Fall is here, but more importantly; soup season is here. In this video, Nicole shows you how to make a comforting copycat recipe for Panera Bread’s popular broccoli cheddar soup! From the cheese sauce to the chopped veggies, this cheddar soup is so easy-to-make and can feed family on a budget.
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00:00I'm shifting into soup mode, and today it is Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup at home.
00:09I'm sorry y'all, but that looks just like it.
00:13Ta-da!
00:14Look at that velvety, rich perfection.
00:18It's addicting.
00:21This happens to be my kids' favorite soup and the only thing they order at Panera, so
00:27we can make it at home, because in case you haven't been to Panera lately, it's not very
00:33cheap.
00:34I've seen a lot of copycat recipes, but you know I like to make it as close to the original
00:39as possible.
00:40The description clearly states that it is broccoli and vegetables or whatever simmered
00:45in a cheese sauce, so the first thing you have to do is make a cheese sauce, and then
00:49we turn that into soup.
00:50I'm gonna get my onion really fine, so we don't want any big chunks of onion.
00:56Now the difference in like Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup, and I think the reason why my
01:01kids like it, is because it's not the version of broccoli cheese soup where it's all kind
01:05of pureed in there.
01:07It's more of like a thick, rich, creamy cheese base, and then you just get like, you know,
01:13little chunks of broccoli instead of just like a bunch of little flecks of it floating
01:17around.
01:18I'm just gonna get this going and some butter.
01:20I'm gonna start by melting a half a stick of butter into your pot.
01:25So what I'm gonna do is I'm going to saute our onion in here and then make our roux for
01:29our cheese sauce right with the onion.
01:32While that happens, I can be grating my cheese.
01:35You know the rule.
01:36You're gonna grate your own cheese for this.
01:38This is a time where it does matter.
01:40I'm gonna start with about a cup and a half of cheese.
01:43This kind of soup is just comforting, and delicious.
01:46I'm also gonna go ahead and chop up my broccoli, I've already washed this.
01:50So we want the broccoli in really small little florets, kind of like partially chopped.
01:56You don't have to throw away the stalks either.
01:59Cut those up in the salad, I'll show you how.
02:01The stalks are the best, like, crunchy snack.
02:06You just trim off the outside, get to that inner, like, lighter color part.
02:11See, and then you just chop these up in a salad.
02:15Crunchy, delicious.
02:18Delicious.
02:20Don't throw them away.
02:21Alright, the onions are ready.
02:22You can tell they're kind of see-through.
02:24And now, we're gonna make our roux, which is the base for our cheese sauce.
02:29Equal parts fat and flour.
02:31I'm not gonna make this super thick, so I'm gonna go in with just a few tablespoons.
02:36So we'll start there.
02:37Okay, and then we don't want a starchy taste to our soup, so we're gonna cook this for
02:41at least a minute or so.
02:43You're such a mom.
02:44No chemicals, can't use it.
02:45Bring out the chemicals.
02:46Now, I did not make the Panera recipe, but in the ingredients, it clearly states pasteurized
02:58processed cheese.
03:01That's what this is.
03:02And milk.
03:03I'm gonna go in, I'm gonna whisk in our milk so we don't have many clumps.
03:07And having the flour in there stabilizes this milk mixture, so your milk is not gonna, like,
03:13when you make it into a roux first, into a cream sauce.
03:17Okay.
03:18Dijon.
03:19Also, in their ingredients, a little hot sauce, and then white pepper.
03:25White pepper is an ingredient, which is classic in a cheese sauce, too, when you find it.
03:29Come on, you wanna come?
03:32Not a huge fan of white pepper, because it's a little musty.
03:35It has its time and place.
03:36Okay, so I'm gonna go in with just a little bit of Dijon, about a teaspoon.
03:41A little white pepper, a little hot sauce, and some salt.
03:45Okay, so I'm gonna let that come to a simmer.
