Bacon Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Panera Copycat)
This chunky, creamy, veggie-laden recipe for Bacon Broccoli Cheddar Soup is hearty and satisfying while still packing a hefty nutritional punch. Ready in less than an hour!
Ingredients
- ½ pound Bacon cut into small dice
- Olive Oil if needed
- 1 Yellow Onion diced small
- 4-6 cloves Garlic chopped
- 4 tablespoon Butter
- ¼ C AP Flour or sub gluten free
- 1 C Milk
- 1 C Cream
- 3 C Chicken Bone Broth or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon Paprika preferably hot
- 1 teaspoon Dried Mustard Powder
- 1 ½ lb Broccoli torn into florets and stems cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 Carrots cut into coins
- 10 oz Sharp Cheddar or sub cheese of choice, freshly grated
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add chopped bacon to a large stockpot, large dutch oven, or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. When the bacon fat starts rendering out and the bacon takes on some color, add your onion and garlic and cook until it is beginning to soften and become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. (If there isn't much fat, drizzle in a little olive oil.) Remove to a small bowl and set aside and return the dutch oven to the burner (no need to clean the pot).½ pound Bacon, Olive Oil, 1 Yellow Onion, 4-6 cloves Garlic
- Melt butter over medium heat in dutch oven. When it is bubbling, add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is no longer raw. The roux should smell slightly nutty and have a light golden color. This takes 2-3 minutes.Slowly add milk and cream while whisking constantly to combine. Follow with broth, continuing to stir until it is uniform. Whisk in dry spices.4 tablespoon Butter, ¼ C AP Flour, 1 C Milk, 1 C Cream, 3 C Chicken Bone Broth, 1 teaspoon Paprika, 1 teaspoon Dried Mustard Powder
- Add bacon and onion mix to the dutch oven along with the broccoli and carrots. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to cook for 20-30 minutes, until veggies are al dente, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from burning.1 ½ lb Broccoli, 2 Carrots
- Add cheese to pot and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm and enjoy with a hunk of crusty bread. Enjoy!10 oz Sharp Cheddar, Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
Notes
Storing - Soup will last for 5-7 days in the refrigerator. Due to the heavy dairy content, it is not recommended that you freeze this soup.
To reheat, place in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. You can also microwave it, but make sure to use medium heat and stop to stir frequently; if you boil it too hard, it can scorch the dairy.
Optional Variations
- Pub-Style - For another layer of flavor, add a bottle of your favorite dark ale, reducing the amount of stock you add. (In other words, you want the same amount of total liquid, so if your beer is 12 ounces, use 1.5 cups less broth.)
- Lower-Sodium - If you’re worried about the sodium content here, use low-sodium bacon and use a salt alternative (e.g. potassium chloride or Morton’s Salt Substitute).
- Gluten-Free - When you’re prepping your ingredients, make a slurry with about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken broth, then set it aside. Rather than making the roux in step 2, just melt the butter and hop ahead to step 3, then add the slurry with the other liquids.
- Vegetarian - Don’t eat pork? Not to worry. Swap in veggie broth, sauté your onions in about a tablespoon of olive oil in step 1, then proceed with the recipe as directed. You can then:
- Add 1 cup of vegetarian bacon bits in the last few minutes of cooking, or use them as a garnish for serving.
- Add ½ - 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke to replicate some of the smoky bacon flavor.
- Fuhgeddaboutit. Cheesy broccoli soup is delightful even without the added richness of bacon.
Nutrition
Calories: 489kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 20gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 559mgPotassium: 511mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 3990IUVitamin C: 79mgCalcium: 364mgIron: 1mg
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