The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
on Feb 24, 2022, Updated Oct 27, 2022
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This Instant Pot broccoli and cheese soup recipe has a ONE MINUTE cook time. It’s an easy Instant Pot soup that’s thick, creamy and healthy. Enjoy this gluten free and vegetarian soup for any meal!
The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
I’ve been on the Instant Pot train for a while now, and I won’t be getting off anytime soon. While the slow cooker is the “set it and forget it” miracle dinner maker in the kitchen, consider the IP as your “oops, I forgot it” meal helper when you need a hot meal fast. Soups made in the Instant Pot are one of my favorite things pretty much ever, but it also does well with shredded pork and hard boiled eggs. What I’m saying is, the options are truly limitless when it comes to the fast and low-maintenance power of IPs!
And this broccoli and cheese soup recipe? It’ll knock your socks off. It *may* just be my favorite soup I’ve made in the Instant Pot (and that’s saying a lot because I’m a big IP soup maker!). It comes out impeccably rich, thick, and creamy with the most perfectly cooked veggies and a delicious texture. I’d say the best part is that the cook time is literally only one minute. Yep, you read that right. This one-pot meal will be a huge hit with your family, and I can’t wait for you to try it out!
Can I use frozen broccoli instead?
Yep! You can use whatever you have on hand. Frozen and fresh will both work the same in this recipe, and no need to change the cooking time. Score! And sometimes I use the frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix and it works just great too. I don’t chop up the frozen broccoli, but it seems to cook up just great.
Can I make this soup if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
I know not everyone has an Instant Pot (but y’all MUST add it to your wish list!), so this recipe can easily be made on the stovetop, too. Follow the recipe as directed, but instead of pressure cooking the veggies, just let them simmer in the broth until tender, about 20 minutes. Then, move on with adding the cornstarch, cream, and cheese as directed.
What can I pair with broccoli and cheese soup?
I love I love bread to for dipping into broccoli and cheese soup. I highly recommend serving this soup with fresh baguettes, sourdough bread, my mom’s easy French bread recipe, or this easy no-knead crusty loaf. You can also serve a fresh salad on the side to add more color and veggies to the meal!
What is the best cheese for melting in soup?
This recipe specifically calls for cheddar. I like to use a nice sharp cheddar for this recipe but we love sharp cheeses. Sometimes I’ll toss a variety of cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, and pepper jack cheese! You can use what you like or have on hand and feel free to use a variety of cheeses if that’s what you have.
More soup recipes:
- Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings Soup
- Classic Minestrone Soup
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Hearty Lentil Soup Recipe
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation.
The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth, (or chicken stock if not vegetarian)
- 4 cups bite-sized broccoli florets
- 1 cup matchstick or grated carrots
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, , plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 cups cream or half-and-half
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Select browning/saute to preheat the pressure cooker. Add the butter and onion and saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chicken stock, broccoli, carrots, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Lock the lid in place, make sure the vent is set to seal, and select high pressure and 1 minute cook time.
- When the cooking time ends, use the quick pressure release. When the valve drops, remove the lid carefully.
- In a small bowl whisk together the corn starch and cold water until smooth.
- Set the pressure cook to saute/browning and slowly add the corn starch mixture to the pot. Stir constantly until the soup comes to a boil and thickens.
- Turn off the pressure cooker. Slowly stir in the cream or half-and-half.
- Add the cheese a handful at a time and stir until it melts.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
Video
Notes
- You can use frozen broccoli in place of the fresh, no need to change the cooking time. Sometimes I used the mixed broccoli and cauliflower that’s frozen and it works great too.
- Feel free to use whatever cheese you like or have on hand, I use extra sharp cheddar for this recipe.
Nutrition
This recipe comes from a cookbook of a friend, Barbara, The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook: 200 Fast and Foolproof Recipes for Every Brand of Electric Pressure Cooker is one you want on your shelf.
Complete this meal with these sides:
Check out these other yummy soup recipes:
- Simple Cream of Tomato Soup
- Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Classic Ham and Bean Soup (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker recipe)
- Quick, Easy, and Healthy White Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Homemade Butternut Squash Soup
- Healthy 30 Minute Alphabet Soup
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Healthy Cauliflower Sausage and Kale Soup
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup
- Healthy Slow Cooker Bean and Sausage Soup with Spinach
I know you are going to fall in love with this Instant Pot broccoli and cheese soup just as much as we have, and you’ll love how easy it is to make and how rich it tastes.
This says cook time is 30 minutes at the top of the recipe but it says in the instructions to only cook for 1 minute? Iām confused
It’s one minute on the IP setting but by the time you let it come to pressure and come down from pressure the recipe is going to take about 30 minutes, so that’s a more realistic time frame in regards to how long it’s dong to take to get dinner on the table!
Yummy and so easy
This was so yummy and so easy. Thank you.
So glad you loved it!
can you freeze this soup?
I actually haven’t tried it. I think that you could but occasionally with a creamy product the dairy will break and you’ll end up with a lumpy soup out of the freezer. That being said, I have had good luck in the past freezing half and half which is called for. So I’m not sure how it’ll end up but I think it’s worth a try if you are just going to eat it at home and if it happens to get lumpy you won’t too disappointed. If you do, will you report back and let us know, it would be helpful to lots of people I think!
Made this today. It was Delicious!
We all agreed that the flavor was very good but we would have liked it a little thicker.
I doubled the slurry amount and still wasn’t as thick as we like it. Would reducing the amount of broth in this recipe yeild a thicker soup?
Yep, you can reduce it a bit. Did you use the half and half or did you use milk? That makes it a bit thinner too, you could always add less of that too.
I added flour to thicken mine while waiting for it to boil <3
Delicious soup! Perfect for a cold winter dinner. I made it as written with the exception of the onions because they disagree with my husband. It was still quite tasty. Hit the spot! Thank you.
Yay! I’m so glad that it worked out for you. I hope it falls into your regular rotation!
Looks great, can’t wait to try it with a few modifications! You really can’t call it vegetarian when the recipe calls for chicken stock….
I used vegetable stock and it was great… a little salty because of my stock, so consider seasoning at the end.
This recipe was delicious!! My entire family loved it. Definitely a keeper!
Thanks for leaving a review, I so appreciate it!
Do you use a food scale to measure the ingredients? Thanks!
I don’t this is a really forgiving recipes, feel free to use what you have on hand!
How long would I cook it if I added chopped raw white potatoes?
That’s such a great idea! I want to try it. I normally cook cubed potatoes about 4 minutes under pressure and they turn out great (about a 1 inch cube).
So tasty! Mine came out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Yay! I’ve made this a few times this month already and love it too. So glad you had success!
Is this good with heavy cream?
Yes, it’s delightful and rich and smooth. I make it with heavy cream often.