Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup – Calling all Panera broccoli cheese soup lovers! I’m popping in with a healthy recipe for an easy Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup that takes less than 10 minutes to prep. This is one of the best crock pot recipes to make you feel just as warm and toasty as the Panera original.
I originally posted this recipe on the last day of a trip I took to Charleston, South Carolina with this guy. (If you’re heading to Charleston soon, be sure to check out my Charleston restaurant and activity guide.)
I decided to share the recipe again today, because it’s become a true reader favorite, and because I’m once again in the midst of a crazy travel spree, which is exactly how this easy slow cooker broccoli cheese soup recipe was inspired.
When I think back on our trip to Charleston, the first thing that comes to mind is ALL THE FOOD.
We chose the city based on its reputation as a foodie paradise, and it did not disappoint. If you followed along on Instagram, you witnessed a portion of the mass seafood/soul food havoc the two of us wreaked.
I say “portion” because, by the end of the trip, the culinary consumption reached a level I was embarrassed to continue posting.
For me, eating and drinking is, quite literally, my favorite way to gain a taste for a city. While I loved every bite and sip of our trip, whenever I return from vacation, it’s with an acute craving for wholesome foods and green veggies.
I also return to an inbox stuffed with unread emails and a dresser devoid of clean underwear. Reality, we have arrived.
Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup—The Perfect Healthy Meal
This easy slow cooker broccoli cheese soup recipe is perfect when you are in need of a healthy meal but have zero time to cook it, a position I’m in now. I’ve been out of town the past two weekends and leave again this Thursday. I adore traveling, but whenever I am out of town back-to-back weeks, the “no time to cook” song becomes a refrain. I suspect that, on many a busy weeknight, it’s one you sing too.
Nearly every broccoli and cheese soup recipe I’ve found calls for the initial step of making a base cheese sauce on the stove, including recipes designed for the crock pot.
Because I know we don’t always have time to fuss with this kind of prep, I decided to see if I could create a slow cooker broccoli and cheese soup entirely via the “dump and go” method: dump the ingredients into your crock pot; walk away; return hours later to a dinner that’s ready to serve.
I almost made it.
Although you can skip the cheese sauce, and I’d still bet my last spoonful that this is the easiest broccoli and cheese soup recipe you’ll find, you do need to blend the soup with an immersion blender or food processor prior to serving.
It’s a small extra step that’s well worth the effort for the texture and body it provides.
The flavor of this soup is a dead-ringer for Panera’s broccoli cheese soup, and although its texture is a bit thinner than I’d originally envisioned (a result of skipping that fussy cheese sauce base), I still found it to be plenty cheesy and satisfying.
If you love broccoli cheese soups like this, make sure to try this Broccoli Cauliflower Soup too!
More Comforting Slow Cooker Soup Recipes
- Crockpot Lentil Soup
- Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup
- Crockpot Beef Stew
- Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup
- And all these crockpot soups!
Recommended Tools to Make Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup
- 6-quart programmable slow cooker
- Immersion blender: it makes pureeing soups like this one easier (and safer) than transferring the piping hot soup mixture to a blender or food processor in batches.
- If you prefer a food processor, or are in the market for a new one, I have used and loved this one for almost nine years.
Slow Cooker Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped broccoli florets about 16 ounces
- 1 cup grated carrots, you can grate yourself or use bagged, pre-cut julienne carrots
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese do not use fat free
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 can 2% evaporated milk (12 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated* (1 block)
Instructions
- Place the broccoli, carrots, onion, and garlic in the bottom of 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Top with the cream cheese, oregano, nutmeg, and chicken broth. Stir to evenly distribute the ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4-6 hours, until the broccoli is tender.
- Remove the lid and stir in the evaporated milk. With an immersion blender, puree about 3/4 of the soup, so that it is mostly smooth but still has a few chunks of broccoli remaining. Alternatively, you can puree the soup in 1 cup-sized batches in a food processor or blender. (Be careful—it's hot and prone to splatter!)
- Recover the soup and let cook on low for 10 minutes until warmed through. Stir the salt, pepper, and grated cheese. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as desired. Recover and cook on high until the cheese is fully melted and the soup is hot, about 5 additional minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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It tasted good but the texture was gritty and it was a very thin soup.
Hi Karen, I’m sorry the soup turned out gritty and thin for you. It might be how the vegetables were pureed or that the soup didn’t cook long enough. You could try stirring in extra cheese or Greek yogurt to make it creamier, in case that helps. Regardless, I’m sorry that this didn’t meet your expectations. I know that it is disappointing to not have a recipe turn out!
I made this tonight and although it tasted good it appeared to have curdled, I followed the instructions, so I’m not sure what happened, bummer.
Hi Pankey529, I’m so sorry to hear that you had trouble with this recipe. Did you use fat free milk or cream cheese by chance? Fat free products can curdle more easily, so that could be the cause. I’m happy to hear that the flavors were still tasty!
I’m experiencing the grit as well. I’m certain it’s the onion. Not cooked enough? I used what I would call a medium onion and the onion flavor is very strong and has a raw note to it. Maybe sautéing beforehand would work or omit and use onion powder. I used high setting for over two hours and then ended up transferring it to a pot on the stove to try to cook the onion a bit more.
I’m sorry you also had trouble with grit, Sarah. I hope you were still able to enjoy it otherwise!
