If you’ve ever had Panera’s Broccoli and Cheddar soup then you know how deliciously additive it can be. As far as franchise based soups, this soup really isn’t horrible for you.
But when you are watching carbs or eating very low carb (even keto) you want to keep these carbs as low as possible.
Panera’s soup has 20 grams of carbs in a cup of soup. Some of that comes from the broccoli itself along with the flour to thicken it, but still it’s more carbs than I eat in a day now.
So let’s make a few changes.
I went back and forth with whether to label this Keto friendly or not b/c this recipe does have a Tablespoon of flour in it. Is 1 Tablespoon enough to kill this as a keto recipe? I’ll wait for you guys to let me know.
I guess you could leave the flour out or I’m open to alternative flour suggestions if any of you have tried them in this type of soup.
Either way, it still is something I eat for lunch with a protein along side. The ratio is 86% Fat, 6.3% Carbs, 8% Protein in case you are counting macros.
Low carb and keto aside, this soup is just amazing. It has very few ingredients. The onion and carrot soften and become translucent and garlic (of course!) is added. Slowly add the broth, cream, cheese and finally the broccoli and the soup is done.
If you’ve ever made a soup or anything requiring melting cheese then you may have had an issue with it clumping or just getting all yucky on you. There are 2 ways to rectify this:
- Make sure the soup is not HOT HOT, have it on a low heat or better yet take it OFF the heat when adding the cheese.
- Adding TOO MUCH cheese at once. Put in a 1/4 cup at a time, stir it around. It doesn’t take long to melt and then keep adding it until it’s all incorporated.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Keto Friendly)
A creamy delicious cheddar cheese soup with bits of broccoli. Perfect for a low carb/keto lifestyle
- Yield: 5 generous 1 cup servings
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Organic Onion, diced
- 1/4 Cup Organic Carrot, shredded
- 1 Clove Organic Garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons Organic Grass Fed Butter
- 1 Tablespoon whole wheat (or white whole wheat) flour
- 1 Cup Organic Chicken Broth, warm
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Organic Broccoli, chopped in small pieces
- 1 Cup Organic Heavy Whipping Cream, warmed
- 1 Tablespoon Organic Cream Cheese
- 1 Cup Organic Cheddar Cheese (sharp or mild)
- Salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 pepper)
Instructions
- Begin by melting the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute until they soften – approx. 3-4 min. Season with a little salt and pepper as they cook.
- Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the flour and whisk for 30 seconds – 1 minute. Slowly add the warmed chicken broth and water allowing the soup come to a boil. Turn the stove down to low or even take it off the heat entirely when adding the cream. Stir to incorporate.
- Add the cream cheese and slowly add the cheddar cheese about 1/4 cup at a time, ensuring it has completely melted before adding any more.
- Add the broccoli and taste for seasonings. Let the soup simmer 10 min or until broccoli softens.
Notes
Calories – 334, Fat 32 grams, Carbs 5.3 gr, Protein 6.8 gr
Just made this fabulous soup and I have to say not only is it as good as Panera, it’s actually better.
★★★★★
wow Lori thank you !!!!
I read the comments first before making. I have now made this three different times. To make it more keto friendly, use more cream cheese and no flour. I also use 32 oz of chicken broth. I also put the broccoli when you add the chicken stock to give it more flavor.
★★★★
That sounds delish Christine !
This soup turned out really well. To make it Keto I left out the carrot and flour. I also left out the water and used another cup of chicken broth. To thicken the soup I added some cauliflower while the chicken broth boiled and used my emersion blender. I also added two cups of sharp cheddar cheese. The basic recipe was great just needed a tweak! Thanks!!
★★★★
Whole wheat flour is not keto.
★
I used a little arrowroot and an extra 1/4 cup of cheese and omitted the water and it came our nice and thick
Are the macros and nutrition facts for the whole yield? Or individual servings?
Flour and carrots are not keto.
I totally agree. Carrots and flour are not keto.
