CrockPot Broccoli and Three Cheese Soup Recipe


Broccoli and Cheese Soup is pure comfort food. This soup is completely made from scratch -- no cream of something soup, no velveeta, etc. When you are in the mood for the BEST BROCCOLI SOUP, EVER, make this recipe!!
:-)

How to Make Broccoli and Three Cheese Soup in the CrockPot Slow Cooker -- can use fresh or frozen broccoli

photo updated 2015 @ Odelinde via deposit photos 


Day 169.

This is an amazing soup. I didn't want to stop eating it---my stomach was full, but my tongue wanted more and more. The kids each had thirds.

Put some cheese on your shopping list, you've gotta try this one.


The Ingredients.
How to Make Broccoli and Three Cheese Soup in the CrockPot Slow Cooker -- can use fresh or frozen broccoli
1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth (or vegetable)
2 cups milk (I used 2% cow's)
2 (10-ounce) bags of frozen broccoli florets or fresh and trimmed equivalent
1/2 diced white onion
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

to add later:
1 cup each of three different cheeses, I used jarlsberg, gruyere, and cheddar


The Directions.

Mince the onion into really small pieces. I used my pampered chef chopper thingy. 

The onions are going to soften in the milk and the broth, and need to be quite small so you don't crunch on onion pieces when the soup is complete.

Add the onion to your crockpot, and top with the milk, broth, and spices. 

Stir in the two frozen bags of broccoli.

Cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. The broth is done when the onion is cooked nicely.

20 minutes or so before serving, shred all the cheese you are going to use, and stir it in.

 The cheese will be stringy and will stick to the broccoli florets---that's okay!

Serve with your favorite rolls or drop biscuits.
UPDATED: so, um, some of you have issues with texture and HATE the way the broccoli and cheese collide. 
You should blend this a bit, then. Use a hand held stick blender to blend some of the large broccoli florets. In doing so, the broth will thicken without needing to add extra calories with a roux, and the texture will be more even. And no worries, there's no judgment from me... :-)




The Verdict.

This is the best broccoli and cheese soup I have ever had. That sounds like a big stretch or an exaggeration, but this so very much beats the canned soup, or the stuff I've had at Fresh Choice or Panera. 

And that's the only other broccoli and cheese soup I've had---so this wins.

I read about six different recipes before deciding on making up this one. I didn't like the idea of making a roux with butter and flour and stirring that in to thicken the broth. 

It seemed like an unnecessary step. This broth is thin, but very buttery in flavor. I am happy that I didn't mess with making a roux.

I sent Adam to the store to get the cheeses, and he went to a rather expensive grocery store. 

My heart skipped a bit when I read the price tags; if I was shopping myself, I wouldn't have bought them. 
This cheese combination is magical---it works better than I could have imagined, but since I'm me-----

I probably would opt for the 4-cheese blend of shredded cheese next time for two of the cups and then a cup of cheddar.


Have different ingredients in the house but still want Soup? Here are all of them, in alphabetical order!

Broccoli and Cheese Soup is pure comfort food. This soup is completely made from scratch -- no cream of something soup, no velveeta, etc. When you are in the mood for the BEST BROCCOLI SOUP, EVER, make this recipe!! :-)

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Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at June 17, 2008

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What they say about this article

  1. Anonymous6/17/2008

    I could give my own opinion with your topic that is not boring for me.

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  2. Wow, someone who is actually living up to a Resolution. Bravo! And stop making me so hungry.

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  3. Hey! I read your blog a lot and have tried many of your recipes, but have never posted a comment....so, today is the day! LUV your blog!! I use my crockpot all the time and you have totally expanded the way I use it. I have several friends that are glutten free in their homes and have sent them your way too!!!

    This recipe looks awesome! I think I will be trying it out this week!!!

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  4. The lotto spam cracks me up. They swoop in the second I post!

    Jannie, thanks! I am pretty good, usually, at sticking with my crazy ideas---it helps that I've told the WORLD, too... ;-)

    Sara, thank you. I LUV it that you commented, and have sent people my way! Living gluten free is tough, and it helps to know that really good food is available and possible, and most times, just as easy to prepare as the gluteny stuff.

    xoxo
    steph

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  5. Sounds delicious! So no problem with the milk separating, even with this long cooking time? I've always heard not to add milk until the end.

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  6. Hi Kalyn! No. I was hesitant, and thought at first maybe I'd stir it in at the end, but I was already stirring in the cheese, so thought that would defeat the purpose of crockpotting.

    my guess is that a higher fat content milk, or cream, would be more likely to separate. Also, since there isn't any flour or thickener, there really isn't anything for the milk to separate from.
    right?
    lol, I have no idea the chemistry or mechanics behind so very much of what I do... but I'm always pleased when it works! ;-)

    xox
    steph

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  7. Anonymous6/17/2008

    Sounds delish ~ I'll be trying this one soon!

