Last week we celebrated National Cheddar day with Tillamook on Instagram and I can’t get over how amazing this broccoli cheese soup recipe turned out. I’ve never actually made this at home before, I’ve only ever devoured it from a giant bread bowl at Panera and indulged in the fact that I was basically eating cheese fondue mixed with a few sprigs of broccoli. But this soup changed that experience for me. Yes, it’s still rich and creamy with a ton of cheesy goodness, but it’s also light enough to keep it from turning into a cheat meal.
This broccoli cheese soup recipe is as classic as it gets with a few flavor enhancers.
One is the use of Tillamook cheddar. I don’t recommend using any other cheddar because Tillamook cheese is truly the meltiest cheddar there is on the planet (not a sponsored statement just 100% opinion/fact from everyone who tries it) and then I added a chicken bouillon cube for some additional savoriness.
Now let’s talk about the broccoli: this has 4 cups of it. I feel like that’s an appropriate amount of broccoli for the soup to take its namesake. You want to add the broccoli at the very end otherwise you risk overcooking the broccoli, which wouldn’t be horrible if you’re using an immersion blender to whip this all together (perhaps that will be the 2.0 version) but we want to keep the broccoli nice and aldente so it gets tossed in at the end of the cooking process.
Since we were celebrating national cheddar day, I also made these little cheddar pop tarts from some puff pastry and cheddar slices. Again, using Tillamook for the cheese because it melts so darn good.
If you want to source Tillamook near you, check out their TillaMAPS feature to find them in a store nearby. If you can’t find it, request it at your grocery store to let them know you want them to carry it! They’re still expanding to the East coast and every request helps them get closer to serve your area.
By the way, I think savory pop tarts need to become a weekly thing, I may try to figure out how to do an egg and sausage scramble one here soon.
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted
- 1 onion chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots shredded
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded Tillamook medium cheddar
- 4 cups broccoli florets chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
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Heat butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until melted. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and continue to cook. Stir in the chicken bouillon cube and saute for an additional minute. Add the flour in and stir frequently, you don't want the flour to burn.
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Slowly pour in the chicken stock and using a whisk, thoroughly mix the flour, onion, carrot mixture in with the chicken stock. Once combined, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Continue cooking the soup until it reaches a simmer.
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Once simmering, add your cheese and broccoli, stir until completely combined and broccoli florets are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Remove from heat and serve warm.
- 2 sheets prepared puff pastry thawed
- 10 slices Tillamook Sliced Cheese
- 1 large egg whisked
- 1/2 cup Tillamook cheese shreds to garnish
- flaky sea salt to garnish
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Preheat oven to puff pastry box temperature, should be 400°F
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Roll out your prepared puff pastry onto a gently floured surface and use a rolling pin to thin it out slightly.
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Using a 1.5" or 2" biscuit cutter (or a glass with roughly the same diameter) cut out as many circles as you can and set them aside on a parchment paper lined cooking sheet.
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Using one size down biscuit cutter, cut out circles from the cheddar slices and place one on top of each puff pastry round. You should have half the rounds topped with cheese. Toss scraps into the broccoli cheddar soup recipe above or save for future cheese shred needs.
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Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the puff pastry round with the egg wash (whisked egg and 1 tbsp water) and then press the un-cheddared round onto a cheddared round. Use a fork to secure the edges together. Lightly brush the top of the poptart with the egg wash and then cut four holes in the top with a knive to let steam escape.
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When all rounds are pressed together, top with Tillamook cheese shreds and flaky sea salt. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes until the puff pastry is nice and golden brown.
