Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup – Creamy 50-Minute

The first thing you'll notice is the sound: a low, lazy simmer with tiny cheese bubbles popping at the edge of the pot. Then comes the smell of butter and onion, and suddenly your kitchen feels like a booth by the window at Panera.

This is the soup that made broccoli famous, and yes, it's a cinch at home. You build a quick roux, let the vegetables go tender in broth, then melt in a mountain of sharp cheddar off the heat so it stays glossy instead of grainy.

If you've ever had a bowl come out stringy or thin, it wasn't you, it was technique. Follow the heat cues below and you'll get that thick, silky, bread-bowl-worthy texture on the very first try.

About the Ingredients

6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter

Use a good European-style butter for flavor. Salted butter works too; just drop the added salt in the soup by half.

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

Yellow onion gives the sweetest base; sweet onion is a fine swap if that's what's in your basket.

1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour

This is your thickener, so don't skip it. For a gluten-free pot, whisk in 2 tablespoons cornstarch instead.

2 cups (480ml) whole milk

Whole milk makes it creamy; 2% works but goes thinner. Avoid skim, which can break when it meets the cheese.

3 cups (720ml) low-sodium chicken broth

Vegetable broth makes this fully vegetarian and tastes just as rich. Low-sodium keeps you in charge of the salt.

3 cups (about 300g) broccoli florets, cut into small bite-size pieces

Buy a head and cut your own for the freshest flavor; frozen florets work in a pinch, no thawing needed.

1 large carrot, peeled and grated (about 3/4 cup)

Grating instead of dicing mimics the original texture. A bag of pre-shredded carrot saves you five minutes.

3 cups (340g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Shred it yourself from a block; pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch and melts grainy. Extra-sharp gives the biggest punch.

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Hold back some salt until the cheese goes in, since cheddar brings its own. Taste before you season again.

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Fresh-cracked pepper blooms in the warm soup. A pinch of cayenne is a lovely sneaky upgrade.

Tips & Tricks

Grate your own cheese

Bagged shredded cheddar is dusted with anti-caking starch, which is the number one cause of grainy soup. A block and a box grater fix it in three minutes.

Cut broccoli small and uniform

Bite-size florets cook in the same time as the carrot and never turn to mush. Big chunks steam unevenly and go gray.

Season at the end

Cheese is salty, so taste after melting and adjust. Adding all your salt early is how a good pot ends up too salty to fix.

• Keep the heat low after the cheese goes in: Cheddar above a gentle simmer will break and turn stringy. Pull the pot off the burner, stir in handfuls, and only warm it back up on low.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Sweat the onion

Melt the butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, 350F (175C) if you're using a thermometer, and cook the onion for 5 to 6 minutes until soft and translucent. You're listening for a gentle sizzle, not a roar; if it crackles loudly, drop the heat.

2. Build the roux

Sprinkle the flour over the butter and onions and whisk constantly for 2 minutes until it smells nutty and looks like pale golden paste. Raw flour tastes chalky, so don't rush this step.

3. Pour in the milk

Add the milk in a slow stream, whisking the whole time, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should look like loose gravy.

4. Add broth and vegetables

Stir in the broth, broccoli, carrot, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a bare simmer, then cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until a fork slides easily into a broccoli stem. Keep the lid cracked so it doesn't boil over.

5. Blend to your liking

Ladle about 2 cups of soup into a blender, pulse twice, and stir it back in for that signature half-smooth texture. Skip this if you love a chunky pot; it's purely a texture call.

6. Melt the cheese off heat

Turn off the burner, wait 2 minutes, then stir in the cheddar one handful at a time until each addition disappears before adding the next. The soup should look glossy and ribbon-thick, with no strings trailing from the spoon.

7. Taste and serve

Taste, add salt or pepper if it needs a nudge, and ladle into warm bowls. Serve right away, because this soup is at its silkiest in the first twenty minutes.

Delicious Variations

Smoky Bacon Cheddar

Crisp 6 slices of bacon first, use 2 tablespoons of the drippings in place of some butter, and crumble the bacon on top.

Cauliflower Swap

Replace half the broccoli with small cauliflower florets for a milder, sweeter pot that still tastes like the original.

Spicy Jalapeno Cheddar

Stir in one minced jalapeno with the onion and finish with a pinch of cayenne for a bowl with a gentle back-of-the-throat warmth.

How to Store Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Frequently Asked Questions

Grab your biggest pot and a block of sharp cheddar, and let's make the soup that beats the drive-thru line. Taste as you go, then taste again.

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup is velvety, cheesy, and loaded with tender broccoli florets and sweet carrots in every single spoonful.

★★★★½ 4.8 (263 ratings)

15 minPrep time35 minCook time6Servings412 kcalCalories

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🧂 Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
• 3 cups (720ml) low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups (about 300g) broccoli florets, cut into small bite-size pieces
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated (about 3/4 cup)
• 3 cups (340g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

📋 Instructions

1. 1Sweat the onion — Melt the butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, 350F (175C) if you're using a thermometer, and cook the onion for 5 to 6 minutes until soft and translucent. You're listening for a gentle sizzle, not a roar; if it crackles loudly, drop the heat.
2. 2Build the roux — Sprinkle the flour over the butter and onions and whisk constantly for 2 minutes until it smells nutty and looks like pale golden paste. Raw flour tastes chalky, so don't rush this step.
3. 3Pour in the milk — Add the milk in a slow stream, whisking the whole time, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should look like loose gravy.
4. 4Add broth and vegetables — Stir in the broth, broccoli, carrot, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a bare simmer, then cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until a fork slides easily into a broccoli stem. Keep the lid cracked so it doesn't boil over.
5. 5Blend to your liking — Ladle about 2 cups of soup into a blender, pulse twice, and stir it back in for that signature half-smooth texture. Skip this if you love a chunky pot; it's purely a texture call.
6. 6Melt the cheese off heat — Turn off the burner, wait 2 minutes, then stir in the cheddar one handful at a time until each addition disappears before adding the next. The soup should look glossy and ribbon-thick, with no strings trailing from the spoon.
7. 7Taste and serve — Taste, add salt or pepper if it needs a nudge, and ladle into warm bowls. Serve right away, because this soup is at its silkiest in the first twenty minutes.

👨‍🍳 Chef's Note: A Dutch oven holds heat evenly and keeps the bottom from scorching, which matters once dairy is in the pot. If you only have a thin saucepan, stir more often and keep the flame lower than you think you need.

Servings: 6

Cuisine: American

Course: Soup

Nutrition (per serving): 412 kcal · 17g protein · 16g carbs · 32g fat

Written by Priya Raghunathan

Priya writes about South Indian home cooking and the improvisation that happens in real kitchens, from quick weekday tiffins to slow weekend spreads. She is interested in how a single tempering of spices changes a dish and in adapting familiar recipes to what a cook has on hand. Her angle is playful, sensory recipe writing that treats cooking as something to tinker with.