Some people don’t like to have soup during the summer. But, I love it for a go-to lunch. This is one of my favorite soups, an all-time comfort food for me. During a recent bout with the flu, I whipped up a batch and froze the extra. It reheated really well in the microwave, so it may be a real keeper for freezer cooking.
Cheddar Cheese Soup with Zucchini, Broccoli, and Carrots
2 Tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium zucchini, grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 onion, grated
1 head broccoli, chopped into mini florets
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
In large saucepot, melt butter. Add garlic, zucchini, carrots, and onion. Saute until veggies are tender. Stir in broccoli and broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender. Meanwhile, melt butter in large pot. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute or two. Whisk in milk until smooth. Simmer until thickened. Whisk in cheddar cheese. Incorporate vegetable mixture into cheese sauce, whisking until smooth. Serve immediately.
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Funny I guess as some think, We still soup quite a bit in the summer. My kids can’t go a few weeks without potato soup or ghoulash or chicken noodle soup lol. This soup is right up my alley and sounds great, I just dehydrated a bunch of broccoli can’t wait to try this one!!! Thanks Michelle
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I love soup any time of year. I wish my family liked it as much as I do. Unfortunately I have to settle for having it in the fall and winter. This recipe looks great!
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Definately! We did chicken noodle with summer veggies on Wednesday. I also love corn chowder with fresh corn. Yum!
This cheddar soup looks tasty!
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Hi dear!
This looks SUPER delish and its going in my RECIPE BOOKMARKS NOW!
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mmm that looks good!
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I actually have all of these ingredients in my kitchen right now. I might just have to try this for dinner tonight. Thanks for such a simple looking soup recipe.
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We do soup in the summer. (But not stews…what’s the difference? ??))
Every Friday night we have soup and challah bread.
I’d puree some of this (before adding cheese since melted cheese doesn’t puree so well) so sweet babe#1 won’t complain about “things in her soup”.
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I love soup all year long! I think this soup would be fabulous in a bread bowl. YUM!
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I could do soup year round but the rest of my family says no unless it’s cool weather. And, I’ll have to admit that when it is still 105 degrees at dinner time, I’d rather have a salad.
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Can I just tell you I am pregnant with my third and this was *EXACTLY* what I was craving! I have a pot ready right now, waiting for my husband to get home so I can chow down! Thanks for the recipe!
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Fishmama….do you think this would freeze well?
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Um…..DUH! I just reread your post where you said it freezes well. SORRY!
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Made this for lunch today and it was AWESOME!!! I’ve been feeling under the weather all week and this seriously hit the spot! This will definitely be a repeat at our house
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I made this soup this weekend and it was great. I left out the carrots since we running low and probably put in 3 times as much zucchini because we have a ton but over all the reviews have been great and I am pleased. I also used powdered milk to make my cream sauce to keep the cost down and it turned out great.
Thanks so much for sharing a new zucchini favorite for my little family!
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Jessica Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Sounds like some very creative tweaks. Good for you!
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I made this soup last night – it was great. I made a few changes to use up what I had on hand – I used yellow squash instead of zucchini, 1/2 of the milk was changed to chicken stock. I added extra carrots and some crispy fried rice.
Great recipe – thanks.
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Good soup! We had it this evening. I took out some of the zucchini, carrot, onion, broth and broccoli mixture and pureed it for my 8 month old – perfect! Then finished the soup as directed for the rest of us. Also added about 1/2 cup of pre-cooked hamburger meat that I had leftover from this weekend.
Thanks for the great recipes!
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I made this tonight as part of the Pantry Challenge but with butternut squash as you’d mentioned earlier in the week (or last week? Brain is not remembering). It was WONDERFUL! Because it was such a different squash flavor, I made significant tweaks. First, I halved the butternut squash and roasted it (with a touch of olive oil brushed on) for 30 minutes — not long enough to make it very mushy, just long enough to give a nice roasted flavor and also allow me to still cut it into cubes (it separates from the peel easier this way too).
I omitted the zucchini and also the broccoli. I more or less followed the rest of the instructions, adding the squash when the broccoli and zuke would have gone in EXCEPT: once I’d added the broth (I used veggie), I brought it to a boil, then simmered for about 20 minutes and took the immersion blender to the veggie mix before adding in the cheese blend. For seasonings, I used salt and pepper, nutmeg, and some cinnamon. Next time I will add some ground cloves too. I didn’t have any this time. You could also do caraway seed or go savory with rosemary, but the sweeter flavor was sounding really good to me.
Thanks for another great recipe!
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Jessica Reply:
January 10th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
@P Reis, I’m new to butternut soup. Do you have to puree it? I mean would most people think it was weird to have chunks of squash in the soup?
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P Reis Reply:
January 10th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
@Jessica, No, I don’t think it would be weird at all. It’s personal preference, and I think this could be made either way. On this particular night the combination of the cheese and squash just called out for pureeing! It was super creamy and delish for a cold night.
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I’m changing my Friday night meal plan to this! So excited because I have ton of veggies in my freezer from our CSA this year. I think I’m going to add a pureed veggie to it too. I keep lots of pureed veggies in the freezer too just to stir into almost anything I’m cooking-hubby & son usually don’t have a clue they are eating an extra veggie that way. I started doing this after reading Jessica Seinfelds cook book Deceptively Delicious.
Thanks for these great recipes!
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This soup looks amazing! Regardless of the time of year, we have soup night every Wednesday. I usually alternate between broccoli-cheddar, chicken noodle (with extra carrots for my 3-year old), and tomato cannellini bean. This cheddar soup with vegetables is a great way to incorporate more vegetables in a way my children are familiar with. It is definitely going into the rotation.
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Can anyone tell me how many servings of soup this recipe makes? I’d love to make it for a crowd and need to figure out if I’d need to double, triple, or quadruple it!
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Jessica Reply:
January 23rd, 2011 at 10:44 am
Since I’m the only one who really eats it, it serves one.
But, realistically speaking, I’m going to say 4, depending on side dishes.
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I just made this soup and it is really delicious. It seemed a bit thin to me, so I added some diced potatoes and a little cornstarch slurry. My girls (3 and 6) tried it and gave it a resounding thumbs up. I will serve it with cranberry-orange muffins (using the last of my frozen cranberries) for a nice, healthy kid-friendly dinner.
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We are having this soup again tonight. I’ve made it once before and it got rave reviews. My boys love to dip chicken strips in it. We’ll have cups of soup along with chicken salad sandwiches. I really like cleaning up odds and ends of leftovers and having it come out as a nice, warm, filling dinner. Thanks!
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I made this soup this weekend and it was fabulous. My 11 year old couldn’t get enough of it. Will definitely be making it again soon. Thank you!
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I made the cheese soup tonight to go with a leftover broccoli,ham and rice casserole. The soup is amazing! So simple and tasty. I had to put it away so I wouldn’t eat it all before my husband got home! Thanks for the recipe!
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This sounds super yummy! I was curious about adding some potato to it. Can you add raw diced potatoes or should they be cooked first? Sounds silly, but I’m still new to cooking soups.
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Jessica Reply:
November 29th, 2011 at 7:28 am
@Marie, not silly at all. I typically add cubed potato when I add the other vegetables. You’ll just need to simmer longer before proceeding with the recipe.
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