This delicious Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup can be ready in minutes, and is just like Panera's classic soup. With the goodness of broccoli and carrots, this creamy cheesy soup is so comforting, the whole family will love it!
With the fall weather in full swing, I have been craving soup. What could be better than this delicious cheesy goodness. You know what I mean if you love cheese...and soups!
Note: This recipe has been updated with new photos and lots of good details to help you make the perfect soup!
Easy Panera Copycat Broccoli Cheese Soup
I used to have this soup at cafe's and wondered how they make this creamy comforting soup. Ooooh...the yummy broccoli and carrots in a delicious cheesy base. Now I make this soup in the comfort of my home in the amazing Instant Pot!
I love making soups in the instant pot, so quick, and so delicious. I have over 15 Instant Pot Soup recipes. I must say, this Broccoli Cheddar Soup is one of my family's favorites. So rich, creamy and cheesy...it is heavenly!
Don't want cheese? Check out this Thai Butternut Squash Soup and this Vegan Cauliflower Soup. For an easy dump-and-go soup in the instant pot, check out this Vegetarian Taco Soup.
Health Benefits of Broccoli
One of the star ingredient in this soup, broccoli comes packed with nutrition and has so many health benefits:
- It is loaded with fiber, vitamin C, K iron, and potassium
- Also, it has a higher protein content than most vegetables
- It helps in lowering your blood cholesterol
- Boosts your eye-health.
Even thought the name of the soup is broccoli cheddar, I adds carrots and onions too. I love the added nutrition from all the veggies disguised in this creamy soup.
How to make Broccoli & Cheese Soup in the Pressure Cooker?
This is a super quick recipe, just make sure you have cheddar cheese at home. I made this soup in an Instant Pot, but it can easily be made in a normal pressure cooker or in a pot on the stovetop, just allow extra time to make the soup creamy.
Main Ingredients
Broccoli - I used broccoli in this recipe. I have tried this soup with frozen broccoli as well, and it works great. So go for what you have on hand. You can keep the broccoli pieces big or dice them, they will be super soft after pressure cooking, and will mix seamlessly in the soup.
Carrots - I like to add carrots to this soup as well. I grated the carrots, as my family prefers it that way. You can dice finely if you like too. Just a couple of carrots or one large carrot.
Cheese - I prefer medium or sharp cheddar in this recipe. Also, my preference is to always grate cheese freshly at home.
Roux - I add a roux made on stovetop with butter, flour and milk to thicken this soup. Other options to thicken the soup are a cornstarch slurry or just heavy cream. We love the creaminess of the roux, and is our preferred method.
Broth - You can use vegetable or chicken broth in this recipe. I use Better Than Bouillon to make the broth. It is easy to have this in the refrigerator and make broth whenever I need it for a recipe.
Method
- Let's get started. First, start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and melt butter in it. Then add the diced onions and minced garlic and sauté for couple of minutes.
- Add broccoli, carrots, seasoning and broth. Mix it all well.
- Close the lid and pressure cook. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally.
When the pressure cooking is done, melt butter on a stovetop saucepan. Add the flour and saute for a minute until it is cooked. Whisk in the milk, a little bit at a time, until you have a smooth thick consistency.
- Open the instant pot lid after the pressure has released. Stir in the roux you prepared on stovetop. Add the cheddar cheese gradually, stirring continuously, until it melts.
- If you like a smooth soup, use a whisk for stirring. If you like it chunkier, then use a regular ladle to stir in the cheese.
- Press sauté and let the soup simmer for a couple of minutes.
Soup is ready to be served. Serve in a regular bowl or a bread bowl, it is delicious either way!
Top with grated cheese or dip some crusty bread to enjoy this soup. If you like it spicy, sprinkle some chili flakes or hot sauce!
Tips
- I highly recommend to buy a block of cheese and shred it at home. The store bought pre-shredded cheese does not melt as well, as it has a coating to keep it separate in the bag.
- You can make this soup smooth or chunky based on your preference. My kids like it smoother, so I used a whisk when mixing the soup after pressure cooking. You can also use a hand blender to make this soup smooth.
- Vegan variation: To make this recipe vegan, replace the butter with your favorite plant based oil or use vegan butter. One reader used Daiya vegan cheese and almond milk and it melted perfectly to make a creamy vegan soup.
- No Flour / Gluten-free variation: Skip the all-purpose flour to make this soup gluten-free. Add the extra butter in step 1 to the instant pot and cream/milk after pressure cooking is done.
- This recipe is already low carb. You can reduce the carbs even further by replacing the roux with just heavy cream and reducing the amount of onions and carrots in the recipe.
- Don't be afraid of the butter and cheese to get the real cafe-style flavors at home.
Common Questions
Yes, frozen broccoli works great in this recipe. The same cooking time will work for frozen broccoli too. You can also use a mix of cauliflower and broccoli.
Yes! You can follow the steps as in the recipe, but add an extra cup of broth and let the veggies simmer in the broth for about 15-20 minutes until they are tender.
Let's the soup cool completely. Then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Sure, the cooking time will remain the same even if you half or double the recipe.
Try this recipe and let me know if how you like it. If you are looking for more soup options, check out this collection of 17 Instant Pot Vegetarian Soup recipes for more delicious soups!
