HOST: Hello and welcome back to “Stirring the Pot”, the show where we cook together, step by step, so you can follow along in real time right from your own kitchen.
HOST: Today we’re making something cosy, simple, and really satisfying: broccoli and cheese soup. It’s creamy, comforting, and uses basic ingredients you might already have at home. If you’re newer to cooking, this will be a great confidence booster. If you’re more experienced, this is one of those “make it once, then riff on it forever” recipes.
HOST: I’ll walk you through every step, so you don’t need to keep looking at a written recipe while your hands are covered in potato and cheese. Just listen, pause me when you need to, and we’ll get this soup on the table together.
HOST: Let’s start by making sure you have everything ready. I’ll go slowly, and you can pause anytime.
HOST: For this soup, for about four servings, you’ll need:
One tablespoon of olive oil.
One onion, chopped.
One large potato, peeled and cubed.
One small head of broccoli, roughly chopped.
One Knorr chicken stock pot or a similar stock concentrate.
Eight hundred millilitres of boiling water.
Sixty millilitres of single cream, that’s about four tablespoons.
Eighty grams of cheddar cheese from a block, not pre-grated if you can avoid it.
And about a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, or to taste.
HOST: You’ll also need a large saucepan or soup pot, a chopping board and knife, a kettle or a pan to boil water, a blender—either a stick blender or a regular jug blender—and something to stir with, like a wooden spoon.
HOST: If you’re missing single cream, you can usually swap in a splash of milk or a spoon of crème fraîche. And if you’re vegetarian, feel free to use a vegetable stock pot instead of chicken.
HOST: Take a moment to gather everything. Pause me here if you need to, and when you’re ready, we’ll get chopping.
HOST: Alright, let’s prep. We’ll start with the onion.
HOST: Grab your onion and your knife. Peel off the papery outer layer. Chop off the root end and the top. Then slice the onion in half from top to bottom. Lay the flat side down so it’s stable, and slice it into thin strips, then turn it and chop across into small pieces.
HOST: You don’t need perfect tiny cubes here; just a rough chop is fine. The soup is blended later, so no one will see your knife skills. Once your onion is chopped, slide it to one side of the board.
HOST: Next, let’s prep the potato. Peel your potato, then cut it into cubes, roughly one to two centimetres in size. They don’t all have to be exactly the same, but try to keep them fairly even so they cook at roughly the same time.
HOST: Potato is going to give our soup body and creaminess without needing tons of cream. Transfer the potato cubes to a bowl or a clear spot on the board.
HOST: Now for the broccoli. Take your small head of broccoli and cut off the tough end of the stalk. Then slice the head into florets—the little tree-like pieces. Don’t throw away the stalk; peel any really tough outer layer, then chop the inner part into pieces. It’s full of flavour and blends beautifully.
HOST: Again, don’t stress about perfection. Rough chunks are just fine. Place the chopped broccoli aside. Great—your chopping is done.
HOST: Now we’re going to start building flavour in the pot. Put your large saucepan on the hob over medium heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil.
HOST: Give the oil a few seconds to warm up. You shouldn’t see smoke, just a slight shimmer.
HOST: Add your chopped onion to the pan. You should hear a gentle sizzle, not a furious, aggressive fry. If it’s spitting a lot, turn the heat down a bit.
HOST: Stir the onion around so it’s coated in the oil. We’re going to cook this for about three to four minutes, until it’s soft and translucent, but not browned.
HOST: As it cooks, give it a stir every so often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. You’ll notice the onion turning from opaque white to more see-through, and it should start smelling sweet and savoury, not harsh and raw. That’s how you know you’re on track.
HOST: If your onion looks like it’s browning quickly, turn the heat down. This soup is about gentle cooking, not searing.
HOST: Once your onion is softened, we’re going to add the potato and broccoli. Tip your potato cubes into the pan, followed by your chopped broccoli.
HOST: Give everything a good stir so the vegetables are mixed with the onion and coated in that oniony oil.
HOST: We’re going to let these cook together for about ten minutes, still over a moderate heat. The idea here isn’t to brown them, but to let them start to soften and pick up flavour.
HOST: Keep an eye on things. If it feels dry or the veg is starting to stick, you can add a small splash of water or a tiny drizzle more oil. Stir every couple of minutes, just to keep everything moving.
HOST: As this cooks, you should start to smell the broccoli and onion together—fresh, a bit nutty from the broccoli, and sweet from the onion.
HOST: While the vegetables are gently cooking, let’s get your stock ready. Boil eight hundred millilitres of water in your kettle. If you don’t have a kettle, just use a small pan on the hob and bring it to a boil.
HOST: Once it’s boiled, measure out eight hundred millilitres in a jug if your kettle doesn’t show the amount. If you’re eyeballing it, it’s a bit less than a full litre.
HOST: Now take your Knorr chicken stock pot and add it to the boiling water. Stir until it fully dissolves and you’ve got a rich, golden stock. If you prefer, you can pop the stock pot straight into the pan with the vegetables and then pour in the water. That works too.
HOST: Check on your vegetables. After around ten minutes, the potato should have started to soften, and the broccoli should have deepened in colour a little.
HOST: Now, pour your stock into the pan with the vegetables. Stir everything together, scraping the bottom of the pan with your spoon to lift any tasty bits that might be stuck.
HOST: Turn the heat up just enough to bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce it to a simmer. You want to see small, lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil.
HOST: We’re going to let this simmer for about fifteen minutes. During this time, the potato will become very tender, and the broccoli will cook through. You can test a piece of potato with the tip of a knife or a fork. If it goes in easily, you’re good.