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  8. Anonymous6/17/2008

    The only thing with using a already shredded blend is that the blends you get prepackaged are coated so as to not stick to each other. Shredding your own is probably what gave you the best taste. I've never had milk separate before either, but I keep hearing about it. I always use 2% also.

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  9. I am trying this very soon. I think it is so worth the splurge for good cheese...it is the main ingredient.

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  10. This is my first comment, but I've been reading for awhile now and have you in my Google reader! I thought I loved my crockpot alot - till I met you! LOL!

    Hubby has even bought me a new baby crockpot a couple of weeks ago. I have GOT to try this recipe since it is one of my favourite soups and I can't buy it here anywhere in the UK! this recipe sounds delicious!! Thanks for sharing. Deedee (www.homeschoolblogger.com/deedeeuk)

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  11. Anonymous6/17/2008

    Yum... one quick question.....
    1 cup each of 3 different cheeses or 1 cup total?

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  12. thanks, nancy.

    terri, that's good to know that you haven't had milk separate either.

    courtney, you're proabably right---they are awesome cheeses.

    hi DeeDee! Thanks for commenting. I love my tiny crockpot(s).


    mj, it's a cup of EACH (thank you!)---I am trying to go back and throw that word in, but Blogger is acting cranky. I'm going to give it a few hours, then try again.

    xox
    steph

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  13. Do you think this would blend okay, like if I used the wand blender in it?

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  14. Anonymous6/17/2008

    I just came back to ask the same question about the cups of cheese -glad to see it was already answered! Can't wait to try this recipe - YUM!

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  15. yummmm!

    what size crockpot did you use? It looks like a lot for my "standard" model, but I'd hate to cut such a great-sounding recipe in half if it's not necessary ;)

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  16. hi quinn, I used my 6qt, and it filled it about 3/4 full.
    -steph

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. I've just come across your blog and love it! I'm definitely going to try out some of your recipes (I love using the crockpot, too!).

    This broccoli cheese soup recipe is pretty similar to my grandmother's (which I think is the best). She used pepper jack in her soup and it gave it quite a kick. I don't like too spicy, so I use colby jack. Yum-o!

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  19. Do you think I could use fresh broccoli? I have a huge bad that I need to use up soon... I would think with the length of cooking, it should be okay - what's your opinion??

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  20. So, I made this tonight and cooked for 4 hours on high because I started in the late afternoon after work. It tastes wonderful but the broccoli is a tad overcooked for my liking and I did break down and make a roux and whisk it in at the end to give the soup a more consistent texture.
    All that being said, love the taste and will make it again.
    Thanks again for sharing your recipes and experience!

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  21. If you want to thicken soup but not use flour or cornstarch. Use a 1/4 cup cooked rice. You put some of the soup with the rice in the blender, liquefy and add back to the soup. I have used both brown and white rice.
    For cream soup, I cook the rice with the veggies and broth then liquefy it all. Be careful doing hot soup in the blender, only do small amounts at a time and do it in bursts.
    regards,
    Theresa

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  22. Anonymous8/18/2008

    Steph, your recipes will get me through many an evening class, soccer game, gymnastics meet, and confirmation night this school year. I made this recipe, and quite liked it. My 12-year old said this:
    12YO: Mom, what's for dinner?
    One800Mom: I made some great broccoli cheese soup, it's in the crock-pot.
    12YO: Oh...I thought that was prison food.
    Unfortunately, I encouraged him by cracking up - including snorts. I think he will continue to be a wise guy.
    Prison food, indeed!

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  23. I'm so glad that you liked it! lol on the prison food. It sounds like you're going to have a very busy school year--you'll do great.
    xox
    steph

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  24. I made this last night after work (also cooked 4 hours on high) and I love the flavor of the broth! My only problem was that I did use the 4 blend cheese and chedder from the bag. NOT a good idea!!! The cheese just shriveled up and clumped together, didn't mix at all into the soup. I'm trying to not look at it when I'm eating it because it looks so gross. But I WILL be making again and this time I'm not skimping on the good cheese!

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  25. Love this site! I agree with 2 buckeyes.. DO NOT use regular shredded cheese. The cheese in the soup looked bad when I intially served it from the pot, but tasted okay. When I reheated later it tasted weird. My mom makes a great milk based cheese soup and she always uses Velveeta because it melts well. I think next time I make this (I will make it again because the broth was rich and yummy!)I'll try Velveeta and skip the two other cheeses.

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  26. I've been craving broccoli and cheese soup for over a month now but haven't been able to find any at restaurants in town so I finally decided to make my own.

    I came across this recipe and it looks AMAZING! I'm excited about tasting it tonight! (I'm just about to put it together.)

