Roasted Cream of Broccoli & Potato Soup

Broccoli must be in season somewhere in the world, because there is an abundance of it in our grocery stores! It’s also still sort of wintery here… Minnesota springs are, well… muddy, chilly, rainy, & sometimes snowy.

It’s still perfect soup weather.

Cream of broccoli soup is an inexpensive meal, it’s super simple to make, it’s chalk full of broccoli nutrition, and it’s DELICIOUS – even my “soup-haters” like this soup!

This is not your average broccoli soup. Instead of merely boiling the broccoli to cook it, here, the florets are roasted giving it so much additional flavor.

Although I’m going to include an actual recipe, with measured amounts of ingredients, I just want to say that this soup recipe is really, really forgiving. Personally, I don’t follow a written recipe for this soup, probably 100% of the time. For example, sometimes I have lots of broccoli and only 1 potato, creating a lighter and more broccoli rich soup.  Other times, I only have one little bunch of broccoli and a big bag of potatoes, AND I need to feed a whole mess of people, so I use tons of potatoes and the broccoli I have on hand.

And on the tragic occasions that we don’t have bacon in the house (which isn’t very often!), I’ll use butter or olive oil as my fat source when sautéing the onions and garlic.

Point being – cooking is an art, not a science.  Use these measurements as a guideline and don’t get too stressed about the soup 🙂

Roasted Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe

Start by preheating your oven to 425°, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set this aside – it’s for the broccoli.

Next, get your bacon, cut it into bite sized pieces, and throw it in a big pot on medium heat, making sure to separate all the pieces.

Meanwhile…

Wash your broccoli and cut it up in. Don’t throw the stems away – peel them, and cut them up as well.

Put the broccoli in a large bowl, give it a liberal drizzle of olive oil, then toss it around coating all of the florets in the oil.

Spread the broccoli onto the parchment lined baking sheet, generously season it with salt & pepper, and put it in the pre-heated oven.  You’ll want to let this roast for about 20-25 minutes.

While the broccoli is roasting and the bacon is sizzling, dice up the onion and mince the garlic.  Set them aside.

Back to the bacon.  Cook and stir the bacon bits until they’re lovely and crisp!  The ‘doneness’ of bacon is really a personal preference.  For this soup I don’t like the bacon too crisp – not soggy, but not hard little pellets either.

When the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pot, to a paper towel lined plate, using a large slotted spoon.

Turn the heat to low.

IMPORTANT: If you live in a house of bacon thieves, you should cover it up to reduce the occurrence of thievery! Out of site, out of mind… right?!

Next, spoon out MOST, but not ALL of the bacon drippings from the pot. We’re going to use a little of the bacon fat to sauté our onions and garlic. Leave about 2 Tbsp of the fat in the pot.

Throw your onions and garlic into the pot, and cook them on medium-low heat until they’ve softened up and the onions are translucent.

While your onions and garlic are cooking, peel and dice your potatoes.

Add the potatoes to the pot, then pour in the chicken broth. Season with a little salt (depending on the saltiness of your broth), and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and gently cook until the potatoes are tender.

Once your broccoli is roasty and golden with little caramelized, tasty bits, remove it from the oven. It should be very tender.

Add it to the pot with the cooked potatoes.

Roughly purée the soup with an immersion or regular blender, leaving some small chunks for texture. Or, you can blend it smooth depending on how your family likes it.

Next pour in the cream, and season with salt & pepper to taste.

And, that’s it!

It’s hardy, creamy, comforting, and so delicious. And it should be served with biscuits or crusty bread.

Oh, and don’t forget the bacon, some cheddar (or fresh parmesan, or any cheese really!) and a dollop of sour cream!

Enjoy!

Roasted Cream of Broccoli & Potato Soup

This is not your average broccoli soup! Instead of merely boiling the broccoli to cook it, here, the florets are roasted giving it so much additional flavor.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 lb bacon cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 large potatoes cubed about 4 cups
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 bunches broccoli florets coarsely chopped, stems peeled and chopped (about 6 cups)
• olive oil to drizzle over broccoli for roasting to drizzle over broccoli for roasting
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (or more) 10% cream

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until very tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• While the broccoli is roasting, put the chopped bacon into a large pot on medium heat. Cook it till crispy-chewy, stirring often. When it's cooked, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, to a paper towel lined plate. Reduce the heat to low.
• Using a large spoon, remove most of the bacon grease from the pot to a can. Leave about 2 Tbsp of the bacon fat in the pot to cook the onions and garlic in.
• Add the onions and garlic to the pot, and cook until tender - about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the cubed potatoes, the chicken broth, and a little salt (if needed). Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook the potatoes until tender.
• Add the roasted broccoli to the pot. Roughly purée the soup with an immersion or regular blender, leaving some small chunks for texture.
• Stir in the cream, then salt and pepper to taste.
• If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin it out further with a little more cream or more chicken broth.
• Serve with grated cheddar, the reserved bacon, and a dollop of sour cream!

Keyword Broccoli, Main Meals, Soup