If you’re craving a rich and creamy soup that is a snap to put together and takes under 20 minutes to make, this Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup is for you! 
Have you jumped on the Instant Pot train yet? I bought mine last November with such good intentions on diving in, experimenting and sharing lots of recipes with you and am FINALLY doing it! The good thing about waiting a few months to start recipe creating is that I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how it works now. If you’re not familiar, an Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that doubles as a slow cooker, rice and yogurt maker, and more. There’s so much you can do with it and I’ve only skimmed the surface these last few months.
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I’m not gonna lie, when I first unboxed my Instant Pot and started reading the manual, I felt like I was about to operate a nuclear reactor and was a little freaked that it was going to blow up in my face. BUT never fear, never fear, I promise IT WILL NOT blow up, dismember you, or otherwise a make a mess of your kitchen. It’s safe and easy and makes some of the best food ever in record breaking time.
I have lots of recipes in the works to share, but this Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup is one of my favorites so far! I used 4 different kinds of cheese to kick up the flavor and finished it off with some fat free half and half to make it creamy without adding extra fat.
The flavor combo of the cheeses with the broccoli that gets cooked to tender perfection in the Instant Pot is so, so good. The addition of dijon mustard is a compliment to the cheeses and the smoked paprika adds a bit of smokiness that makes you think there might bacon in it which is always a win in my book
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, this recipe is definitely make-able on the stove top– it will just take a bit more time. See the recipe notes for full instructions.
Want an Instant Pot? This is the same Instant Pot that I have and I LOVE it.
Instant Pot Broccoli with Four Cheese Soup
If you're craving a rich and creamy soup that is a snap to put together and takes under 20 minutes to make, this Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup is for you!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 whole small/medium onion finely diced
- 2 whole large carrots diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cup chicken or vegetable broth See Note 1
- 5-6 cup broccoli florets
- 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 slices kraft singles american cheese cut into slices (See Note 2)
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese shredded
- 1 cup colby jack cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 cup Fat Free Half and Half See Note 3
Instructions
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Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot and add butter. When butter is melted stir in onion and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
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Stir in garlic and flour, and cook for 1 minute and stir in broth. Continue stirring until no flour lumps remain. Add broccoli to the pot, cover, and set Instant Pot to cook at High Pressure for 8 minutes.
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At the end of 8 minutes, do a quick release of pressure, open lid and turn off the pot. Stir in salt, paprika, dijon, dill, and pepper.
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Stir in cheeses, mixing until fully melted and stir in half and half just before serving.
Recipe Notes
1. I love to use Better Than Bullion for all my broths. It's so easy to keep in the fridge and mix up a bit when I need it.
2. I use 4 different kinds of cheese to kick up the flavor, but if you only have one or two, use what you have! Sharp cheddar is great because of it's strong flavor, but most melting cheese will work-- you'll just a little different flavor profile. Make it your own!
3. Fat-Free Half and Half can be a little finicky and has the tendency to curdle when overheated. I've found that Land O' Lakes Brand is the least likely to curdle for whatever reason and it tastes great too. And by all means, if you want to use full-fat cream or half and half, do it! It will just make your soup that much better!
4. To Make on The Stove Top: Follow steps 1 and 2 and then bring to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is very tender-- about 30 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and stir in spices, herbs, cheese and half and half to serve.
Dwight Weatherford says
Fantastic recipe!!! But have to admit I did this on the stove top instead of my instant pot! I used Pepper Jack chheser, Medium Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.. I also used 1 1/2 cup Cauliflower and 1 1/2 cup Broccoli, and the subtle flavors of the dill and smoked paprika put this soup over the top!!!!
Amaris says
This was AMAZING! I added cayenne pepper for a kick. LOVE IT!
Mariah says
Can this be refrigerated/frozen? If so, how long?
Lonna says
I bought all of the ingredients last night but the directions are missing today. Not sure why I can no longer see.
Krystal says
I’ve been using this recipe for a few months now and now it’s gone. Gonna wing it but sucks the recipe is not displayed anymore.
