Everyone knows that the best Panera soup is their broccoli cheese soup (their French Onion is pretty good too). This Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe in the Instant Pot makes the delicious, comforting and hearty soup an easy weeknight dinner.
What's In This Article
Panera Soup
I must admit that Panera Bread is a weakness of mine.
If I’m out running errands around lunch time, there’s a high probability that I’m going to swing by Panera, even if it would take the same amount of time to just go home and grab something from the fridge. It’s also my go-to place for lunch dates with friends and colleagues.
My order is the same, every time – a big, steaming bowl of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup with crusty bread. Sometimes I’ll get it as a side with a sandwich but usually, especially in the winter, I just go all-in and get only soup.
I’m a big soup person. My favorites include chicken noodle soup, butternut squash bisque, beef stew, crab soup, minestrone and of course, this broccoli and carrot mixture. The ultimate of vegetable soups without it just being floating pieces of veg.
I love theses flavors so much that I found myself craving it even when Panera was nowhere in sight so I decided to try making my own copycat version at home. Hello, SOUP!
Instant Pot Soup
I don’t have the time or patience for a soup that takes all day to simmer and cook so I decided to give it a try in my current kitchen obsession, my Instant Pot. If you are just getting used to yours, make sure to check out my Instant Pot for Beginners!
The result? This recipe tastes like the real deal. Over 100 ratings and comments don’t lie!
And… it is ready, from prepping the veggies to your first steaming mouthful, in 30 minutes. It’s now one of my favorite easy instant pot recipes.
Ingredients
What makes this one of the best instant pot soup recipes? Well, first and foremost, because it’s easy. Just a handful of ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand.
- Unsalted butter – I always opt to use unsalted butter when cooking and baking. It allows me to control the amount of salt.
- Diced onion – Onion gives this soup a lot of flavor, but also adds another veggie into the mix. You can use yellow onion or white onion.
- Flour – Because this is a cream soup, we need some sort of thickening agent. The flour does just that. Corn starch can also work if you wish to keep it gluten-free.
- Garlic – You can never have too much garlic- that’s my motto! It’s one of my favorite ways to add flavor to a dish. Even though we are saving time, use fresh garlic instead of jarred.
- Carrot – Panera’s soup includes carrots. If you aren’t a fan of them, feel free to substitute with more fresh broccoli florets, or leave them out all together. It does balance the savory flavors with a hint of sweet.
- Broccoli – You can’t have a broccoli cheese soup recipe without broccoli! It gives flavor and substance to this delicious soup.
- Nutmeg – This is the secret ingredient! We add just a pinch of nutmeg to provide a unique and distinct flavor. Buy whole nutmeg and grate it yourself for maximum flavor.
- Vegetable broth or chicken broth – I also like to use unsalted chicken stock or vegetable stock so that I control the amount of salt, but whatever you have on hand works great too!
- Heavy cream – To get a creamy broccoli soup, we need a little cream!
- Cheddar cheese – If you really like the cheesy flavor in this soup, feel free to use a sharp cheddar. I always prefer using freshly grated cheese, which means grating my own cheese. It melts better and has better flavor.
- Salt and black pepper – Add this to taste, or even let each person add their own.
If you’re feeling in need of an additional dose of comfort food, try serving this in a bread bowl. Or at least with a few crusty slices of sourdough bread. Delicious. And if you want it hot, add some red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper.
Oh, and for those of you with kids, this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup is a great way to sneak in an extra serving of veggies! Though, really, that’s a good trick for adults too! And if you need more that do this, check out my meatball soup too!
How to Make the Best Broccoli Cheese Soup
- First, use your Instant Pot on the sauté function, adding the butter and onion. Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Next add the flour and garlic, sautéing that for an additional 2 minutes until it makes a paste.
- Next, add the carrots, broccoli, nutmeg and stock (or whichever you’re using.)
- Change the setting on your Instant Pot to manual, high pressure and set for 15 minutes. Use the quick release method.
- Stir in the cream and cheddar cheese. Now is when you season the soup to your liking with fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper and enjoy!
- Bread is optional, but always welcome.
Double the Recipe, Double the Fun!
Want to make a big batch? Please note that you can easily double this soup by doubling the amount of ingredients, but you do not need to change the cooking time.
However, this depends on the size of your pressure cooker. This fits perfectly into a 6 quart IP, use a larger IP to double up.
Generally speaking, never fill your pressure cooker more than 1/2 to 2/3 full, although with raw broccoli, there is a ton of air between, so this is hard to judge. You should be fine in a 6qt or larger pressure cooker.
Slow Cooker & Stovetop Instructions
You can make this cream of broccoli soup in the slow cooker too! Follow the directions, but instead of putting it on manual pressure for 15 minutes, put it on high for 2-3 hours and then resume the instructions.
If you’d rather make it on the stovetop, you can do that too. You can follow the same directions, but in a Dutch oven or large stock pot over medium heat. Allow to simmer for about 1 hour.
Storage & Freezing
Just like freezing any leftover soup, place it in an airtight container or plastic bag and freezer for up to 3-4 months. Soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave.
