Nailed It! The Best Broccoli Soup Ever

I thought I made good cream of broccoli soup, but recently came upon a recipe that was a copycat Panera Bread Co. Broccoli Cheese Soup.  Since I had all the ingredients one Sunday night, decided to give it a try.

Oh my, this was the best broccoli soup ever!  Sweet hubby and I had bowls and I was looking forward to taking some of the leftovers for lunch the following day. 

On the stove was the pot of broccoli soup remains along with a pan of gravy left over from lunch.  I asked our son to take the scraps out to the dogs, then walked away. (don't do that to a teenager!).  When I walked back in, he was returning the EMPTY soup pot, he gave the soup leftovers to the dogs!  Trying to make a motherly point, I asked..."There is a dish of leftover gravy and a pot of freshly made soup, which one looks like it should go to the dogs?"  He answered typically of a teenage boy, 'both".   One day surely he will appreciate a great pot of soup!

But just to hold on to this recipe, I"m sharing it!

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 tablespoon butter 

1/2 onion, chopped 

1/4 cup melted butter 

1/4 cup flour 

2 cups milk

 2 cups chicken stock 

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets 

1 cup matchstick-cut carrots 

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced 

2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

 salt and ground black pepper to taste

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion in hot butter until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Whisk 1/4 cup melted butter and flour together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; cook until flour loses it's granular texture, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk if necessary to keep the flour from burning, 3 to 4 minutes.

Gradually pour milk into flour mixture while whisking constantly. Stir chicken stock into milk mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook until flour taste is gone and mixture is thickened, about 20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, sauteed onion, and celery; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.