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Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup is creamy, rich, thick and delicious. This pressure cooker soup recipe is better than Panera Bread. It’s homemade and ready about 30 minutes!
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for a quick and easy homemade, flavorful soup recipe, you’re going to love this thick and hearty Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup. This Instant Pot recipe is a lot like the popular Panera broccoli cheddar soup, only better!
I love making soup in the pressure cooker! During soup season, I make soup several times a week for either lunch or dinner. Some of our favorite Instant Pot soup recipes include Zuppa Toscana, Kielbasa Cabbage Soup, Creamy Lasagna Soup and Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.
Instant Pot broccoli cheese soup is the perfect recipe for Meatless Monday or whenever you want a vegetarian soup. Also, there is no flour in this broccoli cheddar soup recipe, and it’s pretty low carb.
This is a great recipe to try when you are craving comfort food!
Ingredients
The ingredients for broccoli cheddar soup are simple and easy to find in your grocery store. You may already have these ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry:
- Broccoli florets — Use fresh broccoli florets instead of frozen broccoli for best results
- Grated carrots — grate your own or buy pre shredded
- Onion
- Celery
- Butter — use unsalted butter or regular
- Chicken broth or chicken stock– Use vegetable broth to keep vegetarian
- Cheddar cheese — Sharp cheddar, mild cheddar or a cheddar blend
- Heavy cream
- Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup in the Instant Pot
This pressure cooker broccoli cheese soup recipe does require a little bit of prep work, but it all comes together quickly. To make prep even easier, you can use prepackaged cut broccoli and matchstick or grated carrots.
You don’t have to chop the broccoli that much because it will break down while cooking. I like to have different sizes so the larger pieces will hold up better after cooking, but it’s just a personal preference.
First, you melt the butter in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Then, sauté chopped onions and celery on sauté mode in your Instant Pot. Now, you stir in your chopped broccoli pieces, grated carrots, and seasoning.
Next, add a carton of chicken broth or vegetable broth, to keep the soup vegetarian. You can use 4 cups of homemade chicken broth or Better than Bullion and water.
Place the lid on the pressure cooker, and make sure then vent is set to sealing. Some models will seal automatically.
Cooking Time
The cook time is 2 minutes on high pressure. The Instant Pot will take about 10 to 15 minutes to reach pressure. After that, it’s just 2 minutes for the actual pressure cooking time.
When the pot beeps, do a quick release. The broccoli is super soft, and you can easily break up the cooked broccoli into smaller pieces of broccoli. No need for an immersion blender.
Now, make a cornstarch slurry. What is a cornstarch slurry? Slurry is just a mix of equal parts cornstarch and cold water that helps to thicken soups, sauces and stews.
Turn your Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Wait until the soup starts to bubble. Then, stir cornstarch and water together in a small bowl to make a cornstarch slurry.
Next, stir the slurry into the bubbling soup. You want to let the soup cook for a minute and thicken up.
If you don’t have any cornstarch, don’t worry. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it does help to thicken the soup.
Turn the sauté setting off, and switch to keep warm mode. Now, stir in a cup of heavy cream.
Then, stir in one cup of cheese at a time. I’ve used prepackaged cheese, but grating your own cheese is so much better and melts better, too.
One taste of this creamy, cheesy soup, and you’ll see why this is such a popular recipe! Even meat lovers love this soup!
Tips
You can use mild cheddar or sharp cheddar cheese for extra flavor. Use Colby or Monterey Jack for extra creaminess.
Serve this creamy soup with more cheese on the side and maybe homemade Rosemary Beer Bread, breadsticks or dinner rolls. You can even serve the soup in a bread bowl if you like.
The soup thickens up as it sits. If you think it seems thin, allow it to cool off in soup bowls before serving. Or, turn off the keep warm setting and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat the leftover broccoli cheese soup in your microwave in individual bowls or in the Instant Pot on the Saute function.
Freeze broccoli cheddar soup in a freezer safe container or freezer bags for up to 3 months for best taste and quality.
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onion 1 small
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and grated
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
- 32 ounces low sodium chicken broth 4 cups or vegetable broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 ½ cups cheddar cheese grated
Cornstarch slurry
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
Instructions
- Press Sauté on the Instant Pot, add the butter, and sauté the onions and celery until slightly soft
- Stir in the broccoli florets, grated carrots, salt, garlic powder, pepper and smoked paprika
- Hit Cancel to turn pot off, then add broth, and place lid on pressure cooker, and make sure valve is at sealing position
- Hit Pressure Cook for 2 minutes. The pot takes about 10 to 15 minutes to reach pressure. After pressure cooking, do a quick release after pot beeps.
- When pin drops, remove lid, break up broccoli with a spoon, and hit Cancel. Then, hit Sauté, and mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl until well blended. When soup starts to bubble, stir in the cornstarch slurry and allow to cook for a minute
- Hit Cancel, then stir in the heavy cream, and 1 cup of cheese at a time until well blended. Use Keep Warm setting until ready to eat or serve immediately. Soup will thicken even more as it cools down
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My whole family loves this broccoli cheese soup recipe. Even my picky eaters eat this delicious soup without complaining. I hope this will become one of your favorite soups, too!
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Making this for good old comfort food today. Good for fall where we are! Kids love this one too!
Thanks, Patrick! I’m so glad you like it!
One of my favorite soups ever, and so easy to make!