Sorry, Not Sorry
I have a confession to make. I’ve lured you here with a pretense that we’ll be making Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup today. I enjoy soup, I do. Chicken Noodle is great with a savory, rich broth. Tomato soup is traditionally a thinner soup; if it’s too thick it’s nearly spaghetti sauce. In my mind, anything made with a cream or cheese base should be thick and hearty.
Instead of soup, we’re making a chowder! Making cauliflower broccoli cheese soup (chowder) is creamy, rich, and delicious. We’re making chowder my friend, sorry, not sorry.
What You’ll Need to Make Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Broccoli and Cauliflower – Find broccoli that is nice and green, free of leaves that are starting to turn yellow. You can also use the stalks (more on that later). Look for cauliflower that is nice and white, but imperfections are ok too, you can always cut those out.
- Onions and Carrots – Playing second fiddle, but just as important. I prefer a sweet onion and I usually have baby carrots around for snacks and salads. They both add flavor, and the carrots add color.
- Dairy – Gouda, sharp cheddar, butter, and heavy cream. Um, are we going to need a nap after devouring this dish? Yes, definitely. I prefer to grate my own cheese, so I recommend block cheese, but you may also use shredded. We’re going to make the same base you’d build for mac n’ cheese. So, if you’ve mastered that, you can do this! Smoked Gouda Macaroni Cheese
- Accessories – Salt, thyme, nutmeg, flour, chicken broth. Season with salt, I always use sea salt. Fresh thyme if you have it, or dried, just use less. Martha Stewart suggests 1 teaspoon of dried to 1 Tablespoon fresh. Optionally, use nutmeg; I just love the smell and the unique earthy flavor it adds. Flour is to make the roux base for the cheese sauce and chicken broth for flavor and to thin the sauce.
How To Make Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup
To make this soup (cough, chowder) we’re going to prepare the vegetables and sauce separately. First, prepare the veggies and measure all the ingredients. Do this because once you get started, you want to keep moving. Complete all the prep work first.
To do this, thin slice the carrots or cut them into sticks. This is personal preference, and how you want your soup to look. Be thinking about all the elements of your dish; not only how the food tastes, but how it looks, feels, smells.
Dice the onion.
To prepare the Broccoli, remove the crown (treetops) from the stalks and rough chop. The stalks of the broccoli can also be used, see below. First, trim off the tough outside, tough layer. Then, thin slice the stalk.
Next, cauliflower can be cut in half and then the core removed. Break or cut apart the florets from the stem. If the florets have any spots, most can be easily cut off and discarded. Rough chop.
Finally, melt butter with oil in a large stock pan or a Dutch oven. Toss all the veggies in with salt and thyme. Cook them over medium low heat.
Awesome Sauce!
To make the cheesy base, have all your ingredients ready. Pulling this together will be quick and you don’t want the sauce waiting on your or it could go sideways.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. After the butter has melted, add in the flour, and stir constantly for about one minute. Do not let this turn brown. After the flour and butter has cooked for a bit, add in the heavy whipping cream. Then, stir and increase the heat slightly until the sauce begins to thicken. This should only take a minute.
Next, add chicken broth to the cream sauce. Remember, this base is thick for mac n’ cheese, we need to thin it out a little for our soup-chowder.
Finally, add your shredded gouda and cheddar; mix until well combined, smooth, and creamy.
Put It All Together
At this point, your vegetable medley should be nice and tender; the carrots will have a soft crunch for texture. The sauce should be creamy, smooth, and just a little thick. Time to make these delectable worlds collide. Pour the cheese sauce into the vegetable mix. With a large spoon, gently mix the veggies into the broth. If you still want the veggies to be a bit smaller, use an immersion blender to further chop the broccoli and cauliflower. Lastly, add black pepper and
Tips, Tricks & FAQ
- Tasty Toppers. Serve your cauliflower broccoli cheese soup topped with extra shredded cheese, sour cream, ham, or bacon bits. Try this Mess Free Oven Bacon method!
- Variations. Try this with different cheddars like sharp, white cheddar, mild, or shredded cheese blend.
- Beer in my Broccoli Soup? Substitute your favorite lager beer in place of chicken broth.
- Use Up Leftover Vegetables. This recipe is a great way to use up carrots that are hanging around. I usually have carrots, halves of onions, and even celery stalks hiding. Soups are a great way to use up veggies that won’t make it to a veggie tray.
- How to Store Leftover Cauliflower Broccoli Soup. Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I personally don’t like to freeze leftover soup (if there are any). The cheese base just isn’t the same after it thaws. Feel free to try, leave a comment below and let me know how freezing works for you!
