• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Wheat by the Wayside
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • GF Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • GF Resources
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Soup

    Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    Published: Jan 11, 2020 · Updated: Mar 14, 2022 by Katie | Wheat by the Wayside · This post may contain affiliate links, through which I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup with a spoon in it.
    a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup with a spoon in it.

    Warm up with a hearty bowl of Gluten-free Broccoli Cheddar Soup! Make this flavorful and healthy soup from scratch in about 30 minutes!

    Two bowls of gluten free broccoli cheddar soup. Blue pot in background.


    Spring does not seem to be showing its face any time soon. Cold and gloomy days have seemingly set in for good. As such, a warm and comforting bowl of soup is the perfect fit. Of all the soups, Broccoli Cheddar Soup is as much of a classic to me as Chicken Noodle Soup. It is healthy, flavorful, and filling! If you like Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup, you will love this copycat! This version is just as creamy, cheesy, and delicious and even better, it's gluten-free!

    Ingredients in Gluten-free Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    If you've got a few pantry staples and a head of broccoli, you're well on your way to making this delicious soup from scratch!

    Ingredients laid out for broccoli cheddar soup: broccoli, cheddar cheese, garlic, onion, carrots, Swanson broth, butter, and brown rice flour.
    • Broccoli: I use fresh broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces. I haven't tested this, but you may be able to substitute frozen broccoli.
    • Mild Cheddar Cheese: I love using freshly grated cheese, but you can also use pre-shredded cheese.
    • Carrots, Onion, & Garlic: I like to use shredded carrots in this soup. You can buy pre-shredded carrots if you want a time saver. Although, I prefer to shred the carrots and the onion at the same time in my food processor. Then I will also use the same attachment to grate the cheese. Each batch takes about 5 seconds to process. A julienne peeler or a box grater is another quick and easy way to shred carrots.
    • Vegetable or Chicken Broth: I prefer the flavor of vegetable broth but either is just fine! Always read labels on broth and stock! They are not all gluten-free! I try to find stocks/broths without natural flavorings or yeast extracts and a simple list of only a few ingredients.
    • Brown Rice Flour or Sweet Rice Flour to thicken the soup. (Read the note below.)
    • Half & Half: not quite as indulgent as using heavy cream but still creamier than plain milk. You could use whatever you have on hand, just note that using milk may not make your soup quite as creamy as either half & half or heavy cream would.

    A note on thickeners

    I've made this soup many times, the only times it has failed was with cornstarch as a thickener. Cornstarch can lose its thickening power if it is stirred too much causing the soup to return to a thin, unappealing consistency. For this reason, stick with rice flour!

    You may also have a gluten-free flour blend in your pantry. This can be used but preferably use one without gums. The gums in these blends can give soups a weird consistency.

    Making the Soup

    Step 1: Heat the butter in a large pot and sauté the onions, carrots, and garlic.
    Step 2: Sprinkle the rice flour over the veggies and cook an additional minute or two, cooking flour in fat is called a roux.

    Sautéing carrots and onion, adding in the broccoli.

    Step 3: Gradually stir in the broth and water, then add in the broccoli. Simmer until the broccoli is fork-tender. About 10-15 minutes.

    The simmered soup with the broccoli cooked down.

    Step 4: When the broccoli is tender, turn off the heat. Allow the soup to cool for a couple of minutes so that it is not boiling, then stir in the cream and cheddar cheese.

    Adding in the cheese and cream.

    Serve immediately or leave over low heat, stirring occasionally.

    A Few More Tips for Success

    • Take care that the soup is not too hot when you add the cheese. Some cheeses, especially cheddar, can separate and become grainy under temperatures that are too high. This is why I instruct to remove the soup from heat before adding the cheese.
    • Leftovers should last 3-4 days in the fridge or can be frozen for longer periods. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
    • I do not recommend making this soup in the Instant Pot. I tried it and the broccoli gets too mushy, even at a 1 minute cook time. Using the Instant Pot would not save you much time or yield better results than stovetop in this situation.
    A big blue Le Crueset pot filled with broccoli cheddar soup.
    Broccoli Cheese Soup in blue Le Crueset Pan

    Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    Katie | Wheat by the Wayside.com
    Warm up with a hearty bowl of Gluten-free Broccoli Cheddar Soup! Make this flavorful and healthy soup from scratch in about 30 minutes!
    5 from 5 votes
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Main Course
    Diet Gluten Free
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories 293 kcal
    Prevent your screen from going dark.

