This easy Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup is loaded with veggies, is SUPER CHEESY, and needs just a handful of ingredients you will already have on hand. Ready in only 20 minutes it makes the perfect midweek bowl of comfort.
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup in Under 20 Minutes
It is nearly the end of October and I am STILL waiting for it to get cold enough for soup weather!
I have been putting on boots and sweaters in the hope that my enthusiasm for icy winds and rain (you can take the girl out of Ireland, but you can't take Ireland out of the girl...) will corral the cool air out of hiding.
But this Northern California heat is sticking around for a while yet it would seem.
Never one to be put off by a bit of sun, I am whipping up the soups left right and center around here (much to my daughters dismay).
Especially seeing as 4 out of the 5 of us have developed sniffles and sore throats over the weekend.
What is the point of a cold if you can't get all snuggly in front of the heater with a cup of tea and a box of tissues?
What Ingredients Are Needed For Broccoli Cheese Soup?
If you are an Instant Pot fan (and how could you not be?) then you are going to just love this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup.
It literally takes 20 minutes from start to finish, tastes all kinds of amazing when paired with a loaf of fresh country bread and some creamy butter, and gets your body all nicely loaded up with lots and lots of veggies.
And cheese.
There is quite a bit of cheese in there too.
#sorrynotsorry.
You will need:
- unsalted butter: this can be subbed out for some olive oil if that is what you prefer;
- onion: fresh onion is best, and we want this to be finely diced;
- carrots: I always prefer fresh carrots, but you can also use frozen carrots if preferred;
- fresh garlic;
- all purpose flour;
- vegetable stock;
- broccoli florets: fresh or frozen will work;
- ground paprika;
- Dijon mustard;
- monterey jack cheese: you can use any other cheese you prefer. If Monterey Jack cheese isn't available then just use more cheddar;
- sharp cheddar cheese: you want this to be shredded (grated). I prefer to grate my own cheese and as the pre-grated stuff tends to have preservatives that can give it a grainy texture when melted;
- milk: I use whole full cream milk, but use whatever is your preferred milk;
- heavy cream (or sub more milk instead);
- salt and pepper to taste.
What To Serve With Broccoli Cheese Soup
More Instant Pot Recipes
Once you have tried out (and love) the Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup then you should definitely check out these other Instant Pot creations for quick and easy weeknight meals you can get on the table in less than 30 minutes:
This is the most popular recipe on the blog right now!!
Super Moist Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken
I also love this recipe from Beyond Mere Sustenance: Instant Pot Salmon and Rice with Lemon Caper Chimichurri.
I love hearing from you so be sure to pop back and leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this tasty little number.
Happy Eating!
Donna
xx
Recipe
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Clicking any equipment link above will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 ½ cups monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup heavy cream (or sub more milk instead)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot and add the butter. When the butter is melted stir in the onion and carrots and cook about 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent
- Stir in the garlic and flour. Cook for 1 minute and then stir in the broth. Continue stirring until no flour lumps remain. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure none of the flour mixture has stuck to the bottom.
- Add the broccoli to the pot, pop on the lid, and set Instant Pot to cook at High Pressure for 8 minutes.
- At the end of 8 minutes, do a quick release of pressure, open the lid and turn the pot off. Add in the paprika, and dijon and stir until incorporated.
- Stir in the cheeses, mixing well until fully melted. Once melted add in the milk and cream, season to taste.
- Optional: at this point I like to take half the soup and blend until smooth and creamy and then add it back to the pot, it makes for a thicker soup.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Don’t forget to follow Whole Food Bellies on Pinterest for more recipe inspiration! Or if Pinterest isn’t your style, bookmark this post! Let’s keep the conversation going- join my Facebook group!
Sanchez says
I loved that when I met it in the first time
Sanchaz says
This is the first time I've seen Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup. It is amazing.
Robert Derby says
This is the first time I've seen Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup. It is amazing.
Eileen says
First soup I made in the Instant Pot, turned out delicious!
Donna says
Yay, I am so glad you loved it!!
Mital Burkland says
Hello!
If I were to half this recipe, how long should I cook it for?
Donna says
I haven't tried halving it, but I am assuming the same time would work just fine!
Amy says
How big is a serving? I'll be making it this week and am wondering if I should double it. If I doubled it, would it fit in my 6 qt pressure cooker?
Donna says
A serving is about 2 cups. I have a 6qt and I wouldn't double it, maybe an extra half of the recipe would fit in there just fine.
Kristen King says
Love the dijon in this! Looks like a perfect fall weeknight recipe. I LOVE cheddar soup.
Donna says
Me too 🙂
Courtney says
I love making soup in my Instant Pot. Thanks for a great recipe that my family loves!
Donna says
It makes the whole process so much easier right!!
Adrienne says
So yummy! I made a few changes- arrowroot flour instead of ap (I'm trying to reduce gluten) less cheese, and left out the cream. Thanks for recipe!!!
Donna says
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! I actually have some arrowroot in the cupboard, I will have to try that next time to change things up!
Sheryl says
I loved this recipe!!! Excellent flavor.......my 10 year old would like me to thicken up. Can I add more flour to this recipe?
Donna says
Hi Sheryl, thanks for popping in and letting me know you loved it. To make it a bit thicker I would add a flour slurry - adding flour straight to the hot soup will leave you with clumps. Mix some flour and a little bit of cold water, whisk until combined and then add that to the soup and heat through. That should thicken it up nicely.
