Why not indulge in this cheesy, creamy broccoli and stilton soup recipe made in a large pan or soup maker? This British classic is a delicious soup that's perfect for the Winter months as a lunchtime treat or main meal any time of year.
Welcome to one of my favourite soups that is a pleasure with warm crusty bread: broccoli cheese soup. It's full of flavour, thanks to the combination of broccoli and blue cheese.
It also works well in a soup maker as well as a large saucepan, so you can make it in whichever way suits you best, for an easy nutritious meal
It's also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, folate and fibre from broccoli, while the stilton cheese offers extra protein, calcium and phosphorus. Together, they make a balanced and satisfying meal that can help you meet your daily nutritional needs.
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✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Here are just a few reasons why we think this tasty hot soup is worth making!
- Uses simple ingredients - nothing fancy!
- A great way to use any green vegetables
- It's healthy and nutritious - perfect for a cold day
- Easy to make with or without a soup maker or jug blender
- Perfect at the end of December to use cheeseboard leftovers
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, preparation instructions and nutritional information at the bottom of this post.
Oil spray - I use low-calorie Fry Light, or coconut oil as it can withstand high heats, unlike olive oil where nutrients can be compromised
Broccoli - don't just use broccoli florets as the key ingredient; use the whole head of broccoli including the broccoli stems as they are full of sulforaphane. This is now believed to hopefully help fight osteoarthritis
Blue cheese - this is the king of cheese with a strong taste, or use Laughing Cow Light Blue Cheese triangles for an unofficial Slimming World broccoli and stilton soup recipe.
Onion - peeled & diced into small pieces - this could be white or red onion
Leek - for an extra creamy onion taste from the white parts or use a bunch of spring onions
Celery - diced to enhance the salty flavours
Potato - peeled & diced to make thick and creamy broccoli and hidden potato soup, or you could use cauliflower, chickpeas, cannellini beans, etc
Stock - this could be made with a vegetable stock pot, chicken stock cube or bone broth
Seasoning - salt and ground black pepper
Herbs - I add dried thyme leaves for a herby taste, but you could use Italian herbs such as oregano, marjoram, basil, etc
Optional: dried chilli flakes if you like a bit of heat
📋 Instructions
1. First, add oil to a large deep based pan along.
Then saute your diced onion over medium heat until softened so that they caramelize.
This should take about 3-4 minutes, or less if using a pure oil oil.
2. Now add the remaining vegetables, chopped broccoli, herbs, spices, and seasoning.
Then cover with a lid and continue to fry over medium-low heat for a further 10-15 minutes.
Stir every now and then to prevent catching at the bottom of the pan.
3. Transfer the content of the pan to a soup maker except for the cheese along with the stock.
Pop the soup maker top on and select the smooth function.
For pans: just add the stock, cover, and simmer for 20-22 minutes until everything is tender.
4. Once cooked, stir in the blue cheese triangles and blend until melted.
For pans: use an immersion blender, stand mixer, or a potato masher
Note: if you have crumbled stilton cheese, this should melt beautifully into a silky soup over gentle heat without blending.
Tip: Hold back some remaining cheese as a garnish for some delightful cheesy lumps!
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make to this broccoli and blue cheese soup:
- Fresh broccoli - or for an easy broccoli soup, swap for frozen broccoli for quickness as it is mushy when thawed, which lends to the perfect creamy soup texture. Or make it with cauliflower florets or brussels sprout. Alternatively, why not swap for a cheesy pea soup?
- Stilton cheese - you can use any cheese, but cheeses such as French Roquefort or Italian Gorgonzola are divine, although an additional cost in this broccoli vegetable soup
- Celery - omit or swap for celery salt, or a few chunks of celeriac
- Vegetable stock - swap for chicken stock or bone broth if wanting gluten free
- Potato - swap for cauliflower, cannelini beans or chickpeas, etc to help naturally thicken, or make it a broccoli and lentil soup
- Leek - swap for another onion or a bunch of scallions (green onions)
⚖️ Variations
If you'd like to enhance this recipe, here are a few ways you can personalise to tickle your tastebuds:
- Spicy - add some red or green chilli while cooking for some heat
- Deluxe - stir in a swirl of cream at the end like creme fraiche and some freshly grated parmesan grated
- Meaty - for a broccoli cheese and bacon soup, fry some lardons to serve as a tasty topping, or add some shredded ham
- Curried - add some cumin or curry powder for a warming taste
- Kid friendly - use cheddar cheese instead of stilton if too strong and serve with air fryer croutons for crunch, or fun cookie cutter toasts. You could even reward them with a side of ice cream for eating their greens!
You might also like this cauliflower cheese soup version on my blog.
🔪 Equipment
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- Soup maker or large saucepan and a stick blender
- Chopping board
- Chopping knife
- potato peeler
- Measuring jug
- Measuring spoons
- Frying pan
❄️ Storage
Storing - we prefer eating it freshly cooked, but you can store leftover broccoli soup in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
Freezing - let your soup cool to room temperature and again, store it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. I like to store them in air tight containers like Sistema soup bowls and soup mugs as they're safe in the dishwasher, microwave and freezer.
Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost frozen soup in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove.
Tips: a reader's tip is to line it with a food bag to freeze, then remove it so you can reuse the mug. Or try running the bottom under a hot tap to release it to store elsewhere in your freezer so you can reuse it again.
💡Pro Tips
Here are some tips to make this broccoli and stilton soup recipe even better:
- Stir in the best cheese you can for the ultimate taste, such as from Christmas cheeseboard leftovers!
