This broccoli cheddar chicken soup brings together broccoli, chicken, bacon, and melty cheese in one cozy pot. It’s hearty, comforting, and easy to make – the kind of soup recipe you’ll want to make all winter long.

This broccoli cheddar chicken soup checks all the boxes: one pot, simple ingredients, big flavor, and easy. It’s the perfect comforting dinner for cold nights, and I love that it’s a hearty meal on its own – especially with some toasted bread on the side to soak up the broth.

Ingredients

Chicken: Use cooked chicken to make this soup really easy. I use rotisserie chicken, but leftover seasoned chicken works, too.
Broccoli: The soup is loaded with fresh broccoli. Roughly chop up the florets so they aren’t too big.
Bacon: Another easy shortcut is cooked bacon crumbles. You don’t have to do anything but add them to the pot.
Mild cheddar cheese: Shred a block of cheddar cheese instead of using packaged shredded cheese. I’ve tried it both ways, and the freshly shredded cheese melts a lot better. The packaged cheese tends to clump up when you add to the soup.
All-purpose flour: A little bit help thicken the soup.
Onion and garlic
Chicken broth
Heavy cream
Unsalted butter
Salt

How to Make It

☑️ Cook the Veggies and Bacon

Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and crumbled bacon. Cook them until the onion is softened.

the flour, broccoli, bacon, onion in the pan.

Add the broccoli and stir. Cook the broccoli for about five minutes and then sprinkle the flour and salt over the top. Stir to coat everything in the flour.

☑️ Simmer and Add the Cream

Simmer the soup until the broccoli is tender. Lower the heat and stir in the cream.

☑️ Add the Chicken and Cheese

Stir in the cooked chicken and then whisk in the cheese. It helps to add the cheese a few batches at a time so it’s easier to whisk into the soup.

☑️ Serve and Enjoy!

Ladle the soup into bowls and add some crusty bread or garlic toast on the side for dunking. Highly recommend.

More Cozy Soup Recipes

Bacon-Cheddar Broccoli Chicken Soup

A cozy one-pot soup made with broccoli, chicken, bacon, and cheddar. It’s hearty, comforting, and easy to make.

5 from 1 rating

Print Pin Rate

Author: April Anderson

Servings: servings

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 50

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion chopped
2 large garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
12 ounces broccoli florets roughly chopped
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups chicken broth
8 ounces cooked shredded chicken
½ cup heavy cream
8 ounces mild cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the all of the onion, garlic, and 1/4 cup of bacon crumbles. Stir and cook them until the onion starts to soften, about five minutes or so.
Add the chopped broccoli and stir. Cook the broccoli for five minutes and then sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt over the top. Stir until flour coats it all evenly.
Add 8 cups of chicken broth, stir, and bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
Adjust the heat to medium-low and stir a 1/2 cup of cream into the soup followed by the chicken.
Whisk the cheese into the soup in a few batches, whisking until each addition is melted before adding more. Once the soup is creamy and the cheese is fully melted, ladle it into bowls and enjoy.

Notes

If you want to fry bacon instead of using packaged bacon crumbles, cook it first and then drain the fat from the pan. You will need about 3 to 4 ounces of raw bacon to get 2 ounces crumbled.

Roughly chopping the broccoli adds nice texture to the soup, but you can finely chop it if you prefer.

The soup is best when it’s made, but leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. I don’t recommend freezing the leftovers.