It’s winter, cold, rainy (a little) and I LOVE a good soup recipe! I came across a fantastic recipe here at Creme de la Crumb! As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it! Broccoli Cheddar is my FAVORITE!! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

We had our annual Chili/Soup Cook Off contest at work last week and I knew this was the soup to make! It’s always so much fun to have a little competition among your co-workers. Did I mention I did win first place with my Creamy Dill Tomato Soup two years ago!? I am a little competitive, can ya tell!?

Start by gathering all of your ingredients. One of my favorite go to tools when using my crock-pot are the Reynolds Metals 00504 Slow Cooker Liners 13″X21″ – 2 Pack. These are truly a life saver and make clean up super easy!! I don’t know about you but if there is one thing I do not like it is scrubbing a crock-pot!

You are more than welcome to use fresh broccoli. I found that using frozen broccoli was just as good. I thawed it out a little in the microwave and broke off the end pieces, you  just want the broccoli tree parts (like my kids call them) for the soup.

Because this has a roux as a base I take my time and go SLOW! Nothing worse than a burnt roux, trust me it will ruin your whole day! In a large sauce pan start by melting your butter over medium-high heat. Next add the flour – SLOW…mix until it gets thick and clumpy. Then add your cream SLOWLY! See a theme here?

Continue to gradually whisk in the cream until you get a nice, thick creamy white sauce. With everything but the cheese and chicken broth already in the crock-pot pour your super yummy sauce over all of it then add the chicken broth. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8. I do come back and check on this bad boy every hour or so to give it a good stir.

Now grab a glass of wine, sit back and relax until this amazing, yummy soup is done! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! To quote my husband, “It was fantastic!” Oh, and I did win at work ~ People’s Choice Award!!

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SLOW COOKER BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

Prep Time ~ 20mins
Cook Time ~ 4 hours
Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups heavy cream (Feel free to use your favorite ~ milk, cream, half and half. The higher the fat content the richer and creamier your soup will be)
• 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian)
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 cups chopped broccoli florets (I use frozen and thaw it out in the microwave, just the bushy tops – discard the stems or use them for another recipe)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (yellow)
• 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
• 1-4 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
• optional: extra cheese for topping

Add chopped onions, broccoli, garlic, Italian seasoning, and cream cheese to your slow cooker.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour (SLOWLY) until mixture clumps up. Very gradually whisk in the cream until it has all been added and a thick white sauce forms.

Add the sauce from the pan, and the chicken broth. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.

Uncover the soup and add the sharp cheddar cheese (slowly, you don’t want it to clump up on you), salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese melts into the soup. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.