03:47You don't know how powerful a roux will be or how thick it's gonna be until it actually
03:52comes to a boil, and then we can adjust our thickness from there once it gets to that
03:57point.
03:58See how rich and thick?
03:59And now we're gonna thicken it up even more by adding in our cheese.
04:02Their soup is like this color.
04:04It's like a light, creamy orange color.
04:08Man, that looks good.
04:11Mmm, probably better.
04:14I'm doing it.
04:15I'm doing it because this is what you're supposed to do.
04:18Although you could stop here before this, I'm just saying.
04:21It's still gonna be delicious if you don't include this.
04:23Stir that until it's all melted.
04:25It's addicting.
04:26Just give me some tortilla chips, I'll just go right in.
04:31Don't let it get too hot for this.
04:33We don't wanna burn any of our hard work.
04:35So medium-low, that's what you want.
04:38Another iconic look to the Panera broccoli cheddar soup are the little bits of carrots
04:43that are dispersed throughout.
04:46So for that effect, I'm using the matchstick carrots, and then I'm just gonna give them
04:50just a really quick little rough chop so they're not too long.
04:53All right, and I'll just add everything right in.
04:57We're almost done.
04:58This is a really easy dinner for your family, just saying.
05:02All right, look how thick and velvety.
05:05Now as delicious as this is, this to me is not soup.
05:09So now let's make it soup.
05:10That's our cheese sauce.
05:11All right, so I'm gonna add in those carrots and our broccoli, and then I'm going in with
05:18some chicken broth or stock.
05:20All right, that's gonna thin it out to make it more soup-like.
05:23Now, look at that.
05:26It smells just like it.
05:29Does it?
05:30Yes.
05:32We're gonna keep it nice and rich.
05:33A little heavy cream.
05:34We don't wanna lose that richness.
05:36I'm gonna bring this to a simmer and let it just kinda simmer until that broccoli is nice
05:40and tender.
05:41Nail, put the nail on the head, ah, nail on the head.
05:49Look at that velvety, rich perfection.
05:53It's so easy.
05:54I strongly recommend just doubling the batch because this is something my girls would take
06:00in their lunchbox also.
06:02This is enough to give my family a hearty portion, but there's not gonna be any leftovers.
06:09It looks just like it.
06:10I mean, am I right?
06:13Let's serve it up.
06:14Back when carbs were cool, serving this in a big bread bowl was the way to go.
06:20So we're gonna serve our bread on the side.
06:22So I'm serving the soup up in a bowl, very simply.
06:25They don't garnish it or anything.
06:27If you have extra shredded cheese you wanna put on top, I say go for it.
06:31A little of that and how about a little bit of pepper?
06:35And I did not forget the crusty bread.
06:38Ta-da!
06:39Panera broccoli cheddar soup at home or at work.
06:45Let's see how we did.
06:46I happen to love the bits of broccoli that are in there.
06:49That is my favorite part.
06:54Absolutely nailed it.
06:56I wish I had the OG right here to compare, because I guarantee in a blind taste test,
07:01you wouldn't know, but you would probably pick this one as the winner, not to brag.
07:06Mm, this is it.
07:08This is your cozy meal to enjoy with your family this fall, or really any time of the
07:12year, but I could make this whole pot for definitely less than I could to feed my family
07:17at the restaurant.
07:18And it's just so cozy, you can double it up.
07:20I think you can make a double batch for the price of two bowls at the restaurant.
07:25If you love Panera's broccoli cheddar soup, you've got to try this version at home.
07:29You won't regret it.
07:30Why does it have to be so good?
07:32Okay, stop eating.
07:34It's just so perfect.
07:36Do you want to taste it?
07:40This is right up your alley.
07:42Perfect, every bite's a perfect bite.
07:44Oh my God.
07:46How good is that?
07:47Out of 10?
07:4860.
07:49There's nothing more to say.
07:5510 out of 10.
07:57Or 60 out of 10.
08:00Make it.