Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Crispy Onion Straws
Warm up with a favorite of many, a big bowl of Broccoli Cheddar Soup! The entire pot comes together in less than an hour, making it a perfect weekday dish. The optional addition of the crispy onion straws creates that nice crunchy texture that the traditional soup is usually missing.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Crispy Onion Straws
- Cook Time
40 min
- Total Time
40 min
- Servings
6-8
- Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 cups half and half
- 4 cups chicken stock- could use vegetable stock if you want a vegetarian version
- Salt and pepper
- 4 cups of fresh broccoli florets
- 1 cup matchstick cut carrots
- 2 ½ cups cheddar cheese shredded
- Crispy onion straws
- ½ Vidalia onion
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1tsp garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium to large pot over medium heat. Once melted, add your onions, and cook until slightly softened and translucent. About 3-4 minutes.
- Sprinkle in your flour and stir. Allow the raw flour flavor to cook out for about 2-3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the half and half until smooth.
- Add the chicken stock and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium- low and cook, uncovered, until thickened for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- While the soup is thickening, prepare your onion straws by heating up some oil to 350°F in a shallow frying pan (this will allow you to use a lot less oil). Thinly slice your onion. I usually use a sweet onion and use a mandolin to get super thin slices. Put in a small bowl and cover with the buttermilk and set aside.
- In a shallow dish, combine the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt/pepper. Take the onions out of the buttermilk and allow the access to drip off. Toss them in the flour mixture and make sure they’re fully coated. Shake the excess flour off and drop into your hot oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until the onions are crispy and golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack to allow the excess oil to drip. Set aside.
- Add the broccoli and carrots into the broth and allow to soften for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add your freshly shredded cheddar cheese to the soup. Stir until the cheese is melted and incorporated throughout the soup.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with extra cheese and crispy onion straws.
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