan so I had to add a little chicken broth. Finally when I thought it was soft enough I turned off the heat and added the milk. I proceeded to blend it with an immersion blender but it remained chunky so I poured it into a blender and blended it on low until it was smooth and creamy. After combining the cauliflower mixture with the broccoli mixture I found it too thick so I added more chicken broth. The final product was delicious, and I will definitely make it again. I’m thinking about adding corn in it next time & maybe crushed red pepper.
Author
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Made this tonight. Really delicious! I modified only one thing, I added 1cup of Ragu Double Cheddar Sauce and Eliminated one cup of cheese. Otherwise I kept to the recipe. Oh and I used a blender since I do not have a food processor. Thanks for the recipe. I can sneak veggies in to my husband’s diet!
Author
That’s great, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for the recipe! I didn’t have enough cauliflower and had some fresh spinach that I needed to use (about 5 cups), so after cooking the cauliflower for a while, I added the spinach. My cauliflower/spinach puree was quite green, but it looked great once incorporated into the rest of the soup. Great flavors – I will definitely make this again!
Author
Way to add even more healthy ingredients 🙂 Thanks so much for your note!
I was looking for the nutritional information?
This was wonderful. I might add more liquid as it was VERY thick. Maybe because I pureed about half of the broccoli.
I prepared then put in the crock pot – added the cheese a few minutes before serving.
Author
Thanks so much for your comment 🙂 I’ve added the nutrition information to the recipe (and all of the newer recipes on this site also contain nutrition information).
This was delicious! Thanks so much for publishing it.
Author
That’s great! Thanks for your note 🙂
This is my ‘go to’ recipe now! It tasted amazing…..and little did the kids know that it was full of goodness….they aren’t big veggie fans and pretty picky eaters….but they loved this!!!!
I actually added extra broth and a clove of garlic and it was still very thick and creamy…..and oh soooooooo good 🙂
Author
That’s great, I’m so glad this one worked for your family! Thanks for taking the time to send a review 🙂
This is an ok meal but a lot of work. If I make it again, I’ll use pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower and less or no mustard.
My family loves it!
I’m the one who encourages healthy eating in our family so I’m amused to say that I was not as impressed.
It’s fine if you’re not expecting a cheesy soup like something at a chain restaurant, but I was.
This is not so much a substitute for broccoli cheese soup, as it is a nice take on Broccoli, cauliflower soup.
Also, not enough zing for me and I used yellow mustard which is tangy-er than dijon.
Still, my daughter has asked when we can have it again so thank you for posting!
I just tried the recipie! Such great flavor, and was very fun to make. One note is That I needed more stock to thin the stock out. As maybe I used a bit more vegetable they this needed. I did not use mustard, but did keep the honey! Thanks for this!
Made this tonight – the fourteen year old, who hates cauliflower, loved loved loved it, and found it super filling! She was really surprised that it was cauliflower. Thanks for the recipe!
I added extra cheese, but it didn’t really seem to make much of a difference at the point it was at. Everyone (the four of us) ate all of their portions, and there’s so much left over.
Yay, so glad this one worked out for you and your family! Thanks so much for taking the time to send a note 🙂
How many actual cups of chopped broccoli should i end up with? I buy the broccoli florets and I’m thinking its not actually 2 pounds of florets that end up in the soup. Is that correct?
Author
You’re absolutely right! Chopping off all the stems, I discard at least half. I would guess closer to 1 pound, although that’s a guess since I haven’t done it this way. I really need to do this recipe with frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets and come up with more specific measurements. Please let me know how it works out for you! 😄
A 12 oz bag of fresh broccoli florets worked great!
Author
Perfect!👍 Thanks so much for your note! 😄
How many calories per serving?
Author
When I enter the recipe on the Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator on VeryWell, it calculates approximately 358 calories per serving (the recipe makes a total of 6 servings). This is just an approximate/estimate though!😄
Just made this and YUMMMMM The hubster is picky eater. And this is the bomb.
Do I have to put down my spoon?