I have made this recipe twice for crowds and it has been a big hit! I only do 2 things differently. First, I saute an onion in with the butter in the beginning. Also, I have thrown in cubed potatoes with good results. This is a great "cheese soup base" that could be varied many ways-- chicken, carrots, potatoes, Kielbasa, etc.
This was a delicious recipe...MADE CHANGES, but I don't think they were too drastic. The entire family from baby to hubby LOVED it. My changes were:
1) used water and 3-4 Tbsp. chicken base paste (Tone's brand from Sam's -- no MSG)for broth,
2) Omitted salt, but used all that pepper! (Salt to taste before serving),
3) Cornstarch, for thickening: 1/3 cup mixed with a cup of the cold water or broth and brought to the boil in "step 1",
4) Broccoli: I steamed florets and small stems until just tender, then CHOPPED to my liking . I didn't measure, but would use more than two heads next time.
5) Added 3-4 Tbsp. white wine worcestershire. WOW!!!! If you can't find, try a small amount of regular.
6) Used 8 oz of sharp natural cheddar- no processed cheese. More would be even better.
This turned out great. I followed the recipe exactly after scaling it down to 6 servings. I would recommend doubling the amount of brocolli. DON'T FORGET TO SCALE IT DOWN.:) Enjoy...
I had to go buy a larger pot to make this for my family it's so great!! When making it in my standard 6 qt. dutch oven (making 12 servings) it would disappear so fast! This is a fabulous base for any cheese soup. As a broccoli soup it is wonderful so we decided to use the base for and try a potato soup and that turned out amazing as well. Tonight we made it as potato soup and used 1 cup of margarine and 1 cup of flour. We then use 7 cups of chicken stock and 7 cups of milk 2 lbs of velveeta and 8 cups of shredded mild cheddar then added steamed potatoes sautéd onions and some shredded carrots. We always add more broccoli than it calls for when we make the broccoli soup and we like the broccoli stems chopped pretty fine. I really can't rave about this enough as it is a huge hit with my whole family. I'm thinking of trying it next time with cauliflower! I'll let you know how it turns out but I'm sure it will be great too. Also just to let you know we only lightly salt the veggies when we steam them then only use about 1/4 to a 1/2 of tsp of salt or it can get too salty but I do increase the pepper just a bit. If you haven't tried this yet please do. You'll be so happy you did!
This was the best broccoli cheese soup we have ever had. Before my husband even finished 1/2 of his first bowl, he said, "I hope you wrote this recipe down." I used only shredded sharp cheddar cheese and I added black pepper. We grow our own broccoli, so the home grown flavor does help. I have already made this three times and will continue to make it. This is a definite keeper.
While this soup tastes excellent and my tastebuds are thrilled, I'm still rating this recipe one star in protest. It has three fundamental flaws. First off, it makes a ginormous amount of soup. More than you can cook in a very large pot. I believe in family size, but this is ridiculous. I knew 18 cups of liquid sounded like a lot, but my lack of cup/spatial recognition now means I'll be having this soup for a month. The top broccoli soup recipe should not be one for a party, it should use proportions that normal families need. I'm also dinging this recipe for the processed cheese. Call me a food snob if you want, but I don't want to live in a world where Velvetta tastes better than real cheese. I have to imagine that there is an alternative with real cheese that tastes so much better. Finally, this recipe is getting a one star shaft because it's way off on how much broccoli you'll need. You can easily double or triple the amount and be fine. I'd also recommend chopping the broccoli into small pieces vs. using the unchopped crown.
I used steamed broccoli (with butter) instead of frozen- Boy does this make a difference!!! My hubby was digging out most of the broccoli for himself...:) and its just as good reheated. I'm doubling the amount of steamed brocolli in the future.
Very pleasant and flavorful soup that aside from some onion and garlic needed no other flourish. Some broccoli cheese soups are TOO cheesy - a thick pasty goo with not only too much cheese but too much flour as well. Not so with this soup. It definitely has a bold cheese taste but is still a light soup with great fresh flavor. My only criticism of the recipe is that to cook the soup any further after the cheese and broccoli is stirred in risks having the cheese separate and the broccoli overcooking either of which would ruin the soup. Once the soup has thickened remove it from the heat stir in the cheese gently stir in the broccoli and serve immediately. Also microwaving the broccoli florets made quick work of making this soup!
This recipe will replace the recipe that my mother gave me for sure. It was so easy! The recipe was just right for our family of 6 with enough leftovers for lunch the next day for everyone. We did add more broccoli and didn't use the processed cheese just added about a cup more of sharp cheese. My boys ages 10 8 and 5 loved it. Served with crescent rolls. Yum!
