Broccoli Soup with Cream

 

 

This creamy broccoli soup is absolutely ideal for a gloomy, rainy day. It offers a delightful balance of richness and satisfaction, while still maintaining a light and nourishing quality. This soup serves as a delightful accompaniment to your preferred sandwiches and hearty salads.

You might find some of the components in this recipe for creamy broccoli soup quite intriguing. To begin with, it boasts a luxuriously creamy texture achieved with minimal use of cream. We primarily rely on butter for that velvety goodness, and then simply add a finishing touch with an optional drizzle of cream to elevate the soup even further.

 

 Additionally, this recipe cleverly incorporates both the stems and crowns of broccoli, presenting a delightful approach to intensify the broccoli's flavor while reducing unnecessary waste. You may recall this technique from my Broccoli Cheese Soup, and if you found pleasure in that particular dish, you're sure to relish this one as well.

While this cream of broccoli soup may not steal the spotlight as a standalone meal, it certainly shines as a remarkable addition to a refreshing springtime spread. I genuinely encourage you to give it a try and discover the wonderful contribution it can make to your dining experience.

 

  Broccoli Soup with Cream Ingredients

 

• Broccoli: But of course! We’ll peel the stems, cut them into pieces, and simmer them until tender enough to blend. Before blending, we’ll add the chopped florets and cook until they’re bright green.
• Unsalted butter: Since butter is a semisolid form of cream, it’s right at home in this soup. We’ll actually rely on butter for the “cream” element here.
• Yellow onions and garlic: These alliums form the backbone of flavor in this soup. To reduce prep work, we’ll just roughly chop the onion and smash the garlic. We’ll blend them up later on.
• Water: Water is better than broth in this soup because it lets broccoli’s inherent flavor and fresh green color shine. I find that vegetable broth can contribute quite a lot of sodium with minimal, or sometimes even off-putting, flavor.
• Salt and pepper: Since we’re using water instead of salty broth, we’ll use a decent amount of salt to enhance the flavor of this soup. The nice part is that you’re in full control of the sodium content in this recipe, but follow my guidance for best flavor.
• Squeeze of lemon: Stir just a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon juice into the finished soup for some brightness and acidity.
• Optional garnishes: Add a drizzle of heavy cream before serving to emphasize the “cream of broccoli soup” title. It makes the soup extra creamy and flavorful. You could also add a sprinkle of finely snipped fresh chives.

 

 Ideas for Serving Creamy Broccoli Soup

 Treat this soup as a side dish. It would go particularly well with fresh sandwiches, hearty salads with chickpeas or roasted vegetables, and even with veggie pizza.

 

 

 

 Creamy Broccoli Soup

 This cream of broccoli soup recipe is lighter than most, so it won’t weigh you down. It’s bursting with nutritious broccoli! Recipe yields about 6 medium bowls of soup (6 side servings).

 

 

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 pounds broccoli with stalks (3 large or 4 medium)
• 6 cups water
• 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
• Optional garnishes: Drizzle of heavy cream and/or sprinkled of finely snipped fresh chives.
  

 

 

    

Instructions

 Preparation Steps for Creamy Broccoli Soup:

•  Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-low heat.
•  Add the onion, garlic, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and about 10 twists of black pepper. Stir to combine.
•  Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are just starting to turn golden (around 8 to 10 minutes).
•  Trim and discard the rough bottom ends of the broccoli stalks. Peel off the tough outer skin using a vegetable peeler, then discard the peel. Slice the stalks into 1 to 2-inch pieces.
•  Cut the broccoli florets as close to the base as possible. Slice any remaining stalks into chunks.
•  Add the chunks of broccoli stalk to the pot and stir. Pour in 6 cups of water and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.
•  Simmer until the broccoli stalks are tender when pierced with a fork (about 20-25 minutes). Meanwhile, chop the reserved florets into small pieces.
•  Once the stalks are tender, add all the florets to the pot, stir, cover, and cook until they turn bright green and are easily pierced with a fork (about 4 to 7 minutes).
•  Remove the pot from heat and add the remaining tablespoon of butter.
•  Carefully transfer several cups of the mixture (both liquid and solids) to a stand blender, working in batches. Blend until smooth and transfer to a heat-proof vessel.
•  Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and adjust the taste by adding more salt, lemon juice, or black pepper as desired.
•  Divide the soup into bowls and garnish with a light drizzle of cream and/or sprinkle of chives if desired.
•  Serve and enjoy! Leftover soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and can be frozen for several months.