Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup

Delish's Note:

This is a yummy and easy soup to throw together. Cheese compliments broccoli and potatoes so well. Ultimate comfort food when the weather starts to get colder. I love to serve it with homemade rolls or bread and a salad. I make it with skim milk to cut back on calories but feel free to substitute whole milk or half-and-half for a creamier soup. If I'm really short on time, I just throw in a can of diced, already cooked potatoes towards the end of the cooking time until they are heated through. If you want a thicker soup, just add desired amount of flour mixed until smooth with an equal amount of water. Mmmmmm....

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1⁄3; cup chopped onion
• 1⁄3; cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
• ¼ cup flour
• 4 cups diced peeled potatoes
• 2 ½ cups chopped broccoli , steamed until crisp tender
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups skim milk
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 dash paprika
• salt
• minced fresh parsley , if desired

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion and celery in butter over medium heat until tender.
2. Add flour, pepper, salt, and paprika and stir until smooth.
3. Add broth, milk, and potatoes, stirring constantly until it boils and thickens.
4. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
5. Stir in cheese and cooked broccoli and cook over low until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.
6. Sprinkle individual servings with parsley if desired.

Reviews

[Miheehee]

The secret to this recipe is in using quality, fresh, organic ingredients (butter, not marg; shallots/scallions instead of onions; sharp, artisanal cheddar; red potatoes w/ skin on), making a good roux (skim milk can be made satisfyingly creamy with a proper roux), and leaving the veggies nice and chunky. In addition to using skim milk, we made it lower fat by also cutting the amount of butter & cheese in 1/2). Served with warm, crusty, whole-wheet rolls...mmmmmmmmm...deeeeelish! :D

[roweena]

My family LOVES this soup, and it's so versatile! We didn't have broccoli on hand, so I used cauliflower instead. I did make a couple changes, just to make cooking a little easier: I used 2 cans of chicken broth, cooked the chopped cauliflower (doubled the amount) in the soup at the same time I added the diced potatoes, added garlic powder, and only used 1 1/3 cups cheese. For those who have never made a creamy cheese soup before, it really helps to turn the heat down to low for a few minutes BEFORE adding in the cheese. This will prevent curdling, which looks really un-appetizing!

[CongoGirl]

I made this last night and will make it again. I liked the flavor and texture a lot. Next time, I will chop the broccoli much finer and put it in immediately with the potatoes so that it is cooked to mush. It was a little crunchy for a soup the way I did it. I didn't have celery, so I grated a carrot instead and added a shallot and some garlic. I will keep these changes, as they seemed to work well.