    How many servings did this make?

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  27. not sure how you got the texture you appear to have out of the frozen broccoli. by the time i was adding the cheese, my texture was kinda funky. i ended up stirring the cheese in and then hitting it with an immersion blender. it made the whole thing deliciously thick and creamy. i used the same cheeses you did and would have been super bummed if it hadn't turned out, as it was close to $20 worth of cheese! but no worries, it came out good, just very different looking from yours.

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  28. The soup tasted good but it looked terrible. It looked nothing like the picture. I used good, gourmet cheeses, too (one cup was plain old shredded cheddar). I shredded the cheeses myself and everything, so I'm not sure what went wrong. It honestly looked like vomit in a bowl. I am going to try it again with Velveeta and hope for prettier results!

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  29. OK, I tried it again tonight (for a family gathering, so I was a little nervous!) and used one 32-ounce brick of Velveeta, cubed. It looked and tasted wonderful. I got many compliments on it, so I told the relatives all about your blog. I've made lots of your recipes this year which have turned out great but I've never publicly commented on them... so I felt bad that my only comment this year was the "vomit bowl" one above! I just had to let you know that this time it tasted AND looked great... using Velveeta.

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  30. I made this for the second time yesterday, and it was even better than the first time. I used broth that I made from my Thanksgiving turkey using your chicken broth recipe http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search/label/broth. This gave the soup more texture and flavor, and I loved knowing that there were even more veggies in it than just broccoli. I used cheddar (2 cups) and swiss (1 cup) cheeses.

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  31. I used smoked sharp cheddar, a brick of velveeta, and colby pepper jack. I also used some potato flakes at the end to thicken it up. I topped with homemade croutons. We've eaten it for almost a week!

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  32. Crystel5/12/2009

    Hello! How do you think adding a few frozen chicken breasts to it at the beginning would turn out? (I LOVE broccoli cheese soup, btw. I am so excited to try this!)

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  33. Rachel6/17/2009

    I'm really wondering about using fresh broccoli! I'd love to use fresh instead of frozen but I'm not sure if it would work. I may be trying this recipe this weekend.

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  34. For all of you wondering about using fresh broccoli, I did it last night and it worked totally fine. I cooked it on high for 6 hours, then switched to low for probably another hour total because I was paranoid that the broccoli wouldn't be consume-able Followed the directions exactly. Enjoy!

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  35. I made this the other night using frozen broccoli, one cup cheddar, one cup mozzarella and one cup Parmesan. It tasted good, but it did not look like the picture. I'm currently on a diet, so I couldn't use Velveeta, but I would be interested to try next time!

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  36. As an broccoli cheese soup aficionado, I have to say this soup is terrible. We made this soup yesterday and it was completely inedible. Without a roux or other thickening agent you are left with milky broccoli cheese. We used white and sharp cheddar for our cheese and fresh broccoli, and no matter what we did, the soup remained weak and runny. We've made homemade broccoli cheese soup at home on the stove with much better results.

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  37. Hi Caroline,

    Thank you for your input! I agree that if you don't blend it a bit, it can be quite runny.

    sorry to disappoint...

    steph

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  38. I've made this twice now. The first time I was worried about the texture issues since we had company, so I used 1 lb. Velveeta (1/2 a block), 1 cup shredded cheddar, and about 1 cup parmesan. I also added some cornstarch at the end to thicken even more. It was the BEST broccoli soup EVER! Seriously, I told everyone I knew about it.
    Tonight I made it with Gouda, Cheddar, and a little bit of Parmesan and it was NOT very good. I really tried thickening it with cornstarch and even flour, but the texture was grainy and the flavor was not as buttery. It was still decent, but not nearly as good as with Velveeta.
    That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth :)
    Thank you so much for the great recipes. I have really been enjoying using my crock pot and you have been a great resource!

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  39. Hi! Just found your blog a few days ago and I made this soup as I was looking for something to warm my finacee and I up on a cold night. Let me tell you, it came out soooo goood!!! I used Velveeta, Mozzarella, and Cheddar along with a few scoops of corn starch to thicken it up...MMMMMM so good with some slices of thick, fresh, Italian bread. Keep up the good work here, you have some incredible recipes which I will definitely be trying! Happy Holidays!

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  40. I just made this broccoli soup for a crowd of people at church. It was a hit! Thank you for this blog. I love, love, love it!
    Nicole

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  41. Just came across your blog searching for a broccoli soup recipe....it looks yummo and I LOVE using my crock pot - at least 3 times last week. Thanks for the WEALTH of recipes.
    Sheree xx

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  42. I made this last night and it was just ok. I did not use the same cheeses that the author did-but i tried to sub in as close as i could. Used cheddar, swiss and gouda. Like i said, it was ok, but not stellar. Before adding the cheeses, I removed almost all the veggies w/ a slotted spoon to a big bowl. I was hoping to avoid the texture issues w/ the cheese sticking but it still stuck. I think part of my problem was that I used bullion cubes instead of stock (realized last minute we were out!) and i only used 2 cubes for 4 cups of water. I didn't want to taste like i was drinking bouillon. So maybe next time another cube, or actual stock. I would probably make this again.

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  43. Allow me to share first, that I'm not the cook of the house, that is my wife. I wanted to have something ready to welcome her and my two oldest when they returned from the airport and I had a hankering for some of this soup. We had it and I loved it.

    I made this and cooked it slow under the lid for just over eight hours--unattended after the first three hours. The broccoli was just a slur by the time we returned. I added 1lb Velveeta, a heaping cup of cheddar and another heaping cup of mozzarella and mixed them in until they were well stirred.

    The next time I make this, I'd like the broccoli to be more firm and the soup to be more thick. I did blend 1/8 cup of rice similar to what Theresa in Mèrida suggested; but, I think I would need more or something else. Overall, I was very pleased with how it turned out and I'll be passing the recipe over to my wife to make again at some point.

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  44. Tried this today and it looked NOTHING like the picture...EPIC fail...the broccoli was super mushy when I came home at lunchtime to stir the soup (the soup had been on low for 4 hours) so I'm kind of disappointed in the receipe

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  45. I am not sure what I did wrong here. The broccoli is mush (practically disintegrated), there is no cheese dripping off the remaining pieces, and the broth isn't even white any more - it looks more like chicken broth. What did I do wrong???

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  46. I made this soup this morning and just got home to an amazing smelling soup! However, the milk has separated and it looks gross! Is there any way to fix it? It smells so good but I don't want to waste all the cheese if it can't be fixed, help!!

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  47. Tabitha1/25/2012

    I tried making this soup. and it wasnt as creamy as i though broccoli soup is supposed to be..is there anyways i can change that?

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  48. I just made this last night and was disappointed. Only difference was.I used skim.milk but I don't think that would be such an issue. Soup was not cheesy & was very unappealing looking. I do like this blog so I will keep trying other recipes. Amanda

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  49. Just made this. Not a huge fan of the flavor or texture :-/ . Runny soup with gobs of broccoli and cheese. Sad I bought the expensive cheese...

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  50. Made a vegan version of this today - veg broth, almond milk, dairy/casein free cheese. It was amazing!!! Best broccoli cheese soup I've ever tasted, vegan or not.

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  51. From one crockpot loving Stephanie to another (my last name is Potter and my friends jokingly call me the CrockPotter because I talk up my crockpot so much! haha), let me just say how much I LOVE your blog! My husband has been put on a liquid diet leading up to some surgery he's having, and we've been having an easy time of it because of our favourite crockpot soup recipes. I'm really excited to try this one for tomorrow!

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  52. So going to try this recipe out today. Added mushrooms and doubled the amount of liquids since it seem like too little for the amount of fresh broccoli I was using. I plan on using this creamy three cheese sauce progresso makes instead of the three different cheeses. Hopefully this won't make the soup too thin.

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    Replies
    1. Neat idea with the cheese sauce! Post and let us know how it turns out, Zeak.

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  53. It turned out amazing, everyone says it's the best broccoli cheese soup they have ever had. However for my tastes I would of liked the sauce a little bit more thick. Might do one less can of chicken broth when I do it again.

    The cheese sauce worked amazing btw since it was very creamy to begin with didn't have the problem some others were saying with the clumpyness. Just added two cans an hour before the soup was done cooking (of course if your going by this recipe I would only add one can since I doubled up on everything).

    Pic:
    http://i49.tinypic.com/2n2kh1.jpg

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  54. I made this tonight but I added one can of cheddar cheese soup and two bouillion cubes. Sooo good! Thanks for the recipe! :)

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  55. Made this yesterday and decided to add in the roux. It was so delish! I did have a little separation from the milk (We only buy whole for my toddler) but once everything was all mixed together, you couldn't really tell. Even my 2 year old ate some with us and that is saying a lot! I'm trying out a few more of your recipes this week and my family is so excited for some good eats! Thanks for posting all these delicious meals!

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  56. Anonymous11/04/2015

    Can I use fresh broccolli in this soup? We made your taco soup last night. It cooked all night so my daughter could have it for lunch today. Then tonight it will be our dinner. Love your recipes.

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  57. hi Anon, most certainly you can use fresh. I'm glad that you enjoyed the taco soup!

    (ps I'll update the recipe to include the fresh suggestion. thank you!)

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  58. I see that someone used almond milk and it turned out okay. I am wondering if it would turn out without adding any cheese since my husband and I both dislike cheese in our broccoli soup.

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