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Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup

★★★★★★★★★★
4.6 stars, average of 762 ratings

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Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese SoupPin itFollow us 148.4k

This 5-ingredient Instant Pot Keto Broccoli and Cheese Soup couldn’t be easier to whip up! It’s savory, cheesy, and all around delicious. All you need to make this creamy low-carb soup is broccoli, onion, cheddar, stock and cream - plus seasoning to taste. Easy peasy keto friendly dish in under 30 minutes!

Instant Pot in not just an electric pressure cooker. I use it to brown and sauté vegetables and meat before pressure cooking. It can even be used as a slow cooker and steamer. It’s a staple kitchen appliance for quick & easy cooking on a lchf diet.

One serving will provide a good amount of electrolytes - sodium, magnesium and potassium - all of which are important during the initial phase of the ketogenic diet and help you avoid the symptoms of keto flu.

This recipe makes 4 regular servings (served as mains) but can be stretched up to 8 small servings (served as appetizers).

Can I make This Soup Without an Instant Pot?

Yes, you can! You can use a large sauce pan that is big enough to fit all of the ingredients. If you a sauce pan, add all of the ingredients apart from the cheese and cream and bring to a boil. Then cook for about 12 minutes until the broccoli is tender. Finally, add the cheese and cream and part-blend using an immersion blender.

It’s one of those keto recipes you will make over and over again!

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Hands-on Overall

Serving size about 2 cups/ 480 ml

Allergy information for Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup

✔  Gluten free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Nightshade free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian

Nutritional values (per about 2 cups/ 480 ml)

Net carbs8.2 grams
Protein21 grams
Fat46.7 grams
Calories544 kcal
Calories from carbs 6%, protein 16%, fat 78%
Total carbs10.5 gramsFiber2.2 gramsSugars4.1 gramsSaturated fat27.6 gramsSodium1,020 mg(44% RDA)Magnesium46 mg(12% RDA)Potassium591 mg(30% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

  • 1 large head broccoli, stalk removed and cut into florets (260 g/ 9.2 oz)
  • 1 cup diced onion (114 g/ 4 oz)
  • 2 cups sharp grated cheddar cheese (226 g/ 8 oz)
  • 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock (~ 1 L)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream (240 ml)

Instructions

  1. Place the broccoli florets, diced onion, grated cheddar, salt and pepper in the Instant Pot.
    Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
  2. Add the chicken or vegetable stock. Cover with lid making sure the seal is set to sealed, not venting. Press Manual, and set to high pressure for 7 minutes. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
  3. Once the time is up quick release the valve. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
  4. Transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender with the heavy cream. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
  5. Place in a blender and process until smooth. Then add the blended mixture back to the Instant Pot. Press cancel and then Sauté. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
  6. Bring the soup to a simmer for 4-5 minutes until thickened. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
  7. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately or let it cool down and store in the fridge. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup Refrigerate leftovers in a covered glass container or jar for up to 4 days. Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Step by Step

★★★★★★★★★★
4.6 stars, average of 762 ratings
Broccoli Cheese Soup
This 5-ingredient Instant Pot keto broccoli and cheese soup couldn’t be easier to whip up! It’s savory, cheesy, and all around delicious.
Hands on10m
Overall20m
Servings4
Calories544 kcal
Pin it

Ingredients

  • 1 large head broccoli, stalk removed and cut into florets (260 g/ 9.2 oz)
  • 1 cup diced onion (114 g/ 4 oz)
  • 2 cups sharp grated cheddar cheese (226 g/ 8 oz)
  • 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock (~ 1 L)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream (240 ml)

Instructions

  1. Place the broccoli florets, diced onion, grated cheddar, salt and pepper in the Instant Pot.
  2. Add the chicken or vegetable stock. Cover with lid making sure the seal is set to sealed, not venting. Press Manual, and set to high pressure for 7 minutes.
  3. Once the time is up quick release the valve.
  4. Transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender with the heavy cream.
  5. Place in a blender and process until smooth. Then add the blended mixture back to the Instant Pot. Press cancel and then Sauté.
  6. Bring the soup to a simmer for 4-5 minutes until thickened.
  7. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately or let it cool down and store in the fridge. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered glass container or jar for up to 4 days.

Nutrition (per serving, about 2 cups/ 480 ml)

Calories544kcal
Net Carbs8.2g
Carbohydrates10.5g
Protein21g
Fat46.7g
Saturated Fat27.6g
Fiber2.2g
Sugar4.1g
Sodium1,020mg
Magnesium46mg
Potassium591mg

Detailed nutritional breakdown (per about 2 cups/ 480 ml)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Total per about 2 cups/ 480 ml
8.2 g21 g46.7 g544 kcal
Broccoli, broccolini, fresh
2.6 g1.8 g0.2 g22 kcal
Onion, white, fresh
2.2 g0.3 g0 g11 kcal
Cheese, cheddar
1.7 g12.9 g18.8 g228 kcal
Salt, sea salt
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Pepper, black, spices
0.1 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Chicken stock (broth), chicken only, homemade
0 g4.8 g4.8 g62 kcal
Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat)
1.6 g1.1 g22.8 g220 kcal

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Lauren Lester
Creator of Healthful Creative

Lauren Lester

Lauren is a food photographer, recipe developer, and author.

