Better Than Panera: Homemade Spicy Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe
Craving Panera but with more heat? Try this homemade spicy broccoli cheddar soup for bold flavor and comfort in every bite.
Spicy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Equipment
- 1 immersion blender
Ingredients
Vegetables & Aromatics
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 cups broccoli florets (chopped small)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
Spices & Seasonings
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 tbsp hot sauce (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Liquids & Thickener
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 2 cups whole milk or half-n-half for extra richness
Cheeses
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (freshly grated)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional but flavorful)
Instructions
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent (about 3–4 minutes). Stir in garlic and jalapeño and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add red pepper flakes, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir well and let the spices bloom for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to form a roux. It should bubble slightly but not brown.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, followed by the milk and cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking until smooth and thickened (about 5–7 minutes).
- Stir in the chopped broccoli and shredded carrot. Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes, until broccoli is tender but not mushy.
- For a creamier texture, use an immersion blender to lightly blend part of the soup—leave some broccoli whole for texture. Feel free to use a regular blender if you do not have an immersion blender.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheddar (and parmesan, if using) a handful at a time until melted and smooth.
Make it Spicier!
- – Use habanero pepper instead of jalapeño– Use pepper jack cheese instead of cheddar
Serving Suggestions
- – Top with extra shredded cheese, croutons, or crispy bacon bits. – Serve in a bread bowl (Panera-style, but better!) – Pair with crusty garlic bread or grilled cheese.
Storage & Reheating
- – Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.– Freezer: Freeze in portions for up to 3 months (note: it may separate slightly when reheated—stir well) – Reheat: Warm gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of milk or broth to thin if needed.
Notes
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Total Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 13g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
- Sodium: 620mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 16g
- Dietary Fiber: 3g
- Sugars: 5g
- Protein: 13g
- Vitamin A: ~100% DV
- Vitamin C: ~70% DV
- Calcium: ~30% DV
- Iron: ~6% DV
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The Quest for Spicy Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Panera and My Crock Pot Crisis
I don’t remember the exact moment I became obsessed with Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup. Maybe it was a rainy Tuesday when the line at the drive-thru was suspiciously long, and I had already mentally committed to “healthy but comforting” for lunch. Or maybe it was peer pressure—because let’s be honest, nothing makes you feel more accepted in society than dipping a warm baguette into a cup of creamy, cheese-laden soup while pretending it’s a salad.
But what I do remember is the first bite: a velvety wave of cheddar, little nubs of broccoli, those friendly flecks of carrots just trying to make soup colorful again. It was practically health food. That’s what I told myself anyway.
But the honeymoon ended abruptly when I checked my bank account and saw how many Panera visits it took to maintain my addiction. Enter: my ill-fated quest to make a better-than-Panera spicy broccoli cheddar soup at home. Spoiler alert: this journey involved cheese accidents, a blender disaster, and an awkward moment with a head of broccoli that looked at me with judgmental florets.
Chapter One: Why Not Just Use a Recipe?
Because I am a rebel. A culinary outlaw. A “let’s wing it” enthusiast who once used pancake syrup in a stir fry because “they’re both sweet, right?”
So, no, I didn’t start with a proper recipe. I tasted a spoonful of Panera’s soup, furrowed my brow like a sommelier, and declared, “There’s nutmeg in this.”
(There is not nutmeg in this.)
I pulled out my cutting board and started prepping. Broccoli, obviously. Carrots, yes. Onion? Feels fancy. Cheddar cheese? I bought the fancy block kind that requires grating—because we all know pre-shredded cheese is coated in weird anti-clumping fairy dust and never melts right.
Then I made my first critical mistake.
Chapter Two: Cheese, Lies, and Blender Trauma
The first red flag came when I decided to make this an “easy broccoli and cheese soup in crock pot” situation. Easy, right? Dump and go. The vegetables were prepped. The cheese? Sitting proudly in its Tupperware, freshly grated and majestic. I tossed everything into the slow cooker with chicken broth and a generous splash of whole milk, cranked it to high, and walked away.
Six hours later, the house smelled like heaven had married a dairy farm.
But the texture? Oof. It was more broccoli and carrot soup meets bathwater. Thin. Limp. Utterly lacking the comforting heft of Panera’s golden elixir. I tried to fix it with a flour slurry, but that just made it weirdly pasty. So I did what any desperate home cook does: I dumped it into a blender.
Cue the blender apocalypse.
Did you know hot soup expands in a sealed blender? I did not. The soup erupted like a cheesy volcano, coating my counter, cabinets, and dog. I lost half the batch and the dog developed a lifelong fear of kitchen appliances.
Chapter Three: Redemption via Spice and the Pioneer Woman
Feeling humbled, I turned to the internet like any soup warrior in distress. That’s when I called forth the Pioneer Woman cheddar broccoli soup. The heavens parted. Ree Drummond, patron saint of comfort food, had already done the heavy lifting.
Her recipe was… involved. It required butter. Flour. A whole roux situation. This was not crock pot food—it was real stovetop love. I followed her directions with only two major deviations:
- I added cayenne pepper and hot sauce, because I was on a mission to create spicy broccoli cheddar soup.
- I used sharp white cheddar, which I convinced myself was fancier, despite it tasting exactly like regular cheddar.
And friends, let me tell you: this was it. THIS was the soup that could dethrone Panera. It was rich, spicy, cheesy, and thick enough to eat with a fork if you’re in a hurry. I nearly cried into my bowl.
I served it with torn hunks of sourdough, smugly telling my husband, “This is basically what they serve at Panera, but homemade.” He took a bite and said, “Tastes like the broccoli and cheese soup from Subway.”
Reader, I almost divorced him.
Chapter Four: Obsessive Refinement
Now that I had a base recipe, it was time to iterate. I entered a phase of my life that I refer to as The Broccoli Time Loop. Every day: soup. Every night: dreaming about soup. My friends stopped asking how I was doing and started asking if I’d made it spicy enough yet.
I tried swapping the milk for half-and-half. I added mustard powder. I stirred in smoked paprika and sautéed shallots. One particularly unhinged evening, I stirred in crumbled bacon and jalapeños. That was the night the soup bit back, and I knew I had gone too far.
Eventually, I found my holy grail: a balanced, rich, spicy broccoli cheddar soup with layers of flavor and a respectable kick. The secret? A trifecta of spice: cayenne, a splash of Frank’s Red Hot, and a few dashes of ground mustard for tang.
I started calling it “Better Than Panera Soup” and even printed it on a sticky label and slapped it on a mason jar, which made me feel very influencer-y. I did not, however, post it to Instagram because, let’s face it, broccoli soup looks like someone already chewed it.
Final Thoughts: What I Learned in the Cheddar Trenches
So if you’re like me—obsessed with Panera, too cheap to go every week, and vaguely convinced your soup should have more personality—this journey is for you. Your crock pot may betray you. Your blender may explode. But somewhere between the cayenne and the cheddar, you’ll find soup salvation.
And if you don’t? There’s always Subway. I guess.
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