- Use every part of the broccoli, including the stalks, to avoid waste and add more flavour and fibre
- Shred all of the broccoli and vegetables in a food processor before sauteing so that is cooks faster and create a smoother texture
- Use low-calorie cooking spray instead of butter or oil to sauté the onion and garlic and save some calories
- Use low salt or homemade vegetable stock to reduce the sodium content of the soup
- Serve the soup with some crusty bread or croutons for some crunch and extra carbs if desired
- Avoid melting the cheese for far too long in the soup as some can stick to the pan and harden, making it difficult to clean later (I've done this WAY too many times!)
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Bread: there's nothing more satisfying than serving soup with delicious homemade breads like this cheesy damper bread or crusty French bread
Fried sandwiches: forget toast, why not try pan-fried sandwiches like these easy croque monsieurs which are great for dipping!
Pizza rolls: for an Italian twist, dip some of these easy air fried pizza rolls or pizza buns made from scratch
Savoury muffins: for dunking bread into your soups on a weight loss plan, I recommend these tasty cheese and onion mashed potato muffins.
Crispy vegetables: top with fried crispy kale, roasted broccoli florets or chopped up roasted cheesy cauliflower bites
🤔 Fun Facts
- Despite its name, stilton cheese cannot be legally made in the village of Stilton as it is protected to only be sold in the following three counties: Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
- Cooper Thornhull and Frances Pawlett of Wymondham, Leicestershire have been credited for commercializing Stilton cheese in 1723 when it was sold in The Bell Inn Hotel to passing travellers. It also still serves food to this day.
- It is unknown when the combination of broccoli and blue cheese soup was first created. But broccoli (an Italian vegetable) was first introduced to the UK and US in the 18th century, which is around the same time that Stilton cheese was first sold.
❓ FAQ
For my recipe, I always use Laughing Cow Light cheese triangles with blue cheese. These are estimated at 1.5 syns each, or 6 as part of your healthy extra. And how many you use is up to you.
I usually use 6-8, but it's easier if you have an easy amount to count as part of your allowances. If you can't find them in your local grocery store, here are a few others you could use with estimated syns:
35g Tesco Danish Blue Cheese = 1 Healthy Extra or 6 syns
25g Shropshire Blue Cheese or any regular stilton = 5 syns
25g Co-op blue stilton = 5 syns
25g Morissons British blue stilton = 5 syns
25g Sainsburys blue stilton = 5 syns
25g Marks & Spencer Mature British blue stilton = 5 syns
25 g Stilton blue = 5 syns
Note, the above list is estimated as brands change their recipes all the time.
No, not at all! Often if I want to make a cream of broccoli soup and I'm cooking in a different kitchen, I'll just use a potato masher once it is cooked.
It will have some chunks unlike a smooth soup, but the beauty is, there's far less washing up!
Yes, this cheesy broccoli soup cooks perfectky in a soup maker. Just throw everything into the pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7.
To cook this recipe in an Instant Pot, cook it in pressure cooker mode for between 7-10 minutes. Then blend with cheese at the end and serve with extra stilton if you wish.
➕ More Soup Recipes
Looking for some more classic soup recipes? Why not try some of our favourites here:
🍽️Pairing
Here are some delicious sides that are great for dunking into soup!
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📖 Recipe
Unofficial Slimming World Broccoli and Stilton Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- Frylight cooking oil spray
- 450 g broccoli florets between 1 and 2 broccolis
- 8 triangles Laughing Cow Light Blue cheese *to be counted or used as your allowance
- 100 g onion peeled & diced
- 100 g Sliced leek
- 1 celery diced
- 200 g potato peeled & diced
- 700 g or ml water
- 2 vegetable or chicken stock cubes
- 2 teaspoon dried thyme or leaves from a few stalks
- ¼ teaspoon dried chilli if you like a touch of heat
Instructions
- Firstly sauté the onions on low until soft in a pan that you can pop a lid on for stage 2.
- Now add all of the veg, spices and seasoning, some more fry light and pop the lid on - continue cooking for 10 minutes, shaking occasionally.
- Now add all of the ingredients (except the cheese triangles) and simmer until everything is cook, or add all to the soup maker and set on smooth.
- Once everything is tender, add the triangles in and blend. Note, if you want to try and save on syns, halve the cheese quantity and blend and taste as you go along - you may find you don't need the extra syns.
- Serve alone or with fresh herbs.To make croutons, I just use a 60g wholemeal roll as part of my allowance and dice before spraying with frylight and toasting in my airfryer for about 5 minutes.
- If you enjoyed it, don't forget to tag me on Instagram #TastefullyVikkie with a pic so I know you made it.
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
- Stir in the best cheese you can for the ultimate taste, such as from Christmas cheeseboard leftovers!
- Use every part of the broccoli, including the stalks, to avoid waste and add more flavour and fibre
- Shred all of the broccoli and vegetables in a food processor before sauteing so that is cooks faster and creates a smoother texture
- Use low-calorie cooking spray instead of butter or oil to sauté the onion and garlic and save some calories
- Use low salt or homemade vegetable stock to reduce the sodium content of the soup
- Serve the soup with some crusty bread or croutons for some crunch and extra carbs if desired
- Avoid melting the cheese for far too long in the soup as some can stick to the pan and harden, making it difficult to clean later (I've done this WAY too many times!)
Helen
Simple to follow. I replaced the potatoes with a tin of haricot beans and it’s worked well. Thanks
Penelope
What a good idea to sub the beans for potato. Extra protein too. I bet buterbeans would work a treat.
Sadie Handscombe
Beautiful. Easy to make and clear instructions to follow. THANK YOU
Berna
Just made this soup it was lovely. Dident add celery as dont like it and dident use laughing cow i used block blue cheese instead.
Judith horton
Is this soup freezeable please.
vikkie
Yes, it can 🙂
Riona
Did you mean 700ml of water?