Recipe yields 8 cups of soup or 4 bowl-sized servings of this cheesy broccoli potato chowder. The leftovers reheat like a dream so feel free to squirrel some away for the next day!
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword Cheesy Broccoli Potato Chowder
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Total Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 4servings
Calories 613kcal
Author Jenn Laughlin - Peas and Crayons
Ingredients
3cupschopped broccoli(approx. 10 oz florets + stalks)
½cupchopped onion
½cupchopped celery
2clovesgarlic, minced
2TBSPunsalted butter(divided)
¼cupflour
2russet potatoes(13-16 oz total)
3cupslow-sodium vegetable broth
2cupsmilk(2% or whole)
¼tspsea saltor season to taste
¼tspblack pepper
⅛tsppaprika
⅛tspground nutmeg and/or allspice(optional)
2cupsfreshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
¼cupfreshly grated parmesan cheese
½cupheavy cream(optional)
TASTY TOPPINGS
extra grated cheddar cheese
crumbled bacon or vegetarian bacon bits
chopped green onion
red pepper flakes
Instructions
Chop your veggies and measure out your ingredients. Steam or blanch your broccoli until tender and set aside. For the potatoes, peel and dice into cubes.
In a large pot or dutch oven, melt 1 TBSP butter over medium-high heat.
Add your chopped onion and celery and cook until tender. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining butter and garlic, sautéing briefly until fragrant.
Add flour and stir into onions. Continue to stir, allowing the raw flour to cook off for 20-30 seconds or so.
Add your broth, milk, and potatoes. To prevent sticking, stir constantly as the soup bubbles and thickens.
Season with salt, pepper, paprika and optional nutmeg allspice. I added 1/8 tsp of each but if you're not a nutmeg fan, totally skip it! Reduce heat to low (I set mine to 2), cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat and stir in your broccoli and grated cheeses until melted. At the end I stirred in 1/2 cup of heavy cream (I couldn't help it - so good!) so feel free to follow suit if you'd like! The soup is fantastic with or without. Sometimes I'll even break up some of the potato with a spatula to make the soup even thicker!
Ladle soup into bowls and top with all your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Depending on preference or availability, you can use either vegetable broth or chicken broth for this tasty recipe.If using regular sodium broth vs low sodium, simply skip adding the salt until the end and season to taste.Gluten-Free? Use your favorite GF flour blend in place of conventional flour for the roux, or skip the flour entirely if you don't mind the soup being less thick and more soupy. Both work!Nutrition Facts below are estimated using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy!