I love Panera Bread. Love love love. Like every time I’m home, I force my family and friends to go at least once type of love. So when I stumbled on a recipe for copycat Broccoli Cheddar Soup…I almost fainted (no joke).
It all started on a Friday night when I was starting to feel a cold coming on. I was craving nothing but hot, smooth, deliciously cheesy broccoli soup. So I did what any normal human would do–I creeped through Pinterest until I found a recipe and headed to the grocery store.
*This is a recipe I adapted from Creme de la Crumb. And it’s amazingggg!
Here’s What You Need:
- 1 big stalk of broccoli (I opted for fresh over frozen which added more crisp–yum!)
- 1 onion (chopped small)
- 3 cups water
- 3 tbsp beef bullion
- 5 tbsp butter (1 tbsp for initial cooking, the rest for later)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 fat free half & half (use fat free to make this a little healthier!)
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 large skillet, 1 small pan, 1 small pot
Here’s How You Do It:
- Start with the onions in a small pan. Chop and cook them with 1 tbsp butter until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In small pot, boil 3 cups water, add beef bullion and stir until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large skillet melt butter (medium heat) then slowly add flour until it gets soupy/doughy. Slowly add water/beef bullion mix and stir. Slowly add half & half and stir until all lumps are removed.
- Chop broccoli and add along with onions. Boil.
- Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes (or until broccoli is at the tenderness level you prefer…I like mine still a little ‘crispy’ rather than mushy so I cooked my raw broccoli for 15 min.)
- Stir in salt, pepper, and cheese until blended. Serve hot!