Creamy Vegetable Soup
on Feb 17, 2024, Updated Nov 14, 2024
This Creamy Vegetable Soup recipe is absolutely delicious! Full of veggies and a rich cheesy base, this is the best comfort food.
My favorite vegetable soup!
This vegetable soup is packed full of veggies, and made thick and creamy with milk and fresh grated sharp cheddar cheese. It’s the ultimate cozy and flavorful soup for when you are craving nourishing comfort food!
When I was 9 months pregnant with my third son I was very sick for several weeks leading up to his birth. All I wanted was a big bowl of nourishing creamy vegetable soup and nothing from the store could even come close.
There is just nothing like a big hot and cozy bowl of soup when you are feeling sick! As soon as I felt better, this was my first recipe I had to finish testing! I needed a go to hearty and delicious go to soup.
Since then we have made this veggie soup many times and enjoy the leftovers for easy lunches during the week. It’s one of our absolute favorite soups, along with this copycat panera broccoli cheese soup.
You can find the full recipe and instructions at the bottom of this post in the recipe card, but here is what you will need to make this soup.
Ingredients & Notes
- Butter
- Yellow onion and garlic: these are key for flavor. I do not recommend using garlic powder and onion powder as replacements.
- Carrots: peeled and diced
- Russet potatoes: peeled and diced
- Broccoli: finely diced into florets
- Vegetable broth
- Sharp cheddar cheese: freshly grated. Freshly grated cheese melts much better in soup and has a better flavor. I do not recommend using bagged shredded cheese.
- Milk and flour: to thicken the soup
How to make creamy vegetable soup
Step 1: Melt the butter in a dutch oven or large pot. I like using a dutch oven as it is the perfect size for a large pot of soup.
Step 2: Add the garlic and onion and cook it over medium low heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the onion is softened and translucent.
Step 3: Add the carrots and cook them for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Step 4: Add the diced potatoes and vegetable broth and bring the vegetable soup to a boil.
Boil the mixture until the potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork and fall apart.
What makes soup creamy?
Step 5: Mix together the milk and flour in a bowl, then add it to the soup. This is what makes the soup thicken up and adds creaminess.
Step 6: Add in the finely diced broccoli and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Step 7: Add the freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese and stir it in until it is melted and the soup thickens.
The soup will continue to thicken as it cooks. The potatoes will also fall apart more which thickens up the overall texture of the creamy vegetable soup.
Step 8: Salt the soup to taste and serve.
We love serving this creamy vegetable soup with rolls, baguettes, or crackers.
I love to make a meal of it with a bowl of vegetable soup, buttered rolls, and a side salad.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat the soup in a sauce pan or in the microwave until heated through.
Can I use a different type of potato?
Any kind of potato is fine to use in this recipe. The important part is that you chop them into small similar sized pieces so that they cook quickly and evenly.
This is my favorite go to soup recipe. It’s flavorful, veggie packed, and so creamy! I can’t wait for you to try it!
Creamy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 2 cups finely diced broccoli florets
- 8 oz yellow sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a dutch oven or large pot.
- Prepare and chop up your ingredients so that they are ready to add when you need them. Dice the potatoes into small pieces (see the post images for size), dice the carrots, dice the onion, and mince the garlic. Chop the broccoli florets into small pieces.
- Add the garlic and onion and cook them over medium low heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the onion is softened and translucent.
- Add the carrots and cook them for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the potatoes and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork
- Mix together the milk and flour in a bowl, then add it to the vegetable soup.
- Add in the finely diced broccoli and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the cheese and stir until melted and the soup thickens. The soup will continue to thicken the longer that it cooks, and the potatoes will start to fall apart and become part of the soup. Continue to cook the soup to your desired thickness
- Salt to taste before serving.
Can this be made in a slow cooker?
I have not tested this one in a slow cooker so I am not sure how long that would take.
Loved this so much I’ve added it to my favourites. I made it without the cheese and used heavy cream instead of milk.
So glad you enjoyed it Amber!
This is one of my new favorite soups! I wanted to comment also because I saw some say it was gritty. This made me reread the recipe and instead of adding the milk and flour together I added the flour after cooking the carrots, like a roux, it turned out perfectly!
So easy to make and tastes great!
Couldn’t I use heavy cream instead of flour
I have not tested it so I cannot guarantee results
Great sounding recipe without using canned soups. I don’t have canned soup in my house, I make all my creamed soups and always look for different variations for ideas.
This soup was delicious! I did need to add a slurry of cornstarch and warm water because it just wasn’t getting as thick as I like but it worked well. I think my reheated bowl tomorrow will be topped with a bit more sharp cheddar. Great recipe!
This was delicious none the less however my soup had a gritty consistency. Do you know if this would have been from the flour or cheese or something else? I used freshly grated cheese.
Did you cook the flour and milk long enough and whisk it well before adding it to the soup? I have made this countless times and it has never been gritty.
where does it say to cook the milk and flour in the instructions? I only see you say to mix them together in a bowl then add to soup. where did I miss it saying it was too be cooked?
They cook in the soup!
Mine also came out with a fine gritty texture. I think it may be the potato. I might try again with a waxy potato; it won’t contribute to the creaminess but I think that will fix the gritty problem.