This Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe only takes 30 minutes to make! It's a simple, delicious soup that uses frozen broccoli, real cheddar cheese, carrots and celery - no potatoes and no flour needed!
The temperature outside is dropping so why not stay WARM with a cozy bowl of Broccoli Cheddar Soup🥣
I feel like this is one of those recipes that's soooo comforting.
Plus, this broccoli soup also maximizes the nutrition you get, spoon by spoon😎
This soup is packed with nutrition from all the veggies and lower in fat and calories than most other recipes out there.
Bottom line: this Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe will not disappoint.
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That's why I LOVE soups for you if you're just getting started with gluten-free eating.
They're pretty easy to make and with the right ingredients, soup can provide a whack-ton of nutrition.
Case in point: just check out these other recipes for easy, gluten-free soups:
📝Ingredients for easy broccoli cheddar soup
You only need a few easy to find ingredients to make this yummy and filling broccoli soup.
Here's what you'll need:
- Butter
- Onion - shallots or cooking onion will work here
- Celery
- Carrots
- Chopped broccoli florets - frozen broccoli florets work just as well as fresh too
- Chicken broth - if you're very sensitive to gluten, go for a broth that is labeled gluten-free. Some brands contain yeast extract made from barley. You can sub-in vegetable broth or you can also use water instead of broth altogether
- 1% milk
- 10% cream - using milk and cream gives a ton of creaminess while keeping the total fat and calories lower than most other recipes for broccoli cheddar soup
- Minced garlic - no fresh garlic? No problem - garlic powder can be used in placed of it
- Shredded cheddar cheese - if you buy the pre-shredded cheese (omg I love it so much!), try a sharp cheddar cheese blend or go for a taco-spiced variety. This gives a little extra flavour-kick to the soup. Processed cheese in this recipe? Um, no. Just like don't even try😅
- Salt and pepper to taste
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions for Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup
Cook onions, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes.
See detailed instructions below.
💃Variations
Broccoli cheddar soup is a delicious and comforting dish that you can change up too!
Here's a few ideas:
- 🔥Spicy broccoli cheddar soup: Add some heat to your soup by adding chopped jalapeños or red pepper flakes.
- 🧄Garlic broccoli cheddar soup: Infuse your soup with the rich flavor of garlic even more by sautéing minced garlic in butter before adding it to the soup.
- 🚫Broccoli Cheddar Soup No Cream: looking to maximize nutrition without the fat and calories that come with cream? This recipe is already a step in that direction (no heavy cream here) but if you're looking for a full no-cream recipe, you can make this soup with 1% or 2% milk and skip the cream altogether.
- 🥣Curry broccoli cheddar soup: Add curry powder to your soup to give it a warm and spicy flavour.
- 🥔Potato broccoli cheddar soup: Add diced potatoes to your soup for a heartier, more filling meal.
- 🧀Ham broccoli cheddar soup: Dice up some cooked lean ham and add it to your soup for a smoky, salty flavour.
- 🥦Broccoli cauliflower cheddar soup: Mix in some cauliflower for added texture and flavour.
- 🍅Tomato broccoli cheddar soup: Stir in some canned tomatoes or tomato paste to give your soup a tangy, acidic flavor.
🥡Storage and Leftovers
Leftover broccoli cheese soup should be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Re-heat any leftovers before eating.
Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge before re-heating. You may need to add a little water or broth, depending the consistency.
🥘 What to serve with broccoli cheddar soup
Up your side dish game💃Serve this easy soup with a main meal or one of the ideas below:
- Corn bread muffins - these muffins from Erin at Meaningful Eats are easy to make and gluten-free.
- Gluten-free whole grain toast with hummus
- Pack in the nutrition with a salad - try this Broccoli Chickpea Salad with Feta or this Easy Quinoa Salad with Feta
- Roasted vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts - check out this recipe for Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli or this one for Roasted Potatoes and Carrots Recipe {one pan!}
- Grilled chicken or fish - grill your chicken in this Greek Yogurt Chicken Marinade or make this easy recipe for Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast
- Baked sweet potato or baked potato wedges - these Oven Roasted Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes or this recipe for Oven Roasted Yellow Potatoes with Lemon Greek Yogurt Sauce are both delicious and would go great with this broccoli cheese soup
🏅Top tips
- When you're adding in the shredded cheese to the Instant Pot of cooked broccoli and other veggies, do it slllooowly. Sprinkle in the cheese and keep stirring the soup while you do it. This way, you'll avoid getting goopy clumps of cheese and have a nice, smooth and delicious broccoli cheese soup.
2. For the broccoli, I actually prefer using frozen broccoli for this soup. And you guys, it's JUST as good for you as fresh broccoli. All that powerhouse nutrition got locked and loaded when it was flash frozen.
So don't think you're missing out on nutrition by using frozen broccoli - go for it😄
Plus, it's all cut up into small lovely florets for you. Which equals less prep time - woop woop!
Hope you love this broccoli cheddar soup like we do❣️
~April
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pressure cooker (Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 4 cups chopped broccoli florets, frozen
- 2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 1 cup 10% cream
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Saute and once it reads Hot, add butter.
- Toss in onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Once the onion is translucent, turn off Saute. Add in broccoli and chicken broth. Stir.
- Lock Instant Pot lid into place and set seal to sealing. Press Manual and set time to 5 minutes.
- Once the timer beeps, release pressure. Remove the lid carefully and select Saute mode.
- Stir in milk, cream and garlic. Use a hand immersion blender to break up any chunks of vegetables and puree the soup till smooth.
- Turn off Saute. Slowly add cheese while stirring until cheese melts completely.
- Taste the soup and add salt or pepper to taste. Serve immediately or let cool and freeze for later.
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