Leone says
You should've written in the recipe to get the soup cool before adding the cheese. My cheese seized up and clumped. Recipe is a FAIL
Donna1 says
I'm sorry this happened Leone, I never cool my soup before adding the cheese and have never had this problem (and I have made the recipe multiple times, as have other people which you can see in the comments). Maybe it's the type of cheese you used? If you bought pre-shredded cheese it has a lot of added ingredients which may have led to the clumping.
Rachel says
I wanted to add that I used pre-shredded cheese and didn't have the clumping issue---I added slowly and stirred. This soup turned out great!
Donna says
Thanks Rachel, glad it worked out with the pre-shredded cheese as well!!
Kerrie says
Let the soup cool? Then add the cheese? Seems counterproductive. I used a combination of pre shredded and cheese I shredded myself and it turned out great. This “seizing up” sounds like a user error to me. Maybe they tried using low-fat cheese? I did add a few dashes of seasoning salt to increase the appeal for my husband and stepson. But I liked it best exactly as you listed! Thanks for the great recipe!
Donna says
Thanks for popping back and letting us know it worked for you as well Kerrie, I appreciate it 🙂 You may be right about the low-fat cheese! Very welcome.
Rachel says
Wonderful made for my family everyone loved it
Donna1 says
I am so happy to hear this 🙂
Elizabeth says
Great recipe . Did change a few things though. On my instant pot , I don’t not have a sauté so I just put all the veggies in it and cooked for 10 min . Used my vita mix to blend , put back in pot and added cheese . Ground up 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and added to thicken instead of flour . Didn’t add milk ,cream or spices .
Tastes awesome
Donna1 says
Ooh I like the chia seeds idea!!
Sandra Gore says
This is so good. No bad reviews proves it!! Thanks for the guidelines. Although everything is better with bacon - I might try adding some next time. This will become my go-to quick soup recipe. Sharp cheddar, marble cheddar and Parmesan were all I had on hand so I added all of them. Outrageously good!!
Donna1 says
Oh I am so glad to hear this Sandra!! It really is such an easy flavorful soup (and my kids definitely prefer it with bacon these days!)
Danielle says
If I used frozen broccoli are there any adjustments to time or liquid amount I should make?
Donna1 says
I haven't tried it with frozen broccoli, but I would just use the same instructions, I can't see there being any difference. Enjoy 🙂
Breanna says
This turned out wonderful! I really didn't make any major changes other than, maybe, adding a bit less cheese, skipped the paprika (I was out) and used horseradish mustard. It was wonderful! I used my immersion blender to puree it a bit and that made for a great, just slightly chunky, texture. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Donna1 says
YUM!! I need some of that horseradish mustard, sounds amazing!
Val says
I have made broccoli cheese soup on the stovetop for a long time. Still trying to sharpen my instant pot skills. Found your instant pot recipe and made it today. I made a few adjustments by adding celery. Before adding the flour, I deglazed with 1/4 cup of vermouth. I followed the recipe until time to add cheese. I used Queso fresca cheese because it is a smooth melting cheese (and I live in Texas and had it on hand) also used Monterey jack. Added a dash of Smokey paprika, dried thyme, dried basil, grated nutmeg and just a fEW red pepper flakes instead of hot sauce. Used an immersion blender for half. It was delicious. Thanks for the recipe, it is definitely worth making again. Creamy and delicious.
Donna1 says
You know what, a few people have mentioned adding celery, and I am pretty sure I add it to EVERY single other soup I make, so I might have to try that next time!! So glad you enjoyed, and those additions/variations sound just fantastic 🙂
Al says
I made this last night with soymilk only (no cream), sharp cheddar, and white medium cheddar because that's what I had on hand. I was surprised how good it turned out! It tasted like a restaurant soup. I didn't blend it because I liked the consistency once I mashed the broccoli down a little. It was the perfect way to use up a whole lot of not-so-fresh veggies hanging out in the fridge.
I wonder if this would be just as good using some of the broccoli trunks as well as the florets? I typically don't buy precut so I like to use all of it.
Donna1 says
Oh yay, I am so glad you enjoyed Al!! And I am glad it worked out without the cream. Full disclosure I ALWAYS include the broccoli trunks! I hate food waste so I tend to just give them a bit of a trim to get rid of the gritty ends, chop them up into little disks and throw them in. They work out just fine, just a little bit more toothsome than the florets.
Anna says
This was SO yummy!
I made two modifications: I only did 5 mins in the IP and it was more than enough. I also used 4 total cups of cheese because all I had on hand was mexican blend cheese.
It was all DELICIOUS and even picky toddler gobbled it up!
Thank you for the recipe!
Donna1 says
Yay for feeding the picky toddler 🙂 Thanks so much for letting us know how much you loved it!!
Finn says
I've made this 5 times and I love it! Best soup I've ever made in my life. I'm making it for Christmas Eve and Day. I'm trying out smoked gouda for Christmas!
Donna1 says
Oh yay I am so glad to hear this!!! Ooooh the smoked gouda will take it to a whole other level - YUM! Hope you had a lovely Christmas 🙂
Donna says
Where is the recipe?
Donna1 says
Hey Donna, it's under the photos and above the comment box. You would have had to scroll past it to write a comment 🙂