We love Panera Bread. It’s my guilt pleasure, along with Starbucks. To sit and be able to read the newspaper (like they did in them’ good ole days) or to surf on my iPad, it’s such a pleasure. They have classical music playing in the background and some Saturdays I could literally spend my entire afternoon, especially in the winter just reading in a corner. I almost always get the broccoli cheddar soup. It’s always good, always delicious and always satisfying. I have long begged my wife to try and reproduce it and so this recipe is our best attempt at doing that. It’s a copy cat of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar soup! It gets very close, in my opinion, and a must try!
Lacy and I looked at so many recipes coming up with this one. But trust me it turned out so good. I literally couldn’t barely wait to take the pictures. Hannah was hovering like normal, asking if she could help, and if I wanted her to hold a spoon! She is to precious!
We found the bread bowls at Walmart, they are just sourdough loaves that we baked and hollowed out for the soup. Bread bowls are a must!! A bit indulgent but it really makes the soup in my opinion. Hannah likes to eat the crust once I’m done with the inside.
You have got to try this. It reheats, and would be great to take to work, so double the recipe and have some ‘plannedovers!’ Enjoy!
- 1 tbsp of butter (softened)
- ¼ cup melted butter (melted)
- ½ medium onion
- ¼ cup of flour
- 1½ cups half-and-half
- 3 cups of broth or stock
- .5-1 pound of chopped broccoli
- 1 cup carrots, julienned
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- Sauté onion in a tbsp of butter. Set aside.
- Now start to cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-6 minutes.
- Now you need to make a roux. To make one, stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half.
- Add the broth and continue to whisk. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the broccoli, carrots and onions.
- Cook over low heat until all the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- By now, the soup should be thick, and we prefer the soup to be smooth. Use a blender to puree the soup to make it smooth.
- Once smooth, add the grated cheese and stir into soup!
I am making this right now, for dinner tonight! We are adding wild rice and chicken, just trying something new =)
Let me know how it came out!
trying your recipe tonight!! wish me luck …
Let me know how it comes out!
Trying this right now. So far so good.
Just finished making this and it’s SO GOOD! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I LOVE it! I will be making it more often.
What kind of broth is recommended?
Personally I always use low sodium broth (Chicken for this one) because I like to control how much salt goes into whatever I make. So that way you can add salt to taste and not make the dish high in sodium.
This is really too good about the copycat broccoli cheddar soup thanks sharing this article