Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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 20 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.

The 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

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!