This gluten-free broccoli cheddar soup is a delicious and cozy recipe. It’s easily doubled and adjusted based on your preferences too.
Is this soup vegetarian?
It’s not vegetarian as described below, but you can swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock and make this soup vegetarian.
Here’s our recipe for homemade chicken stock!
Do I have to use buttermilk?
You don’t have to use buttermilk specifically, but you want to add something acidic to the soup to break up how heavy the soup will taste and feel.
You can add 1 tbsp of vinegar per cup of milk that is called for in the recipe to make a mock buttermilk. So use any kind of milk you would normally use, and then add a total of 2 tbsp of vinegar.
How should I chop the vegetables for broccoli cheddar soup?
This is completely up to preference. You can leave the pieces large, or finely dice them. Popular soup restaurants cut the carrots into matchsticks. I like my vegetables in the soup to be about the same size, so that’s how I cut them.
Additionally, if you would prefer this to be a smooth soup, you can use an immersion blender to smooth it out. Or, working carefully and in small batches, you can put the soup in a blender to get it to your preferred texture.
Check out some recipes to serve with this Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup:
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Special Equipment:
No specific special equipment is needed to make this soup, but below is the link to the Dutch oven that I use, and the blender and immersion blender that you could use to puree the soup if you prefer the smoother texture.
Ingredients to make Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup
¼ cup butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (reserve ¼ cup)
⅓ cup cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of cheddar cheese
How to Make Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup:
In a large Dutch oven on medium heat, saute the diced onion in ¼ cup of butter until soft and lightly browned. Add the chopped broccoli and carrots and stir with the carrots until the broccoli and carrots natural colors are bright. About 2-5 minutes.
Next, pour the ¼ cup of reserved chicken broth into a small bowl with the ⅓ cup of cornstarch. Use a fork to dissolve the cornstarch into the broth and turn it into a slurry.
Pour the cornstarch slurry into the Dutch oven and add the buttermilk and broth. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the garlic powder. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low or take the Dutch oven off the burner and pour in the 3 cups of cheddar cheese. Mix thoroughly until the cheese is melted and incorporated. If your soup is too hot, the cheese will have a grainy texture, so make sure the soup is not too hot.
Return the Dutch oven to a low simmer so the soup is hot. If you want the soup to be thinner, you can add extra stock or buttermilk to get the soup to the thickness you prefer. If you would like the soup to be thicker, you can take a ¼ cup of broth, water, or buttermilk and blend it with 1 tbsp of cornstarch to create another slurry and mix that into the soup.
Serve the soup hot. If you want to keep the whole meal gluten-free, serve with a salad or roasted meat and vegetables. You can also serve the gluten-free broccoli cheddar soup with sourdough bread even though sourdough is not gluten-free.
Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cups broccoli chopped
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth reserve ¼ cup
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups of cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven on medium heat, saute the diced onion in ¼ cup of butter until soft and lightly browned.
- Add the chopped broccoli and carrots and stir with the carrots until the broccoli and carrots natural colors are bright. About 2-5 minutes. Add the buttermilk and broth.
- Next, pour the ¼ cup of reserved chicken broth into a small bowl with the ⅓ cup of cornstarch. Use a fork to dissolve the cornstarch into the broth and turn it into a slurry.
- Pour the cornstarch slurry into the Dutch oven, stir all of the ingredients, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the garlic powder. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low or take the Dutch oven off the burner and pour in the 3 cups of cheddar cheese. Mix thoroughly until the cheese is melted and incorporated. If your soup is too hot, the cheese will have a grainy texture, so make sure the soup is not too hot.
- Return the Dutch oven to a low simmer so the soup is hot. If you want the soup to be thinner, you can add extra stock or buttermilk to get the soup to the thickness you prefer. If you would like the soup to be thicker, you can take a ¼ cup of broth, water, or buttermilk and blend it with 1 tbsp of cornstarch to create another slurry and mix that into the soup.
- Serve the soup hot. If you want to keep the whole meal gluten-free, serve with a salad or roasted meat and vegetables. You can also serve the gluten-free broccoli cheddar soup with sourdough bread even though sourdough is not gluten-free.
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Delish, warms me up just thinking about it!
We’ve had it almost every week lately!
This would be a favorite I think. I just love creamy soups and broccoli is the best in it! Thanks for sharing this yummie recipe.
Us too!
This recipe looks delicious! Love having soup for dinner on cold winter nights. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!