Recipe: Broccoli Cheddar Soup {Panera Copycat}

Warm, cheesy velvety soup studded with bits of fresh broccoli and carrots. This tummy-warming soup is the perfect thing to take the chill off the Winter weather.

Truth be told, when I go into Panera, my eyes often turn straight to their salad section, and I pay attention to little else. And even then, I stick to two salads, their Thai Chicken Salad and the BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad. But their soups are equally awesome. Nick is partial to their various chicken soups, and although I think I have gone through each one of the different soups that they make, I think their Broccoli Cheddar is one of my top favorites.

And so here we are.

Although Madeline doesn’t really LOVE soup, she has warmed up to Tomato Soup lately, so we have gotten into a weekly routine of having soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Comfort food at its best.

And one of these days, we’re ALL going to like the SAME soup to make dinner time a little easier.

The newest soup in my rotation is this knock-off version of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar soup.

Very easy to make, I love that it’s a lightened version, so you only have to feel a little bit guilty.

Heaped with tons of fresh broccoli and carrots, it’s an excellent way to get your veggies in (and I love that you can include those broccoli stalks that are usually heading for the garbage bin).

And, well, cheese.

Smooth, creamy, and completely belly-warming.

Sixty-seven days left until Spring. In the meantime, we need every spoonful of this hearty soup to warm our bones.

You can find the complete recipe here on Averie Cooks. I used a full three cups of broccoli florets and a cup of the stalks, and then I doubled the carrots, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly as written.

Hungry for more soup recipes?
This Three Ingredient Cauliflower Soup recipe is, hands down, one of my favorites.
I totally need to retake pictures for this one, but don’t let that stop you from making this Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup. It is amazeballs.
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup is another velvety one that you won’t be able to stop eating.