Broccoli Cheddar Soup

About This Recipe

Broccoli cheddar soup combines tender broccoli with a creamy cheese base and small carrot pieces. The broccoli should remain recognisable in flavour, while cheddar provides savoury richness. Gentle heat after cheese addition helps maintain a smooth texture.

Equipment

• ✓ Soup saucepan
• ✓ Knife and board
• ✓ Ladle
• ✓ Immersion blender or blender approved for the liquid temperature

Ingredients

• 550 g broccoli, florets and peeled stems
• 50 g butter
• 120 g onion, diced
• 100 g carrot, fine julienne
• 35 g plain flour
• 750 ml vegetable stock
• 350 ml whole milk
• 220 g mature cheddar, finely grated
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 10 ml lemon juice
• Salt and white pepper

Easy Step-by-Step Method

Complete one numbered step before moving to the next. Keep the heat and timing exactly as written.

Chef Notes & Tips

Finely grated room-temperature cheese melts smoothly; pre-shredded cheese can make the soup grainy.

Ingredient choices: Peel fibrous broccoli stems and cut them smaller than florets. Finely grate cheddar so it melts evenly. Mature cheese and stock can both be salty, so postpone final salt adjustment.

Cooking control: Cook the butter-flour base before adding stock and milk gradually. Simmer broccoli to tenderness, then lower heat before stirring in cheese. Add cheese in portions and avoid a rolling boil afterward.

If something goes wrong: A grainy or oily finish may come from overheating cheese. A raw flour taste needs more cooking before the cheese stage. If too thick, loosen with warm stock or milk in small amounts.

Ingredient Substitutions

• ↔ Use cauliflower for half the broccoli; Gruyère can replace one-third of the cheddar.

Food Safety & Doneness

Use pasteurised dairy products and keep them refrigerated until needed. Follow package use-by instructions, and refrigerate prepared food promptly in shallow containers. For hot soup, use an immersion blender with its head submerged, or cool sufficiently before using a blender approved for warm liquids. Never seal hot soup in a closed cup blender.

Serving & Plating

Serve hot with a few appropriately cooked broccoli pieces visible. Add any bread accompaniment separately and account for dairy and wheat in the soup itself.

Storage

Refrigerate promptly in shallow covered containers at 4°C or below and use within 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed to at least 74°C throughout. Discard food left unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C.