- How To Reheat Leftover Cauliflower Broccoli Soup. Reheat on the stove or microwave. This will be thick when you take it out of your storage container, but will loosen up when fully heated.
- Tasty Sidekicks. Serve your hearty Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup with a bread sturdy enough to stand up. Buttered sour dough or a basic baguette can be used to mop up the chowder, leaving your bowls sparkling 😉
Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup
Equipment
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- cheese grater
- large stock pot or dutch oven
- large saucepan
- whisk
- bowls
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 2 cups diced sweet onion
- 2 cups sliced carrots (about 40 baby carrots = 8 ounces)
- 1 lb broccoli (large bunch)
- 1 lb cauliflower (small head)
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme (leaves removed from stem) or 1 teaspoon dried
Broth (Sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth (I make this with water and a bouillon paste)
- 8 ounces Gouda, grated or chopped (if using slices)
- 8 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (4 cups)
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
Prep Work
- Onions. Peel and dice the onions. I think this is done best by cutting the onion in half, then cut off the top and root end. Lastly, peel the paper skin and discard.2 cups diced sweet onion
- Carrots. Slice the carrots into 1/2" slices. If you are using larger carrots, peel, and slice into sticks 1/2" thick, then slice into 1/2" cubes.2 cups sliced carrots (about 40 baby carrots = 8 ounces)
- Broccoli. Cut the top of the broccoli from the stem. I recommend rinsing the inside of the broccoli head well after it's been removed so that you can get the inside as well. Broccoli is like small trees and things like to hide in trees.Rough chop the broccoli branches and leaves into smaller bite size pieces – but not so much that you have nothing but little buds on your cutting board.You can also use the stem! To so this cut off the end and the top that was attached to the 'branches and leaves' so that you get a log. Then, hold the stem up vertically and carefully slice off the tough outer layer to leave the lighter, almost white center. Slice this into 1/2" rounds.1 lb broccoli (large bunch)
- Cauliflower. To prepare the cauliflower, rinse the head. Slice it in half and cut out the core. Break apart the head and then rough chop.1 lb cauliflower (small head)
- Cheese. Using a large grater, grate both cheeses (or cut into smaller pieces) and set aside.8 ounces Gouda, grated or chopped (if using slices), 8 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (4 cups)
Veggies
- Butter and Oil. In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, add the olive oil and butter. Melt the butter over medium low heat.3 Tablespoons butter, 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- Veggies. Add all the veggies, salt, and thyme. Increase the temp to medium.If using fresh be sure to separate the leaves from the tough stems. To do this, grab the top of the stem with one hand, and with the other gently pinch at the top, then pull the stem through your finger and thumb. The leaves should pop right off as you drag it between your fingers). If you can't easily remove the leaves, and the stem is tender, you may leave the stems in, but rough chop them.1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme (leaves removed from stem) or 1 teaspoon dried
- Cook. Cook the veggies for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally. The broccoli will become bright green, the onions and cauliflower stems will start to become more translucent, and the carrots will soften.
- While the veggies are cooking… make your sauce-broth.
Cheese Broth
- Prep. Have all of your ingredients lined up and ready to go, including the chicken broth. If you make yours from a bouillon or bouillon paste, now is the time to mix it up.
- Butter. In a large saucepan, over low heat (don't let this get away from you) melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir to prevent burning or browning.2 Tablespoons butter
- Flour. As soon as the butter is melted, whisk in the flour to make a roux. Continue to whisk over low heat for about 1 minute to cook the flour. This mix will get frothy and should remain a pretty yellow color. If the mix turns brown, abort and start over. It's better to do this now, then to end up with a burnt flour taste in your sauce.2 Tablespoons flour
- Cream. While continuing to whisk the roux, slowly pour in the heavy whipping cream. Over medium low heat, mix until well combined. Increase the heat to medium low until the roux is slightly thickened and bubbly. This will make a smooth, white sauce that will be runny but coat the back of a spoon.Â2 cups heavy whipping cream
- Broth. Next, gradually whisk in the chicken broth. We want to turn this base for mac n' cheese into a thinner version for spoon slurping soupy goodness.1 1/4 cup chicken broth (I make this with water and a bouillon paste)
- Cheese. Add the cheeses; reduce the heat back to low and stir until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy. This will take several minutes, keep stirring.
- Season. Add in ground black pepper and nutmeg (optional).1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Assembly
- Mix. By now the veggies should be nice and tender, flavorful, and little brown bits have developed on the bottom of the pan. The soup broth should be creamy and smooth. It's time to bring these two parties together.
- Combine. Gradually add the cheese broth / base to the vegetable medley. With a large spoon, gently fold the broth and veggies together.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately!
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