Lightened Up Broccoli and Cheese Potato Soup
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Adding potatoes to a lightened up version of Broccoli and Cheese Soup makes it the perfect creamy and hearty soup for a cold winter evening.
Broccoli cheese soup is one of my favorites. There’s something about the warm, comforting cream base that just screams comfort food. The only thing I hate about it is the fat and calories. Cream based soups are often high in both and broccoli cheese is no exception.
So when I was looking in my Taste of Home magazine and saw a healthier version I was excited to try it. Even better? It was loaded with one of my favorite foods-potatoes!
I love that this soup combines broccoli, potatoes, and cheese together in one delicious soup. It’s kind of like having a cheesy potato soup which totally works in this case.
Ingredients:
- potatoes
- onions
- garlic
- chicken broth
- salt and pepper
- thyme
- broccoli
- flour
- milk
- cream cheese
- cheddar cheese
To make the soup you combine the potatoes, onions, and garlic with the liquid ingredients and spices and let that simmer for a little while. Then you add in the broccoli.
The milk and flour mixture is added in next to help thicken up the soup. Finally the cream cheese and cheddar cheese are added and mixed until melted into the soup. It’s that easy!
Can I use fresh broccoli?
Of course! If you are using fresh broccoli instead of frozen add it in with the potatoes and onions at the beginning so that it is able to cook. If you add it at the end it will be crunchy.
Can I use another type of cheese?
Sure! Choose a cheese that you enjoy but since cheddar cheese melts well I would keep half the cheddar cheese and just add in another cheese like Swiss or American.
Can I add other veggies?
Yes! Great choices would be cauliflower or bell peppers. Add these at the beginning of the recipe with the potatoes.
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can make this soup a day in advance. Let it cool to room temperature then put it in the refrigerator. Heat it up when you are ready to use it.
Can I freeze this soup?
I wouldn’t. The broccoli and potatoes will basically turn to mush if you freeze this plus since it has a lot of cheese in it the consistency will be off.
I really like this soup and in addition to being easy to make it was ready to eat in about 30 minutes. I love quick soup recipes that still taste good and this is one of those that doesn’t need to simmer all day.
The original recipe called for the soup to be pureed in the blender but I really like to see the chunks of potatoes and broccoli in my soup. I also added in some cream cheese to thicken it up and add some flavor since I didn’t puree the vegetables.
Overall this was a hearty and tasty soup. There were large chunks of both potatoes and broccoli and the soup was light on the creaminess but still had a delicious cheese flavor. I served it with a tossed salad and rolls for a complete meal.
Pro Tips and Substitutions:
- You can make this soup several hours ahead of time and simply simmer it on the stove until it’s time to eat.
- Fresh broccoli can be substituted for the frozen. Simple simmer for an additional 10 minutes to make the broccoli tender.
- You can add in different cheese besides cheddar but I would keep at least half of the cheese cheddar.
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Lightened Up Broccoli and Cheese Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 c. chicken broth
- 2 c. water
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 lb. frozen broccoli florets
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 3/4 c. low fat milk
- 6 oz. cream cheese
- 1 1/2 c. part skim shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot combine the potatoes, onions, garlic, chicken broth, water, salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the broccoli and return to a boil.
- In a small bowl whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Stir into the soup along with the cream cheese. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the soup has thickened.
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cayenne pepper and cheddar cheese. Mix until the cheese is melted.
- Serve hot with additional cheese for topping.
I love all kinds of soups…and thank you for lightening this one up:p
These pictures are making me hungry. Hubby loves Broccoli and Cheese soup, pinning for later.
I love this kind of soup! I too, don’t make it often because of the calories, I’ll give this one a try!
I love this kind of soup. I don’t put mine through a blender either but rather use a potato masher to help thicken the overall soup up. Never tried cream cheese in a soup, but I know it would be great. I’ll have to give that a go next time.
There’s something so wrong about putting cheese in a soup – and yet, so very right. This looks lovely 🙂
Broccoli cheese soup is a guilty favorite of mine and my middle son. No one else in our house likes it. I have to admit I can never get it to thicken correctly.
I love broccoli cheese soup! I’ll have to try this recipe! Thanks Heather!