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
Seasoning (adjust to taste)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
For stovetop
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 2 tablespoon All purpose flour
- 1 cup Milk or cream
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and melt butter in it. Add diced onions and minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add broccoli, carrots, seasoning and broth. Mix it all well. Press Cancel and close the instant pot lid with vent in sealing position.
- Set the instant pot on MANUAL or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.
On Stovetop
- When the pressure cooking is done, melt butter on a stovetop saucepan. Add the flour and saute for a minute until it is cooked. Whisk in the milk, a little bit at a time, until you have a smooth thick consistency.
Mix it together
- Stir in the roux prepared on stovetop and the cheddar cheese gradually, stirring continuously, until it melts.
- Change the instant pot to SAUTE mode and let the soup simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Soup is ready to be served. Garnish with some grated cheese, black pepper or red chili flakes and enjoy with crusty bread.
Video
Notes
- In step 1, add all the butter (including what is mentioned in stovetop section). Add diced onions and minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add flour and saute for a minute until it is cooked. Add the broth and mix it well with the flour to a smooth consistency. Add broccoli, carrots and seasoning.
- After this follow the steps to close the lid and pressure cook. Stir in the cream after releasing pressure. Stovetop steps can be skipped.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Kristy P says
Mine turned out a bit gritty and oily. My husband thought I was wrong in adding the roux and cheese to the instant pot instead of mixing them separately. I trippled the recipe, so hopefully it still gets eaten. Any thought on where I went wrong?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Kristy - Sorry to hear that the soup did not turn out perfectly. I think stirring the soup continuously while adding the roux and cheese is important, so that it mixes well. I also prefer to grate cheese from a block myself, so it does not have any additives. I hope that helps, and that the soup got eaten.
Millicent says
This will now be part of my arsenal of standard comfort food recipes! Honestly, I've never had Panera's version, but now I don't need to wonder because this tastes amazing already. Thank you very much for an easy to follow recipe. In the future, I'll omit the salt as the bouillon paste and cheese provide enough flavor. Overall, excellent recipe. xx
Meeta Arora says
Hi Julia - Happy to hear you enjoyed the soup. Thank you for sharing back!
Julia says
Excellent! Best broccoli cheddar soup I’ve made. Hubby loved it so much. Caution: I thought my cheese was defective and not melting but it turns out it was the shredded Carrots that were the orange things I was seeing!
Meeta Arora says
Hi Julia - So happy to hear you enjoyed the soup. Thank you for sharing back your review!
Marion cardoza says
OMG, this is exactly what I was looking for. Tastes just like Paneras but better, and cheaper 🤣 I doubled the recipe and added nutmeg to the roux . Only seasoned the soup with pepper as the cheese has enough salt. Definitely a keeper . THANK YOU
Piping Pot Curry says
Hello, I'm very glad you liked it. Thank you for sharing back.
Nicole says
Thanks for posting this recipe! Super easy and amazing results. I did made the flour on the stove top. I was a little confused reading the updates. Are the notes at the bottom stating to add flour to the instapot and skip the stove top the correct way? I might do that next time so I’ll have one less dish to wash, haha! Thanks again. Great recipe!
Meeta Arora says
Hi Nicole - Glad you enjoyed the soup. Cooking the flour on the stovetop is what I recommend now, even if it is one more step, and dish to clean. Previously I had cooked the flour with the other ingredients in the instant pot, but they don't recommend that anymore, hence the updated recipe. P.S. it is in the notes, as some readers wanted to have the old recipe steps 🙂
Shweta says
Easy to make and came out really well. Kids loved it.
Julie Catenacci says
I love your recipes but I don’t have a instant pot and am not really interested in buying one. Can you make your recipes on the stove top?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Julie - Thank you is much. Glad to hear you like the recipes. Most of the recipes can be made on the stovetop, however the cooking time could be longer (and sometimes more liquid might be needed). Here is a list of recipes that have a stovetop method added to them - https://pipingpotcurry.com/category/recipes/stovetop/
Pallavi says
Followed the corrected recipe at the bottom 👍came out perfect,so yummy 😋 Thank you !
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi - So good to hear that 🙂
Rayhana says
OMG. I made this for Iftaari (to break my fast during Ramadan). This was soooooo delicious and so easy to make. I just can't remember how much salt I put because it was perfect haha. I will be making this l the time now. Tastes BETTER than Panera. I used sharp cheddar btw. Amazing.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Rayhana - So happy to hear you enjoyed the soup for iftaari. Thank you for sharing back your review!
Heather C Howell says
Salaams, Ramadan Mubarak.
I've been using the recipe as a base for years. My husband loves it. It's a perfect comfort food. I'm making it tonight for Iftar tomorrow. 🙂
Meeta Arora says
Glad to hear you have been enjoying this soup. Ramadan Mubarak!
Kav says
Thanks for an easy delicious soup recipe Meeta.
I just saw the recipe today & couldn't resist the temptation even though didn't had broth or cheddar cheese,so just made with water & some Jack cheese mix i had.Still it came so yummy 😋 . And just made some paneer-rava finger toast as neither bread in stock nor time for making one.
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi - So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for sharing your experience 😊
Tanya says
I see that it’s 6 servings. Is that one cup servings?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Tanya - yes, it is about a cup per serving. I actually updated to 4 servings (along with new pictures), as many people mentioned that the servings were too small.