Can regular milk or 1/2&1/2 be ok instead of evaporated milk? Thank you
Hi Debbie, you can use half and half. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
We absolutely love this soup! My daughter just had braces put on so its difficult for her to eat and since I know how much she loves this I surprised her with it today! I pureed it completely and its perfect for her. I love the nutmeg it really gives it that something something! Thanks Erin!! Cant wait for the cookbook! :)
I’m so happy that it was a hit, Trish! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
So…. Im using a sub for evaporated milk. Im simmered my milk down to make my own evaporated milk. So far this appears to BE AMAZING! Now to see what the kiddos think!
Thank you for the great recipe!
I hope you loved the recipe, Rebecca!
WE LOVED IT! I did not have evaporated milk but simmered my own whole milk down! This recipe is the BOMB! Thank you for sharing Erin!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Rebecca! Thank you for taking the time to share your results!
Are the cool times the same for an instant pot? Are there particular settings that work best?
Hi Rachel! If you want to make this soup in an Instant Pot, I suggest checking out my Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup instead.
I had such high hopes for this based on the reviews but unfortunately it was a bust. Not sure what happened as I followed the recipe and ingredients exactly. It is runny and gritty. I am pregnant and been craving Panera broccoli cheddar soup and this is nothing like it. Have to find another recipe to try again.
Hi Jenna, I’m sorry the soup turned out gritty and thin for you. It might be how the vegetables were pureed or that the soup didn’t cook long enough. You could try stirring in extra cheese or Greek yogurt to make it creamier, in case that helps. Regardless, I’m sorry that this didn’t meet your expectations. I know that it is disappointing to not have a recipe turn out!
Hi! Instead of using fresh broccoli can I use the same amount but frozen? I bought a big bag of frozen broccoli so I wanted to know if that would work instead? Thanks
Hi Lorraine! I’ve never tried this recipe with frozen veggies, so it would be an experiment, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The soup might be a bit more liquidy though, since the veggies will thaw in the slow cooker. I’d suggest reducing the amount of liquid in the soup, then checking the cooking time early. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Good flavor, but looked gross – cream cheese and evap. milk clumped.
I’m so sorry that you had trouble with this recipe, Elissa. I (and other readers) have really enjoyed it, so I truly wish it would’ve been a hit for you too!
This is delicious! I’m not a big soup person but this is one of my favorite recipes to make now. So easy and pretty darn healthy to boot. Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe, Erin!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Alexis! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I followed the recipe to a tee, didn’t change a thing. I don’t know what happened but it turned out so so bad and tasted like an onion bisque lol, very thin and gritty. Ugh. Spent like an hour trying to fix it and just had to dump it.
I’m sorry to hear that this didn’t turn out as expected, Alexis. It’s so hard to say what might’ve happened without being in the kitchen with you, but I truly wish you would’ve enjoyed it.
My family and I love this recipe. It is definitely one of our go to souls. Not sure how you came up with a 15 minute prep time however. Just chpopping onion and carrots alone took 15 minutes.
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Jason! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This was a fantastic snow day meal. The recipe was easy to follow and tasted delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Erin! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I too followed the recipe and this was the blandest soup I’ve ever made. At the end I was dumping in more cheese, heavy cream, red pepper flakes, more salt and pepper, and garlic powder. I think I’ll serve the leftovers with rice or pasta as a sauce and forget about trying to make it a soup. I guess it just wasn’t for us.
Hi Julie, I’m sorry to hear the soup didn’t turn out as expected. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not have it come out, so I truly wish you would have loved this.
I have made this soup recipe a bunch of times and I love it! My husband and I like it more than the soup from Panera or any other broccoli cheddar soup we have tried. I’m not sure why other reviewers find it gritty or thin, because ours always turns out great and thick. I use a regular blender because I don’t have a handheld one, but it’s definitely worth it! Thanks for the recipe, we love it and use it all the time. It’s delicious!! It is so easy to make this on nights I have to work late.
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Lauren! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Even on high, this soup took about 6 hours until I felt the broccoli was soft enough to puree. I did find the soup needed extra cream cheese to thicken it up. The flavour was fine, but I did add a little extra.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Colleen! Thank you for trying the recipe!
Hi, while I enjoyed the flavor, the recipe just did not turn out. ? I used exactly what was recommended and grated my own cheese, but it still was very thin and gritty, and the evaporated milk and cheese curdled and separated from the broth resulting in a weird texture, much like what others have said. I have enjoyed recipes from this blog for a long time and will continue to do so, but was very disappointed in this one. I would love to see improvements made to the recipe!
I’m sorry that this soup wasn’t to your tastes, Victoria. I know it’s frustrating to try a new recipe and not have it turn out, so I really wish you would’ve enjoyed it!
AMAZING!!!! I just made this today and it was soooooo good. I added flour to thicken. Amazing recipe. Thanks so much.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Liv! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Very disappointed. Followed the recipe exactly. As others have mentioned, it was runny and gritty and not real tasty. Transferred to a pot on the stove, added more cheese, more spices, heavy whipping cream and used a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. Finally got it to taste OK – but it was difficult to get over the gritty texture. Agree with the poster who said maybe use it over rice; then the grittiness would not be as obvious.
I’m sorry this soup wasn’t to your tastes, Mary. I know it’s frustrating to try a new recipe and not have it turn out, so I truly wish you would’ve enjoyed it!