You will say “Panera Bread who,” after one bite of my Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe. Roasted broccoli takes the flavor up another notch. Low Carb and Keto!

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Panera Bakery’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup is hugely popular all over the world.

We love lots of flavor levels and seasoning in this house, so, I decided to make my own version.

Of course, it had to be simple, quick and easy.

Especially since I am now following a low carb diet.

And the best way to make a super flavorful soup, that is quick simple and easy, it to use an Instant Pot DUO Plus, Mealty MultiPot or Pressure Cooker.

You will have a much better flavor if you use a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself.

The pre-shredded cheese is packed with a powdery substance, probably cornstarch.

What’s in Broccoli Cheddar Soup?

• Fresh Broccoli – (for frozen broccoli method is different)
• Butter
• Carrots – don’t worry low carbers, the amount is small.
• Onions
• Salt and Pepper
• Hot Sauce – this does not give the soup a heat spicy; it’s just added to enhance other flavors.
• Nutmeg
• Mustard Powder
• Heavy Cream
• Vegetable Broth, Homemade Bone Broth or Chicken Broth

As you can see from the list of ingredients, my Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup is low carb and keto friendly.

It is also vegetarian, made as is but can be made not to vegetarian, as well..

Broccoli only needs to be rough chopped.

Florets and/or the entire head can be used.

Some people only like the florets. Ed and I both like the entire head of broccoli, for me, especially the stems.

How to Make Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

• Simply roast the broccoli in the Instant Pot DUO Plus, Mealty MultiPot or Pressure Cooker.
• Prep the rest of the vegetables as the broccoli is roasting.
• Dump all the ingredients, except for the cheese into the pot.
• Blend up the ingredients, add cheese and eat!

As you are prepping the rest of the ingredients, the broccoli will “roast” in the butter.

This Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe is a dump and push start recipe, since after you cut the fresh (not frozen) broccoli, you just toss it into the pot.

No stirring is needed and the broccoli will sear in the hot butter.

Don’t stir the broccoli at all!

It will sear as long as it takes you to gather the rest of the ingredients and measure them out.

Carrots, Onions, Celery in Food Processor

A food processor is the quickest way to shred/chop the carrots.

Tips and Tricks.

1. While the broccoli is roasting in the Instant Pot DUO Plus, Mealty MultiPot or Pressure Cooker, prep the rest of the ingredients.
2. Use a food processor for shredding the carrots.
3. Buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself in the food processor or use a hand shredder.
4. Save a few florets of broccoli to use as garnish.

Why Use a Food Processor?

• A food processor is very valuable to every kitchen.
• It is a huge time saver for when it doesn’t matter about the look or size of chopped vegetables.
• It eliminates the need to hand chop or shred vegetables
• It is a huge help with recipes like my Pressure Cooker Salisbury Steak w/Onion Mushroom Gravy and Pressure Cooker Greek Meatballs recipes, as well as others.

You can always hand chop everything if you prefer.

This method for this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, saved me tons of time.

Since the soup will get blended with an immersion blender, there is no need to shred the carrots.

Chopping up all the veggies at the same time, like I did above, is fine.

To continue with the “dump and push start” Pressure Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, the rest of the ingredients which have been prepped will be added.

The broccoli will continue to “roast” as you are adding ingredients, so take your time prepping.

My Microplane Stainless Steel Zester easily grates the nutmeg and gives this soup a very special taste. You don’t actually taste nutmeg, but if you want the essence, add more than what is called for in my recipe.

Vegetable Stock, Broth or Chicken Bone Broth?

• Vegetarians, obviously will use vegetable broth. For this recipe, I used this Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base and added water to make a broth. Short of making your own, I find it to be the best brand.
• Vegetable broth or stock enhances the flavor of the vegetables.
• If you are following a low carb of keto diet, this soup recipe is a perfect meal for you, especially in the beginning. It is delicious and very, very filling.
• It helps to prevent the “keto flu” as the bone broth adds minerals, nutrients and electrolytes to the soup. Yes, there is such a thing…I just went through it.
• The chicken broth will enhance the cheese flavor. This is the only brand I use.

If choosing the non-vegetarian option, I would suggest using my Homemade Bone Broth recipe.

An alternative to my Homemade Bone Broth is Better than Bouillon Chicken Base.

Heavy Cream Gives the Soup a Very Rich Mouthfeel

Can I Use Cream in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker?

• Yes.
• Cream doesn’t break under pressure, so the soup will not curdle.
• The high fat content keeps the cream from separating.
• On a low carb and keto diet, full fat is important.

Heavy Cream makes my Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup, very rich and creamy.

No need to simmer the soup to thicken after pressure release just to heat up the cream.

For weight watchers and fat calorie counters, if you want to use half and half to reduce fat content, add it AFTER pressure is released.

Why Such a Short Cook Time?

• There is a lot of liquid in the pot.
• By the time the Instant Pot DUO Plus, Mealty MultiPot or Pressure Cooker comes up to pressure, most of the veggies will already be cooked.
• The veggies continue cooking during the pressure cook time.
• During the pressure release period, the vegetables will finish up cooking.