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 Tablespoons butter
    • 1 small onion, diced
    • 3 small carrots, shredded, about 1 cup
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 4 Tablespoons sweet rice flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper
    • 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 lb broccoli florets, chopped in small bite-size pieces
    • 1 cup half & half, or ¼ cup heavy cream
    • 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese, 2 cups

    Instructions
     

    • Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot.  Saute the onions, carrots, and garlic in the butter until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Sprinkle the rice flour over the softened vegetables, stir to cook for about 1-2 minutes.
    • Gradually stir in the vegetable or chicken stock and water.  Add in the broccoli.  Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until broccoli stems are fork-tender.
    • When the broccoli is tender, remove the pan from heat and allow to cool for a minute or two. Use an immersion blender to purée soup a bit if desired. Stir in the cream and then the cheese. Serve immediately or keep warm on stovetop over low heat.

    Notes

    • Take care that the soup is not too hot when you add the cheese. Cheddar cheese can separate and become grainy under temperatures that are too high. Remove the soup from heat before adding the cheese.
    • Leftovers last 3-4 days in the fridge or can be frozen for longer periods.
    • Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
    • The Instant Pot is not recommended for this recipe. The broccoli gets too mushy.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 293kcal
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and star rating below!
    Overhead view of broccoli cheese soup in bowls with spoons.

    *This post contains affiliate links, through which I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

    *Originally posted March 6, 2019, Updated January 11, 2020 with better instructions for thickening soup.

    « Christmas Crunch Chex Mix
    Two Years with Celiac Disease »

    Don't forget to save this post for later!

    1.5K shares
    • Share134
    • Tweet
    • Reddit
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kathy

      January 13, 2020 at 7:01 am

      5 stars
      This looks great. And easy! Thanks for posting. Adding ingredients to my grocery list.

      Reply
    2. Kat

      July 12, 2020 at 8:01 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for my parents and boyfriend. They all loved it! I added extra broccoli and it was very filling.

      Reply
      • Katie Olesen

        July 20, 2020 at 5:39 pm

        Yay, Kat! Thanks for sharing!!

        Reply
    3. Caitlyn

      March 02, 2021 at 9:16 am

      Amazing soup! So glad I found your account! Ok

      Reply
      • Katie | Wheat by the Wayside

        March 03, 2021 at 9:15 am

        So glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    4. Lisa

      June 21, 2021 at 2:19 pm

      Can I use cornstarch instead if brown rice flour?

      Reply
      • Katie | Wheat by the Wayside

        June 23, 2021 at 10:46 am

        You can use cornstarch, but I would mix it with a little water and add it at the end. The only time the soup ever lost thickness was when I used cornstarch. This can happen if the soup is too hot or stirred too much after adding the cornstarch. Hope that helps!

        Reply
    5. Christine

      December 22, 2021 at 11:36 am

      Happy to find you … 2 of my grands have Celiac so as a grandma who is sensitive to making safe and tasty food for them as well , I was happy to find you . I’m making the Broccoli 🥦 cheese soup for Christmas Eve supper. Want to know if I can reheat this in a crockpot on low ????

      Reply
      • Katie | Wheat by the Wayside

        January 03, 2022 at 1:53 pm

        Sorry for the late reply, but yes that should be fine to do! Hope you had a nice Christmas!

        Reply

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Katie! I'm the blogger behind Wheat by the Wayside. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2018 and have been following a strict gluten-free diet ever since. The goal of WBTW is to share tried and tested, easy, and delicious gluten-free recipes to give you confidence in the kitchen! 

    More about me →

    New Gluten-free Recipes

    • Gluten-Free Caprese Pasta Salad
    • Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
    • Easy Gluten-Free Italian Pasta Salad
    • Gluten-Free Potluck Ideas: 50 Incredible Recipes!

    Trending Gluten-free Recipes

    • Gluten-Free Crumbl Sugar Cookies Copycat
    • Easy Gluten-free Flatbread
    • The Best Gluten-free Pizza at Home
    • Gluten-free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Best Gluten-free Easter

    • Gluten-Free Au Gratin Potatoes: Easy, Creamy, & Cheesy!
    • Gluten-free Dessert Shells for Strawberry Shortcake
    • Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns
    • Gluten-Free Hashbrown Casserole

    More easter recipes →

    Footer

    Back to Top

    Quick Links

    • Recipe Index
    • Web Stories

    About

    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    This site contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

    Copyright © 2022 Katie Olesen | Wheat by the Wayside. Created with the Feast Plugin.