Over Loaded Broccoli Soup

Ingredient List

2 Qts. Chicken Broth

6 Lg Potatoes, peeled and diced

2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

2 Heads Broccoli, chopped

6 Tb. Butter

2/3 C Flour

5 C Milk

1 C Cream

7 C Shredded Cheddar plus more for garnish

1 Lb. Bacon, chopped and cooked

Salt and Pepper To Taste

I stumbled upon a similar recipe to this soup when I was researching for more recipes. I, of course, had to adjust the recipe to fit our homesteading style and taste. This soup is amazing. Full of flavor and perfect for those cool fall and winter days. This is how I made this Overloaded Broccoli Soup!

I started by putting the chicken broth and 2/3 of the broccoli into a stock pot. I brought it up to a boil and cooked it until the broccoli was cooked all the way through.

While the broccoli is boiling, I melted the butter and sauteed the onions until they are tender and translucent.

After the onions are cooked, I add the flour to that pan. I am making a roux. You want to cook the flour taste out of the flour. You are looking for the mixture to have a golden color, but not burnt.

Now you want to add the milk and cream and mix them into the roux. You want to cook over a medium/low heat. Stir continuously until the mix starts to thicken.

When your broccoli is cooked, use an emulsion blender to blend all of the broccoli chunks in the chicken broth. Tomithy doesn’t like big chunks of broccoli in his soup so I choose to do this step. If you don’t have an emulsion blender you can use a regular blender. Do not blend HOT LIQUID in a blender. You will want it to cool before you do this step so you do not get burned. That is why I LOVE my emulsion blender. No need to cool anything down to blend.

After the broccoli is blended, add the potatoes and the rest of the broccoli to the pot with the chicken broth. Boil until the potatoes are cooked all the way through.

In your other pot with the roux, after the mix has thickened, stir in the 7 cups of cheese. Mix constantly so the cheese will blend and melt into the milk completely and makes a lovely cheese sauce.

Once the cheese sauce is melted all the way and the potatoes are cooked all the way, combined the cheese sauce into the stock pot with the potatoes. Then add 2/3 of the cooked and chopped bacon. Salt and Pepper to taste. Give it a good mix and simmer until you are ready to enjoy!

I garnish my soup with some cheese and some extra bacon crumbles. Enjoy!