Panera broccoli cheddar soup has always, always, always been my favorite soup.
Whether it was at Cheddar’s back in the 90’s or my current day crush, the Panera cheddar broccoli soup, it never gets old.
If I knew that I wouldn’t have to buy bigger pants, I’d eat this stuff every single stinkin’ day … but as we both know, this is a huge treat.
And, when you see how I make this Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, you’re going to flip. It’s literally the easiest ever and is an exact replica of your very favorite broccoli cheddar soup Panera is known nationwide for.
I’m just going to be real honest … you’re not going to be overly impressed with the nutrition value of this soup’s ingredients .. but, it’s worth it, I promise!
- 1/2 cup butter
16 oz package frozen broccoli cuts
21.5 oz cream of chicken soup (2 – 10 3/4 oz cans)
21.5 oz cream of mushroom soup (2 – 10 3/4 oz cans)
4 cups milk
16 oz Velveeta cubed
1 cup chicken broth - ** + a dash of nutmeg to taste
This is the recipe that I LOVE to use my Ninja 4-in-1 Crock Pot with because I can cook the broccoli, butter and slow cook all in one dish – it’s amazing!
Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar recipe directions:
In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter
Add broccoli and cook for 5 minutes while stirring until broccoli is heated (5-10 minutes)
Add broccoli to crock pot and stir in remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
You guys, that’s IT! This is literally the easiest broccoli cheddar soup recipe and the leftovers are even better (I swear!) That is, if you have any left!
What Each Ingredient Is Doing in the Pot
Butter and frozen broccoli
A half cup of butter and a sixteen ounce bag of frozen broccoli cuts go in the skillet first. The butter thaws the broccoli and coats it so it does not water down the soup later.
Frozen cuts are smaller than florets, which is what you want. They break down a little over three hours and give you that spoonable texture the Panera version has.
The two cream soups
Two cans of cream of chicken and two cans of cream of mushroom are the body of this soup. Between them they bring the thickness, the salt, and a lot of the savory flavor.
Nobody tastes the mushroom on its own. It just makes the soup taste richer than cream of chicken alone would, which is the whole reason it is in there.
Milk and chicken broth
Four cups of milk thin the canned soups out into something you can actually ladle. One cup of chicken broth adds flavor without adding more dairy.
I use two percent or whole milk. Skim can go thin and a little grainy after three hours in the crock pot.
Velveeta
Sixteen ounces of Velveeta, cubed, is the cheese. It melts completely smooth and never breaks, which is exactly what you need in a slow cooker.
Cube it small, about an inch, so it melts evenly. A whole block dropped in takes a long time and leaves the bottom scorched before the top melts.
Nutmeg
A dash of nutmeg is the little thing that makes people say this tastes like the real one. Start with the smallest pinch, stir, and taste before you add more.
How It Comes Together, Step by Step
Warm the broccoli in the butter
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the broccoli straight from the freezer. Stir for five to ten minutes until it is thawed and heated through.
You are not trying to brown anything. You just want the broccoli warm and buttered before it meets the cold soup and milk, so the crock pot does not start from frozen.
Load the crock pot
Scrape the broccoli and butter into the crock pot. Add both cream soups, the milk, the broth, and the Velveeta cubes, then stir until the canned soup is mostly broken up.
It will look lumpy and unpromising at this point. That is normal. Three hours on low turns it into soup.
Three hours on low, stir now and then
Cover and cook on low for three hours. Give it a stir every forty five minutes or so to move the melting Velveeta off the bottom and through the rest.
The last stir is the one that matters. By then the cheese is fully melted and one good stir brings the whole pot together.
Taste and finish
Taste it before you serve. Add the nutmeg now if you have not already, and a little black pepper. It rarely needs salt because of the canned soups and the cheese.
Why Velveeta and Not Shredded Cheddar
Shredded cheddar is the obvious choice for a cheddar soup, and it is the thing that goes wrong most often. Real cheddar separates when it sits in heat for hours.
Velveeta is made to melt and stay melted. In a crock pot that runs for three hours, that is the difference between a smooth soup and a greasy, grainy one.
If you want a sharper cheddar flavor, stir a handful of sharp shredded cheddar in at the very end, after the crock pot is turned off. It melts into the hot soup without time to break.
Getting the Texture You Like
Thicker
Leave the lid off for the last twenty minutes on low. Some of the liquid cooks off and the soup tightens up, no cornstarch needed.
Thinner
Stir in more milk or broth a half cup at a time until it is where you want it. Reheated leftovers almost always need this.
Smoother
If you like fewer broccoli pieces, give the finished soup a few pulses with an immersion blender right in the crock pot. Stop before it turns into a puree.
Easy Variations
Fresh broccoli
A pound of fresh broccoli chopped small works in place of the frozen bag. It needs the same five to ten minutes in the butter to soften before it goes in the crock pot.
Shredded carrots
The Panera version has little threads of carrot in it. A half cup of shredded carrot added with the broccoli gets you closer to the restaurant bowl.
A little heat
A few shakes of hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne stirred in at the end wakes the whole thing up without making it spicy. The kids never notice.
Make Ahead, Leftovers and Freezing
In the refrigerator
Leftovers keep in a covered container for three to four days. The soup will set up thick when it is cold, and that is normal.
Reheating
Reheat on the stove over low heat with a splash of milk, stirring until it loosens up. In the microwave, use half power and stir every minute so the edges do not scorch.
Freezing
Soups built on milk and Velveeta can separate a little in the freezer. It still tastes right, but reheat it low and slow and whisk it back together as it warms.
What I Serve With It
Crusty sourdough is the only side this really needs, and a bread bowl if you want the full Panera experience at home. A grilled cheese for dunking is the kid version.
For a lighter meal I put it next to a simple green salad. The soup is rich enough that a little acid on the side goes a long way.
More Crock Pot Soups to Try
- Easy Crockpot Potato Soup
- Cheesy Potato Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 16 oz package frozen broccoli cuts
- 21.5 oz cream of chicken soup 2 - 10 3/4 oz cans
- 21.5 oz cream of mushroom soup 2 - 10 3/4 oz cans
- 4 cups milk
- 16 oz Velveeta cubed
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/16 tsp nutmeg to taste (start with a small dash and add from there)
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter
- Add broccoli and cook for 5 minutes while stirring until broccoli is heated (5-10 minutes)
- Add broccoli to crock pot and stir in remaining ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Notes
Does Panera broccoli cheddar soup have chicken broth?
I am actually not sure of the “real” Panera recipe has chicken broth, all I know is that my broccoli cheddar soup slow cooker recipe does and it’s worth a try, because it’s utterly delicious, especially when served with a piece of crusty bread – YUM!
Is this the real Panera broccoli cheddar soup recipe?
Sorry to disappoint, but this is not the “real” broccoli cheddar soup recipe Panera makes. I’m positive that the Panera cheese broccoli soup recipe is locked in a vault somewhere safe. But I can tell you that my cheesy broccoli soup recipe is about as close as you’ll come to the Panera bread broccoli cheddar soup recipe.
If you’re really craving soups, your also going to love this Chicken Tortilla Soup!
And, there are even more easy soup recipes here!
Can I make this on the stove instead?
Yes. After the broccoli is buttered, add everything to a large pot and keep it over low heat, stirring often, until the Velveeta melts. It takes about thirty minutes instead of three hours.
Can I cook it on high?
You can do about ninety minutes on high if you are in a hurry, but stir it more often. Velveeta scorches on the bottom faster at the higher setting.
How long does it keep?
Three to four days in the refrigerator in a covered container. Thin it with a little milk when you reheat it, because it thickens as it chills.