I hate when people post recipes as keto friendly – maybe if you sub almond flour, but seriously, this crap can wreak havoc on a new keto-er!
You need a class in Manners 101. There are ways to TACTFULLY make your point without being mean.
This is an excellent recipe! I just made it for dinner. I did add some crumbled bacon and smoked paprika….I think I may or may not have had two servings!
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it! Made a few changes to keep it Keto though. Substituted the flour with almond flour…but didn’t get the thickness I was looking for so I added some xanthan gum. Doubled the cheese and left out the carrots. Ended up being the perfect creamy consistency and was super yummy!
The soup was good but was NOT 5 generous servings. I got like 3 full cups. As a person that drives an hour every 2 weeks to get good groceries, my meal plan was messed up by the servings. You might want to change the servings size. Also, I would most definatelt take off the keto label. Most recipes can be turned into keto if you change the ingredients. This is just a really good recipe that can be turned into a keto recipe.
thanks lizzie
This really was pretty good. It reminds me of my mom’s soup, which she makes with velveeta. Since this was made with real cheese I found it great that it still tasted very cheesy with a nice consistency, and was all around healthier for not being a fake cheese. It is still a little high in calories, but wasn’t bad for a dinner portion of a hearty cup.
★★★★
Wheat flour (of any kind) is not keto friendly – I tried with 2 tsp xanthan gum instead and it was veeeerrry thick, I had to nearly double recipe with broth & cream so that it wasn’t like jelly! LOL. Next time I’d use 1/2 to 1 tsp xanthan gum and it would probably be perfect. Thanks for this easy and tasty recipe!
★★★★★
thank you Courtney for your feedback. I know flour isn’t keto which is why I struggled with naming this recipe. Other readers will appreciate you sharing what may work instead. Thanks again!
The recipe was really good! Great flavor. I got 3 cups at most out of this recipe so not sure how it’s supposed to feed 5 with a generous cup each. It also makes the calories kinda high for one meal. But both my husband and I really enjoyed the taste. I did use almond flour instead of all purpose and it seemed to work pretty well.
I was wondering if someone tried almond flour. It’s such a good deal at Costco; we try to incorporate almond flour wherever possible. Thanks!
I substituted for gluten free flour and used 1/3 fat garden veggie cream cheese and added 1 tbs of turmeric powder. Fantastic
★★★★★
Konjac flour (glucomannon powder) is an excellent keto thickener for your soups, gravies, sauces, etc. You just sprinkle it over the top and stir it up and in a few minutes, it works it’s magic. Just a tip for future reference.
Great recipe! I left out the carrots and replaced the flour with 2 scoops of beef gelatin collagen protein. I also doubled the recipe. It wasn’t real thick, but I’m ok with that. Delicious and easy! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
What is the prep time?
I skipped the flour and just added 2 more tablespoons of cream cheese and another handful of cheddar. Delicious!
Love the changes Nicole!
I think it turned out great. The amount was modest and I added more broccoli and cheese than it called for. It was still good
★★★★
I substituted the flour with zero carb xantham gum. It turned out great. 1 tsp of xantham gum to 1 tbsp of flour. I mixed it with a bit of the warm soup first then mixed in with the rest of the soup to avoid clumps.
I love it!
Ditto. Me too. It was delicious!
I may try this using unflavored protein powder in place of flour for “keto” thickener.
This looks delicious, but from everything i’ve read, you are correct, flour is not “keto”. Maybe i can try substituting almond flour? I’d be curious to see.
yeah that’s why I said that in the post itself Lisa, flour is not keto so I was really on the fence to even list it as that. I’d love to hear how it turns out with the almond flour though. Thanks for your comment
Any chance you tried this with the almond flour? I’d like to try as well. I’d also replace the chicken broth with vegetable because I don’t eat meat. Do you think that would ruin it. It looks delicious and I’m working on my keto diet so would love to give it a shot!
I’m not sure that almond flour would thicken for a roux the way flour would, although it works as a base in many other recipes. I would try xantham gum first, but if you had success w/ almond flour, I’d love to know if that would be comparable!