She is the founder of the creative content agency, Healthful Creative. HC specializes in helping food centered brands share their story through recipe development + food photography.

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Comments (34)

This looks really tempting! Is there a healthier substitute for the heavy whipping cream that I can use by any chance?

It depends what you mean by healthier as heavy whipping cream is great for keto (moderate amounts). You could use goat's cream (easier to digest) or maybe even coconut cream but I'm not too sure about the taste.

I have to almost threaten my coworkers to get them to stay away from my lunch when I bring this to work. SO GOOD
And very easy, because I can even mess up scrambled eggs. Thank you!

That's so great to hear!

Is the soup freezer friendly?

Hi Danika, since the soup is using cheese and cream, it may not freeze well. I haven't tried it but I think it may split once reheated.

I only have home made beef broth- can I use that instead if chicken broth??
TIA😊

Absolutely! Chicken stock, beef broth/stock or even vegetable stock are all great options.

WOW! I absolutely LOVE this soup! I made it with 3 year aged cheddar (Cabot, from Costco), and it is, simply put, divine. Yes, it's thinner than broccoli-cheddar soups I've had before, but it's so tasty.

Thank you so much Jeremy, I'm glad you enjoyed!

Hey! I love the idea of this recipe but was thinking of also adding cauliflower. Would I prepare the cauliflower the same as the broccoli? I don't want to ruin the recipe haha.

Hi Siobhan, yes you can do that. Cauliflower will work just as well in this recipe. You won't have to adjust the cooking time, I think this will be enough to cook the cauliflower (although it does usually take a few minutes more, we are using a pressure cooker).

I had some fantastic looking homemade Chicken Bone Broth, so I decided to make this soup instead of my tried and tested Broccoli and Stilton Soup. Wow, this was so tasty.....my husband said it was definitely a keeper.   I don’t have an Instant Pot, so I made it on the stove......outstanding flavour and so easy! Thank you.

Thank you Diane! I can't agree more. With the current situation due to COVID-19, I had to make space in my freezer so I used all of the bones and made several batches of bone broth which I reduced to just about 2 litres. So flavourful!

You can see the serving size under Nutritional Values 😉

What is the serving size.

I have two questions about the directions. When I click Saute, do I have to reseal it? Also, my timer came on for 30 minutes. Is saute-ing the same as simmer? Thank you!

You won't need to reseal (step 5) but I seem to remember there are 3 different levels on the "Saute" setting and I usually select the middle option. I just press "stop" when the meal is cooked but it does have a timer. I haven't seen and instant pot with "simmer" option but I assume it is. You may have to check the manufacturer's instructions as I'm travelling and don't have my Instant Pot with me now 😊

Used the IP to thaw my broth, so it was already hot, and then the IP wasn't sealed correctly, by the time I got that sorted the broccoli was cooked already without pressure, LOL. Added a little cheese, which stayed in little chunks for some reason, anyone know how to make it melt smoothly? Regardless, it was delicious, and so very very easy! Too salty (in a guilty but good way), but that may be very well be due to my homemade broth I used.

Thank you Angela! I think it depends on the cheese - some of them don't melt completely so you may end up with a few chunks. We did too - it wasn't 100% smooth 😊 You could blend the cheese together with part of the soup - that should make it smooth enough. I'm glad you enjoyed!

I tried this recipe out today. My husband has been obsessed with broccoli cheddar soup lately and I decided to try this recipe out. Not only was it easy but it was delicious too. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you Karen, I'm glad you both enjoyed!

Hi just made this as I have flu but it is very thin. Is there any way of thickening this? Tastes amazing by the way

Hi Jane, I think you could add a little more broccoli or cauliflower and part-blend it. Or (but this is a little more involved), you could use egg yolks like I did in this recipe: The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew

This was very flavorful. I added about 1/2 a tsp of Flavor God Cajun Lovers & doubled the recipe in my IP. It wasn't spicy at all with that amount. My soup turned out pretty thin even after pureeing all the broccoli with my immersion blender. I may try reducing the broth by 1/4 if my kids would prefer it thicker. It's a great drinkable soup as it is right now. We really have too much fun with drinking meals out of mugs sometimes.

Thank you for your feedback! You could try reducing it or use some of the tips from the comment above 😊

Can you make this without an instant pot?

Absolutely! It will just take a little longer to cook (15 minutes once boiling) but you can make it in a regular pot.

Just made this!!! Wow! Will be a staple for me now.

Just made this this morning. I also added 2 cloves of garlic and did not dice the onion, just quartered it. I like to blend it all up so it was  not necessary to dice the onion. It was delicious! thank you.

Pam, thank you for the lovely feedback!

Hi, what if I don't have Instant Pot? Can it be done in pot or slow cooker? Thank you

Yes, it can! I've used my slow cooker for a similar recipe. Just cook all the ingredients (apart from the cream and cheese) and cook on high for 2-3 hours. Then add the cream and process (until smooth or chunky) using an immersion blender.

Just made one! wow taste amazing ;) thanks for awesome recipe