Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup

It’s becoming that wonderful time of the year again, where I crave the warm deliciousness of Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup that’s simmered to perfection and layered with pure flavors of Cauliflower, broccoli, onions, celery, carrots, chicken stock,  cream, butter and the perfect cheesy goodness we all love in our warm belly-filling bowls of Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup.

It’s also back to school for the kids, and moms everywhere are looking for the perfect lunch and dinner meals to serve on those slightly cooler days coming our way. Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup hits the spot in every way with its thick, creamy base of cheese, butter, broth, cream, and fresh herbs. The Cauliflower and broccoli are cooked to perfection, not too soft, not too crisp, but just right to please the family’s palette.

Everyone has their favorite comfort foods, and this Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup seems to hit the spot for everyone that eats it. I find that it’s not a bunch of crazy, odd spices that make the best Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup, it’s all the layers of flavor and the method used to cook the Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup. Honestly, a pinch of fresh herbs will go a long way when making this excellent warm, inviting soup; however, the kosher salt and fresh ground peppercorns are the star seasonings in this recipe.

The ingredients listed below for the Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup will yield approximately 8-9 decent soup bowls, and I always like to make a double batch and place it in the freezer or refrigerate so I can serve for lunch or dinner another day. If you are planning on chilling your Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup, it will last about four days without any worry. If you are not going to consume the soup within four days, I would freeze the extra soup.

Ingredients needed for Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup

• 1/2 of a cup of roughly sliced carrots
• 1/2 of a cup of roughly sliced celery
• One medium onion roughly chopped
• Four cloves of garlic
• One tablespoon of olive oil
• One tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 2 quarts of chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth
• The juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 of a cup of fresh chopped parsley
• Two teaspoons of basil
• Kosher salt to own taste
• fresh ground black peppercorns to own taste
• One head of cauliflower cut into small bite-sized  pieces
• One head of broccoli chopped into small bite-sized  pieces
• One stick of unsalted butter for the roux
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour for the roux
• 2 cups warm whole milk
• 1 and 1/2 cups of warm half and half cream
• One cup of Monterey jack cheese
• One cup of sharp cheddar cheese
• Large croutons to serve
• Cheese, to serve

Tips for the Recipe

1. Fresh organic or locally grown veggies are the best ingredients to use in this recipe, but in a pinch, you can use organic frozen vegetables and cut the cooking time so that the vegetables do not overcook.
2. Use quality olive oil in the recipe, not vegetable oil or corn oil in place of it.
3. Unsalted butter allows you to season and salt without the worry of oversalting the soup.
4. Use fresh parsley only as dried parsley has no flavor after being dried.
5. Whole milk works best in the recipe, but if need be 2% will be ok to use.
6. Don’t skip out on the half and half cream as it really makes or breaks the taste.

5 from 11 votes

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Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

_{Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup that’s simmered to perfection and layered with simple flavors of Cauliflower, broccoli, onions, celery, carrots, chicken stock, cream, butter and the perfect cheesy goodness we all love.}

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Broccoli, cauliflower, Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup

Servings: 8 People

Author: hmccallum

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a cup of roughly sliced carrots
• 1/2 of a cup of roughly sliced celery
• 1 medium onion roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 2 quarts Chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 of a cup of fresh chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons of basil
• Kosher salt to own taste
• Freshly ground black peppercorns to own taste
• 1 head Cauliflower chopped into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 crown Broccoli chopped into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 stick Unsalted butter for the roux
• 1/3 cup All-purpose flour for the roux
• 2 cups Warm whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups Warm half and half cream
• 1 cup Monterey jack cheese
• 1 cup Sharp cheddar cheese
• Croutons to serve
• Extra cheese to serve

Instructions

1. Place roughly sliced carrots in a food processor and pulse till finely chopped, repeat with celery, and onions. I like doing mine separately due to the different textures of the veggies, you can do them all at once if desired.
2. Place a dutch oven over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, heat the olive oil, and butter till the butter melts. Careful not to brown the butter. Add the veggies to the dutch oven and cook veggies till they are soft.
3. Once the veggies become softened about 6-7 minutes, add 2 quarts of chicken stock, juice of 1 lemon, fresh parsley, 2 teaspoons of basil, kosher salt, and freshly ground peppercorns to own taste. Let simmer about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, chop cauliflower and broccoli into bite-sized pieces, keep them separate from one another because I have noticed the cauliflower seems to take a little extra time to cook in the soup.
5. Once done chopping the cauliflower and broccoli, add only the cauliflower to the dutch oven, cook for about 4 minutes before adding the broccoli, then cook for about 10 minutes or veggies are fork tender but still somewhat slightly firm.
6. Next slowly add the warm milk and warm half and half cream, stir well cut the heat to low-medium heat. At this time you may want to adjust the seasonings to your own taste, be sure to taste before doing so.
7. In a metal skillet over medium heat add 1 stick of unsalted butter and let it melt before adding the all-purpose flour. Once the butter melts add the flour and continuously stir the flour and butter, do not let it brown you are only cooking it long enough to cook out the flour taste about 2-3 minutes should do the trick.
8. Once the roux is done slowly start adding to the Dutch oven, stirring constantly till completely dissolved, cook for about another 5 minutes before removing from the heat.
9. Ladle soup into your favorite soup bowls or even mugs, top with extra cheese and croutons before serving if desired.

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© Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch, 2019- 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or photos without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner are strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. You may not copy and paste recipes to share on Social Platforms