Heather Cheney says
I’m so sorry about that– this particular recipe likes to be glitchy on me! I’ve fixed it and you should be able to see the recipe now! Sorry. :/
Amaris Diaz says
This was AMAZING! I used sharp cheddar, white cheddar, smoked gouda and some shredded parmesan I had left over in the fridge. Also added a few pinches of cayenne to give it a kick. It was a perfect hot lunch on an 3 degree day.
Thanks!
Abby says
I have made this twice. Both times, it has received rave reviews! I made it with homemade French bread. Yum yum,
Laura says
Made this tonight – a new family favorite! Thank you so much!
Amanda says
I am making this for my work halloween party tomorrow. I have made it once before and it is delicious! I have adapted the recipe a little and used tapioca flour for thickening to make it keto friendly 🙂 I also leave out the “fake” cheese. This is now my go to soup recipe! Thank you so much!
Kathleen says
Tried this last night and it was awesome! i did one additional step before adding the cheese & cream – i pureed it in my blender to make it extra smooth. Next time i will cook a small batch of broccoli florets to add in after i puree it, but it was really wonderful . The texture was like velvet. I also used 2/3 c of whole milk and 1/3 cup of heavy cream. Not exactly calorie friendly, but so rich and delicious This will definitely go into my regular rotation.
Andrew says
Can you use frozen broccoli?
Heather Cheney says
Absolutely! It shouldn’t change the cooking time, either.
Cynthia says
Where are the notes?
Heather Cheney says
The notes are at the bottom of the recipe card. For some reason, my website doesn’t want to keep them there! I’ve added them back in again. Hope you enjoy!!
Sandra says
So simple, easy, and delicious! I used Homogenized Milk since that’s what I had on hand and no issues with separation. Thank you for this recipe!
Ashley says
Dying to find the notes too. I can’t find them anywhere!
Valerie says
Yes please, where are the notes …there are nine in the page and no link to them. I even checked the printer version of the recipe and nothing shows there either! Please post so I can add to my copy of the recipe.
Thank you
Valerie says
Oops, “there are nine on the page” should be “there are NONE on the page” …sorry about that 😏
Heather Cheney says
The notes are at the bottom of the recipe card. For some reason, my website doesn’t want to keep them there! I’ve added them back in again. Hope you enjoy!!
Valerie Millard says
Thanks Heather …I see them now 👍
Rose says
Where are the notes?
Robin says
THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!!!
Heather Cheney says
The notes are at the bottom of the recipe card. For some reason, my website doesn’t want to keep them there! I’ve added them back in again. Hope you enjoy!!
sel says
If you hit the “Print” option for the recipe; the notes are listed on the print preview. That’s the only place I saw them, though.
Peyton says
Made this last night! It was a big hit! Something i did is i used the already shredded carrots, half the bag. Also since all we had was frozen broccoli i used that. Also i used not as much dill, i used fresh dill and only 3 pieces of that. Instead of one clove of garlic, i used 5.
Rebecca says
This soup was SOOOOO good! The changes I made: used whole milk instead of half n half (no issues!), used 3 cups shredded cheddar as I didn’t have the other cheeses, and used 5 carrots, grated. This one is definitely a keeper!!
americanlamboard.com says
I made this recipe using milk because it s less fattening and the recipe calls for milk or cream. The soup tasted delicious but the cheese was clumpy and it separated. Ended up not creamy at all. Do you have a solution to this because I loved the flavour of the soup?
Heather Cheney says
I’m so sorry it ended up clumpy. The problem is definitely the milk as it doesn’t have the fat content you need to stabilize the cheese to prevent clumping. If you want to keep it low-fat you can use fat-free half and half. If you look at the notes section of the recipe I talk about my favorite brand. While fat-free half and half doesn’t have the fat to stabilize the cheese it has other stabilizers that keep the cheese creamy. Hope that helps!
Brandy Selby says
Heather, I have a feeling her clumping is from adding the cheese to the soup while it was too hot and/or letting it come back to a boil. I make cheese sauce that’s smooth all the time while using skim milk, but if it gets too hot, it will definitely break.
Kim says
I made it today and used Cheddar, parmesan and cream cheese instead of milk(because it’s all I had at the farm and not going anywhere in this blizzard). I used my Bamix before adding the cheese and then after cheese. Smooth and wonderful flavour. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Kim B.
2pots2cook says
Oh yes ! For me it is ! Thank you !