This cozy and comforting Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup is a family favorite that is always on our dinner rotation! This is a super easy, dump-and-go style crockpot recipe that requires very little prep.
Table of Contents
- Five Reasons You’ll Love Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup
- The Ingredients You’ll Need
- What Is the Best Melting Cheese for Soup?
- How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup In Crock Pot
- Helpful Tips
- Serving Suggestions
- Storing and Reheating Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Can I Freeze This?
- More Crockpot Soup Recipes
- Get the Recipe
Five Reasons You’ll Love Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Comfy Classic: Broccoli cheese soup is the epitome of comfort food! With a creamy texture and rich cheese flavor, it’s a family favorite, year after year.
- Easy to Make: Making crockpot broccoli cheese soup is so simple. It’s a one-pot dish that’s almost completely hands-off and only uses a few basic ingredients!
- Nutrient-Packed: Broccoli is a key ingredient in this soup, and it brings a healthy dose of nutrition to the table – we’re talking vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber, and so much more! Cheese brings some protein and fat to the dish, making it a meal in a bowl.
- So Flavorful: This hearty soup is loaded with flavor thanks to fresh broccoli, lots of cheese, creamy evaporated milk, and just the right seasonings.
- Perfect for Traveling: Broccoli cheddar soup in a crock pot travels well, just about anywhere you need to bring a dish. It’s a crowd-pleaser, and can be kept warm for hours wherever you can plug in your crockpot!
If you love easy crockpot soups that are loaded with vegetables, make sure you also check out our crockpot baked potato soup, easy crockpot pasta fagioli soup and this crockpot butternut squash soup!
The Ingredients You’ll Need
Crockpot broccoli cheese soup is made with just a few simple ingredients – nearly half of them are just seasonings! For full ingredient amounts and directions, scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Broccoli: Fresh broccoli florets, you can also use frozen if you prefer!
- Chicken Broth: Or vegetable broth.
- Onion: Any color, diced. We often use sweet onions or yellow onions here.
- Garlic: Fresh, minced garlic. (Hate mincing garlic? A garlic press makes it much easier!)
- Seasonings: Celery salt, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Evaporated Milk: Evaporated milk is less likely to separate during slow cooking than other dairy products.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.
- Cornstarch (Optional): If you want to thicken up the soup, you’ll want a little bit of cornstarch.
What Is the Best Melting Cheese for Soup?
The best cheese for melting is freshly shredded off the block, but we know you don’t always want to shred our own. If you buy pre-shredded cheese, look for the “easy melt” kind. Other good melting cheeses include Colby, Colby-jack, fontina, and gruyere. However, we encourage you to at least use half cheddar (or Colby – the flavor is similar) in this soup so that it keeps its classic cheddar taste.
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup In Crock Pot
With this easy slow cooker recipe, you hardly have to lift a finger. We love just throwing everything in the crockpot and walking away for a bit.
- Cook the Veggies and Seasonings. Add your broccoli, broth, onion, garlic, celery salt, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the crockpot. Stir everything together, and cover the slow cooker with the lid. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
- Make it Creamy: When you are ready to serve, add the evaporated milk and cheese to the pot. Stir well until the cheese has melted.
- Thicken If Needed: If you like a thicker soup, whisk a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water. Pour this slurry into the soup, stir it in well, and cover the crockpot with the lid. Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes, till thickened.
- Enjoy! Taste the soup, and season it with additional salt and pepper, as needed. Serve warm topped with additional shredded cheese, and crispy bacon, if desired.
Helpful Tips
A few helpful tips are always, well, helpful! These are a few special tricks of the cooking trade that we learned while developing this creamy, cheesy soup recipe:
- Prepping Broccoli: You’ll want to chop the broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces, and make sure to scoop all of the little bits that fall off into the crockpot as well, for lots of broccoli flavor! You can also use the broccoli stalk – just peel off the tough outer layer with a potato peeler, and then chop the tender inside into small pieces.
- Frozen Broccoli: You can use frozen broccoli in this recipe if you prefer. You do not need to thaw it, just add it straight from the freezer to the crockpot.
- Evaporated Milk: You can substitute the evaporated milk for half & half or whole milk, but evaporated milk has less chance of curdling in the crockpot. It is also as creamy as half and half, but with fewer calories.
- Pureed Soup: If you’d like a smooth soup, just blend it with your immersion blender. Alternatively, you can finely chop the broccoli, let it cook until tender, and then mash with a potato masher.
- Add Heat: If you like spice, a little bit of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes add a nice kick.
Serving Suggestions
Broccoli cheddar soup goes so well with all kinds of side dishes. Here are just a couple of recipes you might want to try:
- Biscuits: These fluffy Herb Drop Biscuits are just plain irresistible! Plus, the recipe is super easy to make.
- Salad: Any simple salad is great with this soup. If you want to make something a little bit special, try Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon – it’s a savory, smoky side dish you’ll crave.
- Chicken: Want to add a little protein to the meal? These Air Fryer Chicken Thighs have a gorgeous texture and perfectly balanced flavor.
Storing and Reheating Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup
You can store this soup for up to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, just reheat the desired amount in a saucepan on the stove, or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Heat this soup gently (on low heat on your stove, or in short microwave bursts). Overheating it can cause scorching and texture changes.
Can I Freeze This?
Unfortunately, we can’t recommend freezing this soup. Creamy soups like crockpot broccoli cheese soup don’t freeze well, and turn watery and grainy once they’re thawed out again! If this recipe makes too much for you to enjoy at once, we recommend making half a batch.
More Crockpot Soup Recipes
- Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Minestrone Soup in the Crockpot
- Crockpot Chicken Chili
- Crockpot Lasagna Soup
- Best Crockpot Chili
- Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped broccoli, about one large head of broccoli
- 3 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
- 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional for thickening
Instructions
- Add broccoli, broth, onion, garlic, celery salt, onion powder, salt and pepper to a 6 or 7 quart crockpot. Stir and cover with the lid. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours.
- When you are ready to serve, add the evaporated milk and cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.
- Optional slurry: if you like a thicker soup, whisk to combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Pour the slurry into the soup, stir well and cover with lid. Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes, till thickened.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve warm topped with additional shredded cheese and bacon, if desired.
how many does this serve?
Hi Ann, this recipe will serve 4 hearty servings. Thanks!