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Welcoming these chilly winter days with this Lighter Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup. It’s cozy, creamy, secretly full of vegetables, and totally delicious. This soup is made simply in one pot with puréed cauliflower (to make it creamy), sharp cheddar cheese, and plenty of broccoli. Plus a little bit of coconut milk gives this soup an even creamier texture. It’s such a delicious healthier take on my favorite broccoli cheddar soup.
I’ve definitely shared my love for broccoli cheddar soup many times over the years. It’s one of those soups that for me, brings back all the best memories. I’ve loved a bowl broccoli cheddar since the days of my mom taking me out for lunch, way back when we lived in Cleveland.
It wasn’t that often that we’d go out for lunch, but when I could convince my mom to take us to Panera, it was always the best. The boys would just get bagels, but mom and I would get soup. Either the broccoli cheddar or chicken noodle, but broccoli cheddar was the favorite.
I haven’t had Panera since probably 6th grade, but I remember it being creamy, cheesy, and so delicious. I’ve loved a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup ever since. I feel like a lot of you have similar stories. It’s such an all around loved soup.
The idea
I already have a good broccoli cheddar soup on HBH. But I wanted to create a healthier version that was still just a creamy and delicious.
I thought I could mix in a cauliflower purée to add creaminess, plus an extra serving of vegetables too. It worked perfectly, and you’d never know that cauliflower is even in the soup!
Details
This soup is easy, but it does involve one extra step that a traditional broccoli cheddar soup doesn’t include, a double purée.
Start out simply with an onion, carrots, and broth. Add a head of cauliflower and let the soup simmer until the cauliflower is super tender. Purée this mix until it’s super creamy. You don’t want any chunks of cauliflower left over.
If you enjoy chunks of carrot in your soup, be sure to pull those out before puréing the cauliflower.
Return the creamy base to the stove, then in goes the broccoli. You’ll need to cook the broccoli until it’s tender too, then do another round of blending. This time, don’t blend the soup all the way. I love to leave some chunks of broccoli.
Next, add a little cheddar cheese. Then add a splash of canned coconut milk to make the soup perfectly creamy…but without any cream!
I’d highly recommend serving this soup with a side of crusty bread or pretzels. You need something for dipping!
Alright, and with that, I’m going to leave you all to it. If your week needs some warming soup, this is it. I’m actually beyond excited to make this again soon!
Looking for other soup recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup
Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup
Instant Pot Pesto Zuppa Toscana
Healthier Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Vegetable Soup
Lastly, if you make this lighter Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lighter Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1116 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked (or regular) paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne use to taste
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup canned full fat coconut milk
- 1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- 1. Melt together the olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and thyme, and cook until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until golden, about 2 minutes, then gradually whisk in the broth. Add the cauliflower and bring to a boil. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. 2. Transfer the soup to a blender and purée until smooth. Return the soup to the pot. If needed add 1-2 cups water, then the broccoli, bay leaves, paprika, cayenne, and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, uncovered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.3. Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup in batches until the broccoli is finely chopped, but small chunks still remain. 4. Return the soup to the stove and set over low heat. Stir in the coconut milk and cheese until melted and creamy. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. If the soup is thick, add broth to thin. Ladle into bowls and top with a little extra cheddar and fresh thyme. Enjoy!
Seriously the BEST recipe for this soup! I make this on a constant rotation. Delicious!
Hi Mary,
Perfect!! ⛄️ I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for trying it out! xx
Is this really over 1000 calories per serving or was that a typo? Just curious!
Hi Haley,
I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
Looking forward to trying recipe today. I have frozen cauliflower. How many cups or ounces of cauliflower would you use?
Hey Kim,
I would use 2 cups of cauliflower. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this recipe turns out well for you! xT
Good Morning,
I love this recipe and I am going to double it tonight for my family. Any suggestions on doubling it?
Hi Carla,
So glad to hear you have been enjoying this recipe!! You can totally double it, just be sure your pot is large enough! xT
Delicious and easy
Hi Ellie,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩
So tasty! I even added some celery to sneak in more vegetables. I could imagine this being really amazing with your pretzel recipe. Will have to try that sometime. Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Brittany,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! 👻
Is the calorie count for the whole recipe, not just the serving?
Hi Kim Marie,
Yes, that sounds about right! I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
I am dying to try this recipe! Would it be possible to substitute the coconut milk with nonfat plain greek yogurt to make it “lighter”?
Hi Robyn,
I would just use another milk of your choosing. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Super delicious! The flour really gives this soup thickness while the carrots give it a lovely orange color even before adding the cheese. Loved the flavor with a good extra dash of paprika and cayenne! Perfect for a rainy football Sunday.
Hi Emily,
Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it:) xTieghan
My family loves this soup! Last winter I made it 4x. It froze well too!
Hi Karey,
Amazing!! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have a great weekend☀️
This was my go to winter soup recipe! It was easy to make and super healthy! I honestly love this more than any restaurant broccoli cheddar soup. I would freeze half the batch and eat it the follow weeks as well! Can’t recommend enough!!
Hey Brittany,
Happy Sunday! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it:) ?
Great recipe! Super excited to add this to our regular dinner rotation. THANK YOU Tieghan 🙂 Immersion blender made it easy! I blended in a small baked potato (no skin) to make the broth even more flavorful & creamy. I used regular milk instead of coconut. I used half a 10 oz tub of “pub” cheese in place of shredded cheese. The cayenne pepper in this recipe adds just the right amount of spice. My family loved this soup!
Hey June,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan!
I accidentally added the whole can of coconut milk -Any suggestions on how to make it creamier?
Hey Kristina,
I would just add some extra cheese, that should work well for you! Let me know how the recipe turns out! xx
If you don’t have any cauliflower on hand do you think you can forego it?
Hi there,
Sure, that would be okay to do! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This is delicious!! I’ve made it a few times at this point. Such a healthy way to make a creamy soup. Have you ever attempted to freeze this?
Hey Jessica,
That’s great!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! This would be totally fine for you to freeze! xxT
I froze mine zero issues! I would let it sit on the counter to see-frost during the day and I always added a little cheese to thicken it back up!
So good! I added a small diced potato in with the cauliflower as only had half of a medium head. I left out the coconut milk since it was super creamy without. It turned out great!
Hi Laura,
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great week! ?xxT