The Instant Pot DUO Plus, Mealty MultiPot or Pressure Cooker will switch to Keep Warm after the pressure cook time is up and since the cream is already hot, the cheese will easily melt, without first having to add the cream and heat.

A powerful immersion blender makes quick and easy work of this soup.

Immersion Blender will Smooth Broccoli Cheddar Soup

An immersion blender is very handy to have for blending soup.

You can control the consistency very easily.

No need to pour ho liquid into a blender..

If you share a picture of something you make from our blog, tag it with #thisoldgalcooks so we can see it. We might feature it on Instagram! It makes my day when I see you’ve made one of our recipes!

I know you will enjoy my Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup!

Other Soup Recipes to Enjoy:

Pressure Cooker Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup with Bacon

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot DUO Plus, Mealty MultiPot or Pressure Cooker
• J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Culina Stackable (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk– a MUST have, probably my most used utensil
• di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
• Alton Brown Salt Box
• Eukein Electric Pepper Mill
• John Boos Maple Cutting Board with Groove
• Microplane Stainless Steel Zester
• KitchenAid 11 Cup Food Processor
• KOIOS Powerful 500 Watt Immersion Blender
• Whole Nutmeg
• Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base or Better than Bouillon Chicken Base

Caring is sharing! If you would like to support This Old Gal, please share this recipe on Social Media, so that I can continue to bring you more wonderful recipes!

Here is the handy printable recipe:

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

5 from 2 votes

Print

Pressure Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

2 mins

Pressure Release

10 mins

Total Time

17 mins

 

You will say "Panera Bread who," after one bite of my Pressure Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe. Roasted broccoli takes the flavor up another notch.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main

Cuisine: All types, American, Keto, Low Carb

Keyword: Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 309 kcal

Author: Jill

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons Butter
• 1.5 pounds Broccoli Florets
• 1 cup Onion (1 small)
• 2 stalks Celery
• 5 ounces Carrots (2-3 carrots)
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic
• 1.5 teaspoons Sea Salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1.5 teaspoons Sambal Oelek Ground Chili Paste (or hot sauce)
• 1 teaspoon Ground Mustard Seed
• 1/4 teaspoon Whole Nutmeg grated
• 16 ounces Chicken Broth Vegetable Broth
• 2 cups Heavy Cream
• 14 ounces Extra Sharp or Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded

Instructions

1. Select Sauté/Browning on pressure cooker and allow to fully heat.

2. As pressure cooker is heating up, wash and rough chop broccoli, removing the green leaves.

3. Add butter and broccoli (holding back the crumbles) and let "roast" undisturbed, while you are prepping other ingredients. 

4. While broccoli is roasting, add the carrots, onion and celery to food processor and pulse until rough chopped.

5. Add contents of food processor to cooking pot, on top of broccoli; do not mix through.  Add in garlic, salt, pepper, ground mustard, hot sauce and nutmeg.

6. Pour in chicken or vegetable broth and cream and mix through.  Turn off pressure cooker.

7. Lock on lid and close pressure valve.  Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes.  When Beep sounds, wait 10-15 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure and remove lid.

8. Use an immersion blender and process soup until smooth.

9. Stir in cheese, a bit at a time until your desired "cheesy" profile.
   

Recipe Notes

While the fresh broccoli is in the pressure cooker roasting, do not stir until the liquids have been added.

Start with the lesser amount of cheese and add more for cheese lovers.

If you want to use packaged frozen broccoli (but why would you, when fresh is sold all year around in stores), skip the first step and just dump all ingredients except cheese the pressure cooker and set the cook time.

If using anything other than full fat cream, add it in after pressure is released. Otherwise, it will curdle and become not edible.

Vegetable Stock, Broth or Chicken Bone Broth?

• Vegetarians, obviously will use vegetable broth.  For this recipe, I used this Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base and added water to make a broth.  Short of making your own, I find it to be the best brand.
• Vegetable broth or stock enhances the flavor of the vegetables.
• If you are following a low carb of keto diet, this soup recipe is a perfect meal for you, especially in the beginning.  I've just lost seven pounds in four days and this soup has been a huge help.  It is delicious and very, very filling.
• The chicken broth will enhance the cheese flavor.  This is the only brand I use.

If choosing the non-vegetarian option, I would suggest using my Homemade Bone Broth recipe.  It helps to prevent the "keto flu" as the bone broth adds minerals, nutrients and electrolytes to the soup.  Yes, there is such a thing...I just went through it.

An alternative to my Homemade Bone Broth is Better than Bouillon Chicken Base.

Nutrition Facts

Pressure Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 309 Calories from Fat 261

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 29g 45%

Saturated Fat 17g 85%

Cholesterol 52mg 17%

Sodium 728mg 30%

Potassium 351mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 7g 2%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 2g

Protein 11g 22%

Vitamin A 69.8%

Vitamin C 67.3%

Calcium 30.5%

Iron 4.7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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