This chicken broccoli cheddar soup is one of my favorite cozy, creamy soup recipes ever. It has everything you love about broccoli cheddar soup but it’s made a little lighter and higher protein. You and your whole family will love this one!
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Why you’ll love this
There are so many reasons to love this cheesy chicken broccoli soup recipe! Here are just a few:
- It’s SO good: Seriously, this soup is so so yummy! If you love a creamy cheesy cozy soup, you’ll love this. I love serving this comforting soup full of cheesy goodness with slices of crusty bread and butter.
- Nutritious: The best part about this soup is that it’s packed with so many great ingredients like lean chicken breast, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower! Plus, it’s made with milk instead of heavy cream and thickened by blending the soup.
- High protein: One serving of this soup has an impressive 39 grams of protein, thanks to the chicken, milk and cheese.
- High fiber: A bowl of this soup also has 5 grams of fiber because of all the veggies!
- Family favorite: This creamy soup is going to be a crowd pleaser, I promise. My entire family love this one, even the pickiest eaters in my house.
- Comfort food: There’s just nothing like a bowl of warm and comforting soup to make you feel better about just about anything. This chicken broccoli cheese soup is one of my favorite feel-good recipes. This broccoli cheddar chicken soup is the perfect way to warm up on a chilly night.
This has truly become one of my all time favorite soup recipes! Let’s get into what you need to make it.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: Boneless skinless chicken breast adds lean protein to this soup and works perfectly with the cheesy flavors. You could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs. It’s also a great way to use rotisserie chicken meat.
- Fresh broccoli florets, cauliflower and carrots: One of the best parts about this soup is that it’s so loaded with veggies, but they get blended up so it’s just deliciously creamy. Cauliflower in particular is great for adding creamy texture without flour.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: You’ll also need shredded cheddar cheese. You can use regular cheddar or white cheddar, whichever you prefer. I highly recommend grating your own with a cheese grater for the creamiest soup.
- Milk: I recommend either 2% milk or whole milk for this soup. If you like an ultra-creamy soup, you can also add a bit of heavy cream.
- Onion + garlic: Fresh onion and garlic are key for the best flavor! While you can sub in garlic powder and onion powder in a pinch, I highly recommend using fresh.
- Chicken broth: Chicken broth, chicken stock or vegetable broth will all work for this soup.
- Olive oil: You’ll need a little bit of olive oil to sauté the veggies. You can also use any neutral oil, like avocado oil.
- Salt + pepper
- Optional: If you prefer a thicker soup, you can also add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour.
How to make chicken broccoli cheddar soup
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp oil on medium heat and cook chicken breast until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, season with a pinch or so of salt and black pepper.
- Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Shred chicken and roughly chop.
- Heat another 1 tbsp of oil to the pan on medium to medium-high heat and add onion, garlic, and carrots. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add broccoli and cauliflower, cover, and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes while covered, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add milk slowly while stirring, and then bring back to a simmer.
- Stir in cheese slowly, allowing to melt into broth.
- Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup. It should be about 75% blended and creamy with some chunks of veggies here and there.
- Add shredded chicken back to the soup and let simmer for another 3-4 minutes until heated evenly.
- Top with extra cheddar cheese and serve with crusty bread.
How to store
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Variations
- Omit the chicken for an equally delicious and simple veggie-packed broccoli cheddar soup.
- For a thicker soup, add 2-4 tbsp of flour by whisking with broth and then adding to the soup while it’s cooking.
- Drizzle with hot sauce or top with crushed red pepper flakes for a spicy version.
- Use different cheeses to change up the flavor. Parmesan cheese would work great too.
- Hollow out a large roll of your favorite crusty bread for an easy bread bowl!
- For more creaminess, add a few tablespoons of cream cheese or a splash of heavy cream.
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If you make this one and love it too, please leave a 5-star rating and comment below!
Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Creamy cheese broccoli cheddar soup made higher protein with chicken breast and full of nutritious ingredients.
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Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken sliced thin or purchase thin-sliced cutlets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 tbsp flour optional for thickening
- 3/4 cup milk 2%
- 1 large broccoli head about 4-5 cups
- 1 small cauliflower head about 3 cups
- 3-4 cups chicken broth start with 3, add additional if too thick
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded from a block
Instructions
- In a sauté pan, heat 1 tbsp oil on medium heat and cook chicken breast until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, season with a pinch or so of salt and black pepper.
- Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Shred chicken and roughly chop.
- Heat another 1 tbsp of oil to the pan and add onion, garlic, and carrots. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add broccoli and cauliflower, cover, and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes while covered, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add milk slowly while stirring, and then bring back to a simmer. Note: If you want a thicker soup, whisk 2 tbsp of flour into milk before adding milk.
- Stir in cheese slowly, allowing to melt into broth.
- Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup. It should be about 75% blended and creamy with some chunks of veggies here and there.
- Add chicken back to the soup and let simmer for another 3-4 minutes until heated evenly.
- Top with extra cheddar cheese and serve with crusty bread.
Notes
Nutrition facts are based on 6 equal servings. Exact serving size will depend on the size of broccoli and cauliflower heads, but will end up being a 2.5ish cup serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 1513mg | Potassium: 1166mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5295IU | Vitamin C: 116mg | Calcium: 385mg | Iron: 2mg
6 Responses
This was delicious! Will definitely be making again!! And felt really healthy with all those veggies!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed 🙂 I love how it’s so full of veggies too!
Do you have any suggestions to make this recipe if one does not have an immersion blender?
You can transfer the mixture to a regular blender and blend that way- I would just be careful to not fully fully blend it and leave a little bit chunky for texture :). You can also try using a potato masher at that step- I would let the veggies cook for a little bit longer so that they’re extra soft. The texture won’t be identical using that method but I’m sure will still be very delicious!
Delicious! We wanted a little more “cheesy” flavor (we are WI cheese heads), so I added some nutritional yeast to my bowl! 👩🏼🍳 😘
Yay! I bet that was delish 🙂 I like to add some grated parm or more cheddar on top for sure 🙂