HOST: While this simmers, let’s get your cheese and cream ready. Grab your block of cheddar—we’re using about eighty grams.
HOST: If you have a kitchen scale, great. If not, eighty grams is roughly a small, generous handful of grated cheese, or a chunk about the size of a golf ball, maybe a bit bigger.
HOST: Grate your cheese on the coarse side of your grater. Freshly grated cheese melts more smoothly than pre-grated because it doesn’t have anti-caking powders on it. Set the grated cheese aside in a bowl.
HOST: Now measure out sixty millilitres of single cream. That’s around four tablespoons. You can pour it into a small jug or cup so it’s ready to go.
HOST: By now, your soup should be bubbling away gently and filling your kitchen with that lovely broccoli-and-cheese-soup-in-progress smell. Check the potato again. If it’s very soft, we’re ready for the next step.
HOST: Once your potato is tender and the broccoli is cooked through, turn the heat down to low. Pour in your sixty millilitres of single cream.
HOST: Give it a good stir so the cream mixes into the stock. You’ll see the colour shift to a paler, creamier green.
HOST: Now add your grated cheddar cheese. Sprinkle it in gradually, stirring as you go. This gives it a better chance to melt evenly instead of clumping.
HOST: We’re going to let this simmer very gently for about two minutes, just to melt the cheese and warm the cream fully. Keep the heat low. You don’t want it boiling hard with the dairy in there; that can make it split.
HOST: As the cheese melts, the soup will look slightly thicker and silkier.
HOST: Now comes the fun part: blending everything into a smooth, velvety soup.
HOST: Before we blend, a quick safety note. Hot liquids and blenders can be a bit risky. If you’re using a regular jug blender, don’t fill it all the way to the top, and always hold the lid down with a tea towel so steam doesn’t force it off. If you have a stick blender, this is the perfect moment to use it.
HOST: If you’re using a stick blender, turn off the heat under the pan. Place your stick blender into the soup, making sure the blade end is fully submerged to avoid splashing. Start blending on a low setting, keeping the blender head under the surface.
HOST: Move it around the pan slowly, breaking up the chunks. You can lift it slightly and dip it back in, but try not to go too close to the surface to avoid hot splashes. Blend until the soup looks silky and smooth. If you prefer a bit of texture, you can leave some small pieces of broccoli unblended.
HOST: If you’re using a jug blender, turn off the heat and let the soup sit for a couple of minutes to calm down. Carefully ladle some of the soup into the blender—only fill it halfway. Put the lid on and hold it down with a tea towel. Blend until smooth, then pour the blended soup into a clean saucepan or a big bowl. Repeat with the rest of the soup until it’s all blended and combined.
HOST: Once everything is blended, return the soup to the pan and set it back on a very low heat just to keep it warm.
HOST: Time to make it taste just right. Start by adding about a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. Stir it in well.
HOST: Now, taste the soup. Be careful—it’ll be hot, so let the spoonful cool for a moment before you sip.
HOST: Ask yourself: does it need more salt? Stock pots are usually salty, so taste before adding extra. Does it want a bit more pepper for warmth? Is the texture right for you?
HOST: If the soup is too thick for your liking, you can add a splash of hot water or a bit more cream or milk to loosen it. Stir and taste again.
HOST: If it’s too thin, you can simmer it gently for a few minutes to reduce it slightly, stirring now and then. Usually, the potato in this recipe gives a nice thickness.
HOST: Once the seasoning and texture feel good to you, turn off the heat. Your soup is basically done.
HOST: Let’s talk about serving and a few fun finishing touches. Ladle your broccoli and cheese soup into bowls. You should get about four servings from this batch.
HOST: If you’d like to dress it up a bit, you could sprinkle a little extra grated cheddar on top, add a grind of black pepper, or a pinch of chilli flakes if you like a bit of heat. You could drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil or cream in a swirl for a nice visual touch.
HOST: You can also top it with some crunchy croutons—shop-bought or homemade from leftover bread. And if you have fresh herbs, a little chopped parsley or chives looks lovely.
HOST: Serve it with crusty bread, toast, or even a grilled cheese sandwich if you’re really leaning into the comfort food vibe.
HOST: Before we wrap up, here are a few quick ideas for tweaking this soup in the future. For a vegetarian version, use a vegetable stock pot instead of chicken.
HOST: For extra green, add a handful of spinach right before blending. It blends in beautifully and gives a deeper green colour.
HOST: If you like a chunkier style, blend only half the soup and mix it back into the unblended half, so you have a mix of creamy base and visible veg.
HOST: To add more protein, stir in a drained tin of white beans before blending. They’ll thicken the soup and bump up the protein.
HOST: You can also play with the cheese. Try a bit of Parmesan, Gruyère, or a mix of cheeses for a more complex flavour.
HOST: And if you enjoyed this recipe, you can double it easily—just make sure your pot is big enough, and take a bit more time to bring everything back to a simmer and blend in batches.
HOST: And that’s it—you’ve just made a homemade broccoli and cheese soup from scratch.
HOST: To quickly recap: we chopped onion, potato, and broccoli. We softened the onion in olive oil. We cooked the potato and broccoli gently to start building flavour. We added stock and simmered until everything was tender. We stirred in cream and cheese, blended it all into a silky soup, and seasoned it to taste.
HOST: If you cooked along, I hope your kitchen smells incredible right now and you’re looking at a bowl of something warm and comforting.
HOST: Thank you for hanging out with me today. If you liked cooking this with me, try making it again in a week and play with one of those variations—maybe the vegetarian version or a different cheese.
HOST: Until next time, enjoy your soup, take a moment to actually sit down and taste it, and I’ll see you in the next episode of “Stirring the Pot.”