Broccoli & Gruyère Soup with Homemade Croutons
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Topped with homemade croutons, this creamy broccoli soup is a meal unto itself and ready in under an hour.
Topped with crisp homemade croutons, this rich and creamy broccoli soup is a meal unto itself. It’s perfect to ward off the evening chill, and it’s ready in under an hour.
What you’ll need to make Broccoli Soup
For the ingredients, you’ll need the basics, plus white wine and Gruyère, a nutty and earthy-tasting cheese from Switzerland. It is available at most large grocery stores, Whole Foods, or gourmet markets.
Since the recipe only calls for a half cup of wine, I use a small bottle from a four-pack — they’re inexpensive and great to keep on hand for cooking.
How to make broccoli soup
Begin by chopping your vegetables. No need to chop them too finely since they all get puréed in the end.
Melt the butter in a large soup pot.
Cook the onion, garlic, carrots and celery until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the white wine and cook until almost completely reduced.
Add the broccoli, chicken broth, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the cream.
Then purée until smooth.
Gradually add the cheese, stirring until smooth. Add the nutmeg, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
What you’ll need to make the croutons
While the soup is cooking, make the croutons. You’ll need bread cubes (preferably day old), butter, salt, and pepper.
How to make the croutons
Melt the butter in the microwave, then toss it with the bread cubes directly on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until the bread cubes are golden brown and crisp.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with croutons. Enjoy!
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Broccoli & Gruyère Soup with Homemade Croutons
Topped with homemade croutons, this creamy broccoli soup is a meal unto itself and ready in under an hour.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 small yellow onions, roughly chopped (about 1¾ cups)
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 pound broccoli, florets and stems, roughly chopped
- 4 cups (32 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream (or half & half, for a lighter version)
- 1 heaping cup grated Gruyère, packed (you'll need about 3 oz.)
- Pinch nutmeg
For the Croutons
- 2 cups cubed French Bread, preferably day old
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Soup
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the white wine and cook until almost completely reduced, a few minutes.
- Add the broccoli, chicken broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream; then, use a hand held immersion blender to purée the soup until completely smooth. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then purée in a blender in batches. Be sure to leave the hole in the lid open and cover with a kitchen towel to allow the steam to escape.) Bring the soup to a simmer, then gradually stir in the cheese, stirring until melted. Add the nutmeg, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper). Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with croutons.
For the Croutons
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Directly on the baking sheet, toss the bread cubes with the melted butter. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bake for 13-15 minutes, tossing once, until the bread cubes are golden brown and crisp.
- Note: The soup thickens as it sits; add a bit of water to thin it out if necessary.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 414
- Fat: 31g
- Saturated fat: 18g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 13g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Cholesterol: 95mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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My wife is specifically asking for broccoli cheddar soup and doesn’t want gruyere. But I want to make this recipe. Can I substitute cheddar? Also, if I do, will I have to make other adjustments? Thanks so much!
Hi Turtle, Yes, you can definitely use cheddar here with no other adjustments. Enjoy!
Love Love Love 💕. I made this for three families at once…doubled the recipe…used a bit more gruyere…but everything else I used the same ratios. This is a rich, flavorful soup. Since this was the meal by itself I did not worry about the small amount of cream or the amount of cheese. I also don’t have an emersion blender (bought one and returned it] I put it in batches in our large blender. I was surprised I couldn’t get it totally smooth…tiny bits of veggies kept poking up…but what the hay…it was amazing. Everyone who ate it including four small kids loved it! My daughter asked for more croutons for her leftovers. This soup is fabulous, easy, and beautiful. Can’t wait to serve it as first course at a dinner party…using smaller croutons and smaller portions of course. The whole blender thing was a bit troublesome because I was making a double batch, but totally worth the effort.
This was excellent soup, and I was glad I tried a new cheese that I have never had before. Thanks for sharing your Broccoli Cheese soup recipe!
I have finally made this soup after planning on making it for a very long time. My daughter loves broccoli soup, and I tried making it a few years ago, but ended up throwing the whole thing out. This soup was good, but not the best. It turned out rather thin. I would have liked it to be creamier, lusher somehow. It was also very expensive to make – I don’t usually have wine in the house so I had to buy a whole bottle of white wine, the Gruyere was super pricey (I live in Canada), and so was the broccoli. I did double the recipe because I have a big family, so that made it more expensive too. I don’t think I’ll make this again. The croutons (made from home made bread) were amazing! 🙂
Deniza, Jenn has said to buy a 4-pk of white wine if you only need a small amount.
This is a fantastic 5 star recipe! My only change was that I used 5% blend cream instead of heavy cream and it was still very creamy without the added calories. I was hoping my immersion blender would be up to the challenge but it just couldn’t blend it up creamy enough, so I blended it in blender. Big difference… I made this soup a day ahead for a dinner party and the flavours seem to get even better! Highly recommend!!
I made this soup tonight for dinner and loved it. I used my food processor to blend the soup and it had a nice smooth-ish consistency. The cheese was just right and the croutons great. I will be making this again. Thank you!
I prepared this soup for my family last Sunday. I didn’t have Gruyère cheese, so used mozzarella. It was a total success and will be sure to buy the Gruyère and make it again. Thanks for a great recipe!
The overall flavor of the soup was good! Better the next day 🙂 It finally thickened up, and that was my biggest issue. I was hoping it would be a little thicker. I put 2/3 of the soup in a blender and then just left the final third chunky (maybe that is why is wasn’t as thick). My next issue was the texture. Didn’t love the way it blended, but again, better the next day. A few things that could have thrown off the consistency: I didn’t use celery (didn’t have any, used a little celery salt), didn’t have wine so I used 1/4 cup of sherry, and then I didn’t blend the whole thing. Again, great flavor, better the next day, didn’t love the texture or thickness (or lack thereof).
Jenn, your recipe came just in time to restore my faith in Broccoli and Cheese soup. Just last week a friend and I went quilt fabric shopping in a nearby town. The owner of the shop recommended a quaint soda fountain restaurant for lunch. Their menu of the day featured B&C Soup. However, when it arrived, it was a clear broth with several vegetables. No “cream of” in sight!
Neither my friend nor I said anything since the surroundings of the shop were fun to see and the accompanying slice of quiche was great, we just thanked the young owner and didn’t say a word. Perhaps I’ll send your recipe to show her what this soup really should be.
l
Also, can’t wait to see my husband’s reaction. He’s not a broccoli fan, but I”m sure he’ll love this dish. Thank you for this and all your delicious recipes.
Hi Jenn
I am wondering if the soup freezes. I’d like to make a double batch and freeze some for later.
Thanks
Lori
Hi Lori, Unfortunately, I don’t think this would freeze very well due to all the dairy in it. Sorry!