Easy Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

Panera surveyed its patrons for National Soup Month — which is January, in case you were wondering — and found that in 49 of 50 states, broccoli cheddar is the favorite soup (Minnesota, the sole holdout, prefers cream of chicken and wild rice). Of course, it's part of the chain's permanent menu and can also be purchased at grocery stores like Kroger, but few things are quite as satisfying as making your own soup. Developer Kate Shungu's recipe makes it simple to produce a Panera copycat, and as she explains, "The soup itself is quite easy and quick to make."

The only really time-consuming part of the recipe involves preparing the broccoli. You can always buy it pre-cut, but if you buy a whole head, Shungu advises trimming the stalks a bit at a time until they become so short that the florets almost fall off by themselves. As she explains, "This ensures you have bites of broccoli that are just the right size for soup." Don't toss the stalks, though, since they can be shredded or sliced thin for salads or chopped and added to stir-fries or casseroles.

The soup has a base made from butter, yellow onion, flour, paprika, chicken broth, salt, carrot, broccoli florets, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. The cheesy component comes from a combination of cheddar and Velveeta.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour and paprika and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute.

Whisk in the chicken stock and salt and bring to a simmer.

Add the carrots and broccoli, and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the cream, shredded cheddar, Velveeta, and Dijon. Heat until melted.

Stir in 2 dashes of hot sauce (add more as desired). Ladle soup into bowls and serve while warm.

One reason why Panera's soup is so popular is because it's super-creamy, and so is this copycat. One way to ensure that your soup is as smooth as possible is to buy block cheese and shred it yourself. Most bags of pre-shredded cheese contain additives of some sort, with the most notorious being cellulose. Cellulose is a plant fiber that may come from wood pulp, and although it's perfectly edible, it's not all that meltable. Block cheese, however, is much more melty, especially pasteurized processed cheeses such as Velveeta (the true secret to creamy broccoli-cheese soup).

You'll also be using a roux to thicken the soup while ensuring it stays smooth. Roux is simply a mixture of butter and flour, and when you stir the flour into the melted butter left after sauteing the onion, that's exactly what you'll have. To be sure your soup won't form any lumps, stir in the stock a little at a time. Of course, if you happen to have any instant-mixing Wondra flour on hand, you can sprinkle it into the soup after you've added the liquid since this miracle substance doesn't clump like regular flour.

There are a number of Panera soup copycat recipes available online, but not all of them were created equal. The best way to make sure that your soup tastes just like Panera's is to use similar ingredients, and that's just what this recipe does. While some recipes may call for cheddar alone, and others just use processed cheese, Panera uses pasteurized processed cheddar which we replicate by using a 50-50 blend of the two cheeses to duplicate the creamy texture and tangy flavor.

Our recipe also calls for two flavoring ingredients that some recipes omit: mustard and hot sauce. Panera's soup specifically calls for Dijon mustard, so that's what we use, too. The chain doesn't specify a type of hot sauce, but the soup's ingredients list says the sauce is made from distilled vinegar, red pepper, and salt. These three ingredients (in the same order) are listed on the Tabasco sauce label, although if you prefer a less spicy soup, you could use a milder Louisiana-style sauce such as Frank's RedHot.