You’ll never miss the extra fat in this lightened-up version of a familiar comfort food classic: Skinny Broccoli Cheddar Soup. This soup is thick, cheesy, creamy, and downright decadent. No one will ever know you used reduced fat ingredients to prepare it!
The reason I say “no one will ever know” is because I recently took this soup to my parents’ house for them to enjoy. My dad LOVES broccoli cheese soup and I always share with him when I make it.
But every time I’ve shared, it’s been the full-fat version. Well, he didn’t even notice and said it was the best pot of broccoli cheddar soup I’ve made to date. Oh, and he does not care for reduced fat cheese… he does now, I guess!
I reduced the fat from my original recipe by using low fat 1% milk and reduced fat cheddar cheese.
Ingredients Notes
- Broccoli – Fresh broccoli florets cut into bite-size pieces.
- Cheese – reduced fat sharp cheddar
- Carrots – I julienne my carrots (cut into thin strips). You can save time by buying a bag of “matchstick carrots” in the produce section of your grocery store.
- Yellow onion – chopped
- Bay leaf
- Flour – all-purpose
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt and black pepper
- Chicken broth – you can easily make this soup vegetarian by using vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
- Garlic
- Butter – I use unsalted butter so that I can control the salt amount.
- Milk – 1% low fat milk
How to Prepare
Following is a very brief overview – please see the recipe card for full instructions and ingredient amounts.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a 6-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot. Add onion and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Make the roux by slowly adding the flour while stirring until a paste is formed.
- Slowly pour in the reduced fat milk while continuing to stir. Whisk to smooth out any lumps.
- Pour in chicken broth and stir to combine.
- Add broccoli, carrots, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaf. Simmer until broccoli and carrots are tender.
- Remove from heat and slowly add the cheese. Stir until melted and heated through. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
This creamy and delicious soup is a dinner everyone will agree on – with lower fat. The leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have any) are just as delicious the next day.
Enjoy!
More Comforting Soups
Skinny Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups low fat 1% milk
- 3 cups chicken broth or stock (low sodium)
- 6 cups fresh broccoli florets cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup peeled and julienned carrots or matchstick carrots
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 ounces reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a 6-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot. Add onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes (or until softened) while stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), stirring constantly.
- Slowly add flour (about a tablespoon at a time) while constantly stirring. Once all of the flour is added and there is a paste formed, slowly pour in milk while continuing to stir. Cook for 1 minute while whisking to smooth out any lumps.
- Slowly pour in the chicken broth and stir to combine.
- Add broccoli, carrots, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until broccoli and carrots are tender. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Remove from heat and add cheese (a handful at a time) while stirring in between each addition until melted and smooth. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Remove and discard bay leaf before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
Originally published September 2014. Updated with new photos, new text and recipe slightly revised January 2022.
Stacey
This is delicious! I used 4 cups of chicken broth because the container had 4 cups and cut the milk to 1 1/2 cups. Very good consistency.
Kate
Super delicious!! I didn’t have an onion and it was great, nor did I have sharp cheese, just mild. I was trying to use some things up in my fridge. So easy and quick for my kids’ favorite soup! Thank you!!
Amy
Thank you Kate, I’m so glad you and your kids enjoyed the soup!
Mitch
I’ve made many broccoli soup recipes and this one, by far, is the best!
I used home canned turkey bone broth and it is absolute perfection!
Amy
Thank you so much, Mitch – turkey broth (homemade especially!) sounds DELICIOUS in this soup. Thank you for sharing!
Jody
Absolutely delicious! Nobody could tell the difference that this recipe was lower in fat. The only thing I did differently was microwaved the broccoli and shredded carrots in a covered casserole dish with a little water instead of boiling (This kept the vitamins and flavor). I used whatever liquid developed and added that into the soup. I am sharing the recipe with friends and family. Thanks for the healthier alternative!
Amy
Thank you so much, Jody – I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Debra Conroy
Wow tastes so decadent. Will Definitely make again!
Kaylee
Sooo good! Do you think I would be able to freeze some of the left overs?
Paula
Awesome recipe! It’s a regular in our household! 🙂
Kristina L Kirkland
I used 2tbs of butter, low fat sharp cheddar, and subbed low fat almond milk. If you want to cut the butter entirely, steam the onion and carrot. It was delish!
steph
Delish! Added salt, subbed smoked paprika for the nutmeg, and added fresh chopped garlic.
Megan
I think it’s great! This is my first homemade broccoli and cheddar soup. I added extra garlic (so I could use the whole clove) and more salt than I thought. I also used beef broth instead of chicken because I had one sitting in my pantry. I’m pleased with the result and will make this again.
Amy
Thank you, Megan… I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! 🙂
Bryan
Thought it was bland. Followed recipe to a T. Nutmeg was overwhelming and felt it was unneeded. “Salt to taste,” is an understatement.
Claudia V.
Would you happen to know the nutritional value of your soup? I made it and it’s delicious. Thank you so much!
Amy
Hi Claudia, So glad to hear you enjoyed it! I don’t currently have nutritional info, but there are several online nutritional calculators. Search for “nutritional calculator” and enter the ingredients. I hope to have the nutritional info for this recipe in the near future!
Karen
You can put it in MyFitnessPal and it will give you the calories and all the micros in the recipe and you can even change the recipe around if it wasn’t healthy enough for you
Debbie
This was delicious creamy my 1st time making broccoli cheddar made recipe to exact and wouldn’t change love it !
Anjellica
This was so good. I’m trying to watch my calories but I didn’t want to use preshredded cheese so I used regular extra sharp. It upped my calories to 331 cal per serving but that’s still great. It was very creamy and flavorful especially with a slice of sourdough bread to
Dip. How can I store this?
Amy
Hi Anjellica, Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. So glad you enjoyed it!
Marge
A great way to get a lot of vitamins/veggies in the diet. We used regular cheese – but – because of the 2-1/2 cups of 1% milk it’s still healthier than using the cream or half n half found in other recipes. Next time I think I’ll double the small quantities of nutmeg and garlic because I enjoy them and couldn’t taste them.
Katja
Very yummy and easy. My husband wants me to make it again.