When it comes to eating out, we all have our favorite foods. If we’re in a hurry, maybe all we have to do is stop at a Taco Bell or a McDonald’s near our place. Sometimes, we’d rather get some street meat tacos from down the street. When we have a little more time to kill, we might like to go to a fast casual restaurant chain and actually sit down for a meal. Anyone who has a Panera Bread near them knows exactly what we’re talking about.
Although this chain is a favorite to many people living in the Midwest, everyone knows the best thing about Panera is the broccoli cheddar soup. Still, constantly eating out can add up in a hurry. What if we told you that instead of spending all your hard-earned money at restaurants, you could make this incredibly cheesy and delicious soup right at home? Well the wait is over: today, we have a perfect copycat recipe of Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup. This dish is just as delicious as the real thing and super easy to make. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1/4 cup of butter (plus a tablespoon)
- 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of half-and-half
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 1/2 pound of broccoli
- 1 cup of julienned carrots
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 8 ounces of sharp, grated cheddar cheese
- salt
- pepper
Here’s what you do:
1. To start, make sure you have a big pot with a heavy bottom. Melt one tablespoon of butter in the pot, chop up your onions and throw them in. Keep cooking them until they start to turn see through.
2. At that point, throw in the rest of your butter and keep cooking until its all melted. Stir in your flour and let everything cook together for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, start gradually whisking in your half-and-half and your chicken stock. Once everything is combined, let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. Next, turn your heat down to medium-low and add in your broccoli and carrots. Once again, let everything simmer for another 25 minutes, until the vegetables become tender.
4. Once that time is up, add in your nutmeg, salt, pepper and shredded cheddar cheese. When all the cheese melts, transfer the soup into a blender and puree it until it becomes smooth throughout (though this is optional). On the other hand, you could also use an immersion blender if you have one handy.
5. After you’re done, top everything off with a little more cheese, additional salt and pepper to taste and you’re ready to eat!
As you can see, the ingredients of this recipe are simple and easy to put together. Although it’ll take about an hour before everything combines and is ready to eat, the result is a creamy and delicious soup that is indistinguishable from Panera Bread’s original recipe. While you’ll definitely need to add everything we’ve listed here for a fair copy, feel free to adjust the spices as you see fit after you’ve given this a try. Regardless, have fun with it and let us know how it goes!
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