Come home to a warming bowlful of this filling, Low Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup. This soup is a thick and comforting vegetable soup that’s as good for a meal as it is for a dinner party appetizer.
If like me, you’re on a low carb diet, then you have to try this amazing soup!
I’m on the Atkins diet and have had a lot of trouble finding meals that I want to eat more than once, but this is a recipe that I make once a week. It’s satisfying and simple to make.
Homemade soup keeps well in the fridge and is also easy to freeze. Best of all, this thick soup won’t leave you hungry. It’s a beautiful, filling soup that will make you forget you’re on a diet!
Why this recipe works:
- While this recipe is suitable for most low carb diet plans, including Keto and Atkins, you don’t have to be cutting carbs to enjoy this delicious soup.
- This low carb recipe uses the broccoli and cheese to thicken it instead of high carb thickening agents.
The Benefits of Eating Broccoli
We all know Broccoli is healthy. I bet you didn’t know just how healthy though…
Broccoli is a good source of vitamins B6, E B1, and A. It’s also a good source of not only fiber but phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, zinc, iron, and niacin. And that’s just to name a few!
Needless to say, I try to eat a lot of broccoli.
How to Choose The Best Broccoli
- Choose bright green broccoli with strong, firm stalks.
- Avoid the woody Stems. They will become hard and chewy when cooked.
- Avoid yellowing florets. Yellow florets are a sign that the broccoli is gone past the stage of a desirable texture.
- Choose tight clusters in the florets of broccoli. The more space or gaps in the florets, the older it is.
Other Broccoli Recipes You’ll Love
This Low Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe is really, really tasty and perfect for cooler weather.
The last couple of weeks have been a lot cooler and I love the first signs of autumn weather. It’s been awesome and so nice enjoying some fresh fall air!
It’s almost time to be in cozy, warm clothes, light the fireplace, and snuggle up in blankets with a comforting bowl of soup! One of my favorite parts of fall is making soup and this is my new favorite!
How to Make Low Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup:
In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. 
Add celery and onion and cook in the butter until softened.
Add the garlic powder and paprika.
Add the broccoli.
Pour over the stock.
Cover and simmer until broccoli is tender (10 to 15 minutes).
If you want your soup chunky, remove about a cup of broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside. To make the soup extra thick, before adding the cheese I ladle out stock until it just covers the broccoli.
Reduce heat, and add the cheese.
Allow cheese to melt into the soup.
Using a stick blender, blend until smooth.
Stir in the broccoli that was removed earlier. Serve and enjoy.
Other Soup Recipes You’ll Love
Cook’s Tips:
- This soup is perfect for broccoli that isn’t at its freshest and has started to yellow a bit. No point in wasting perfectly good food!
- To avoid clumping while adding the cheese, use store-bought, pre-grated cheese. Add it gradually and make sure the temperature isn’t too hot. The heat should be fairly low when adding the cheese. If it’s too hot, the cheese can seize up and clump.
- If shredding your own cheese (instead of buying store-bought pre-shredded cheese), try coating the cheese with a little arrowroot powder to keep it from clumping.
- Don’t own a stick hand blender? No problem. You can use a food processor or blender to puree the soup.
- For an added wow factor and a bit of crunchy texture, try sprinkling crispy bacon over the soup before serving.
Recipe Variations:
- Use cauliflower instead of broccoli, it tastes just as good!
- Add ham to this soup for an even more filling meal.
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Let's Make Low Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1½ pounds broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 cups canned chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook celery and onion in butter until softened.
- Stir in broccoli, and cover with stock. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- If you want your soup chunky, remove about a cup of broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Reduce heat, and stir in the garlic powder and paprika. Add the shredded cheddar cheese gradually, stirring constantly, and continue to stir until melted.
- Using a stick blender, blend until smooth.
- Stir in the broccoli that was removed earlier and serve. Salt and pepper to taste
Tips + Notes
- This soup is perfect for broccoli that isn't at its freshest and has started to yellow a bit. No point in wasting perfectly good food!