More instant pot recipes:
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Instant Pot Chili
- Instant Pot Beer Cheese Soup
Instant Pot Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup onion , chopped
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup carrot , grated
- 1 head broccoli , florets only, cut into small bunches
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups sharp cheddar , grated
- Fine sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to the saute function. Add the butter and onion, saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the flour and garlic, saute for an additional 2 minutes. Add the carrots, broccoli, nutmeg and vegetable stock.
- Change setting to manual, high pressure and set for 15 minutes.
- Use quick release method. Stir in the cream and cheddar cheese. Season to your liking with salt and pepper. Broccoli should easily break into small pieces. Serve hot.
- If you've tried this recipe, make sure to come back and let us know how you liked it!
This has become a family favorite. My daughters especially love it!
Yay! That is what we love to hear and thank you for taking the time to stop by and let us know!
I used homemade chicken stock and half & half and the soup was delicious. Everyone loved it and I’ll definitely be making it again.
This soup was totally delicious and I will definitely make it again. Got everything ready and into the insta pot when I remembered I was out off cheddar cheese. Had to use half cheese whiz and Motzza . I’m sure it would have been better using cheddar but it was still delicious. So flavourful. Best broccoli cheddar recipe I’ve ever made. Thanks for sharing.
Very good soup! My daughter is so picky, but she loves it too. I’m cooking it again tonight for supper. Thank you.
Awesome! We love to hear that and thank you for taking the time to come back and let us know.
Can you use dairy free cream cheese!
Hi Jeanette, you can surely try, but I’ve never done it personally. If you try it, come back and let us know how it went!
Pretty good
I feel that the nutmeg was a bit overpowering.
I will make it again.
Thank you for the feedback!
Can I use frozen broccoli instead of fresh? And would the time change?
I haven’t used frozen broccoli, but you can sure try. Since you want to broccoli to essentially fall apart, I would add it frozen at the same time. Come back and let us know how it was!
Just making this now for work tomorrow. If adding cream and cheese today will it be fine to warm tomorrow in a slow cooker or do you recommend adding dairy tomorrow?!
Thanks
Hi Pam, sorry about the delay, we got stuck on a delayed plane today. You can add the dairy today. Any time a soup is chilled, you might need to correct the seasoning the next day, mainly the salt. It mutes it, but can easily be corrected when you reheat. You can even freeze this soup 🙂
I made this and didn’t change a thing, it was delicious! Thank you! Adding this recipe to my instant pot recipes for sure. ???? oh and if you don’t have an instant pot you must get one! I love mine and use it often.
I do have a question, will it still work if I use half and half instead of cream? Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by to let us know, Alina! It is one of our favorites too!
I omitted the nutmeg but tasted amazing!! Only issue I had was the bottom burned ?. It didn’t affect the flavor of the soup since I was careful not to scrape the bottom but not looking forward to cleaning the liner. Trying to figure out how to prevent it next time. If I added more broth it would be too thin since the consistency was perfect?! ?♀️ I will definitely make it again though.
Oh no! That is the first I’ve heard of that. Just curious- are you using an actual Instant Pot or another electric pressure cooker?
I have the same issue with the instant pot burn error message. I’ve made it a few times and cannot figure out why it always happens! Trying the stove top today since I love this recipe so much 🙂 thanks for including instructions for stove top.
Really? For the soup! That is odd. I’m sorry about that- it seems some machines are just more sensitive than others. This happened a lot on my IP spaghetti and meatballs, but it really had to do with how much liquid was in the particular jar of sauce people used.
Wow!!! You know, I am so impressed!! First time using my instant pot , this was the perfect recipe!! I love that it’s one of those “minimal” ingredients recipe !! Love love love it !! I’ve already shared it on!!
Yay!!! We love to hear that, Nila. Good luck with the IP- you’ll love it after you get comfortable using it.
Amazing! Moving this into heavy rotation this winter!
Woohoo! Glad to hear you loved it!
Would it be too much for the instant pot to double this recipe?
Good question! And I think that would depend on the size of your IP! If you have a 6 quart- I would say it would probably fit. If you have a smaller version, no. Larger, go for it!
Super Easy to make and tastes great. I did a blend of white and yellow chaser and got some sourdough bread for the side. DELISH!
I’ll be craving sourdough all day now. LOL. Glad you enjoyed it!
This soup is fantastic. Made it in instant pot while on vacation in RV. Everyone loved it. And so quick and easy I didn’t miss any of the fun.
Thank you for coming back to let us know and so glad you were able to enjoy your vacation and not spend too much time in the kitchen!
Glad to have stumbled upon this recipe..i recently got an instapot and have been looking for recipes to make in it, ever since. 🙂
I am so jealous! Now I just HAVE to get an instapot! Panera broccoli cheddar is my all-time favorite soup! And I don’t have an instapot!!
This soup is making me wish it WASN’T 100 degrees outside! I love this recipe!
Jess this is perfection! My boys are going to love that I can make this at home~!
This sounds like a hearty soup. I love panera, but usually end up with their chicken noodle. I’ve never tried broccoli cheddar before.
Panera’s BrOccoli cheddar soup is one of my favorites and I make it quite often. So great you can now prepare it in instant pot.