- To avoid clumping while adding the cheese, use store-bought, pre-shredded cheese. Add it gradually and make sure the temperature isn't too hot. The heat should be fairly low when adding the cheese. If it’s too hot, the cheese can seize up and clump.
- If shredding your own cheese (instead of buying store bought pre-shredded cheese), try coating the cheese with a little arrowroot powder to keep it from clumping.
- Don't own a stick hand blender? No problem. You can use a food processor or blender to puree the soup.
- For an added wow factor and a bit of crunchy texture, try sprinkling crispy bacon over the soup before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in October of 2016, but was updated with step by step instructions, new photos, tips, and FAQs July of 2018.
Char says
Delish!!! 5 stars all the way
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you, Char!
Bella Hardy @ Healthnerdy.com says
That low carb broccoli cheese soup looks absolutely fantastic. Beautiful photos, too. I look forward to trying this. Thanks for sharing, Erren!
Erren's Kitchen says
Ah, Thank you, Bella, I hope you enjoy!
Lisa in Connecticut says
Thank you for the recipe. It was delicious. I did however add a little chopped carrot with the onion and celery. I was short on broccoli, so I also used cauliflower as well. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken. Also I dropped in a teaspoon of Xantham Gum at the point of stick blending. A tiny bit goes a long way. Then I used a mix of cheese because that is all I had in the house. My family LOVED it. I know it sounds like I changed it a lot – don’t mean to be disrespectful but I was just being resourceful with what I had in the house.
Erren's Kitchen says
No, Lisa, it sounds delicious, I’m glad everyone enjoyed it!
Shauna says
This is so good! I blend the broccoli up with the hand blender prior to adding the cheese. When I blended the cheese and broccoli at the same time is seriously made my hand blender a goopy mess which was hard to clean.
Erren's Kitchen says
Thanks, Shauna! Yes, I must say I have had fun with cheese too!
Chris A. says
Erren, thanks so much for this recipe! The paprika and garlic power really kicks up a notch over the other keto broccoli and cheese recipes I’ve tried. I have just one suggestion for improvement: if you add the garlic powder and paprika to the hot pan before the stock and broccoli, the garlic burns a bit and gives off a bitter taste. In your written instructions at the end of the post, you have “Stir in the paprika and garlic powder” in two places: Once at the first bullet, and once right before adding the cheese. I recommend only adding the paprika and garlic powder right before adding the cheese. That way, there is no chance it will burn, and no chance of bitter off-flavors spoiling the soup.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Chris, I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the info I’ll keep it in mind!
Sue Korkis says
Absolutely delicious, very clear instructions too, thank you for Brocolli inspiration 🙂
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so glad you enjoyed Sue, thanks for your awesome feedback!
Sally says
Love this recipe. Simple yet delicious.
Erren says
Great to hear, Sally!
Bev Hitchcockb says
Im maling this soup for the first time. How would I add beer to make it a beer broccoli soup?
Erren says
Hi Bev, it’s hard to say. I’ve never made beer soup before. Sorry I can’t be more help.
Nancy says
How much is one serving? I see that there’s 8 total in recipe.
Would 1 cup be right? Or more!
Thank you
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Nancy, This is a hard one for me to answer as the nutritional information is done by software, not me, but if you divide it by 8 it should tell you. Hope this helps!
Julie says
Thank you for this! It is a pet peeve of mine that recipes don’t tell you how much is in a serving! It’s fine with pies and casseroles which are easy to portion out, but almost impossible for soups and stews without portioning it all out. I’m going with a cup also, but I’m not sure. Having said that, the soup is wonderful!
Erren's Kitchen says
Ah, thank you, Julie!
JoJenny says
I’m making this today for my son, who is on low carb now. Just one thing about the recipe — doesn’t it say to add garlic and paprika twice, once after sauteing onion and celery and once at the end of cooking? We are looking forward to this wonderful soup!
Erren says
Oh wow, thanks for letting me know! I’ll have a look. For now just follow the steps in the video. Hope you enjoy it!