Broccoli & Gruyère Soup with Homemade Croutons
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This broccoli and Gruyère soup is rich, creamy, and full of cozy flavor—perfect for chilly evenings or an easy weeknight dinner.
There’s nothing like a cozy bowl of soup to take the edge off a chilly evening, and this rich, creamy broccoli and Gruyère soup does just that. Think of it as the French cousin of the classic broccoli cheddar soup. Topped with crisp homemade croutons, it’s hearty enough to be a meal on its own. Best of all, it comes together in under an hour, making it perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner.
“Made this today for a quick NYE lunch. Man, man, man. Just perfect and couldn’t be easier. The croutons really are the perfect topping.”
What you’ll need to make Broccoli & Gruyère Soup
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the aromatics. Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Cook the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until soft, about 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the wine, broccoli, and broth. Pour in the white wine and let it cook until it’s almost completely reduced. Add the broccoli, chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 20 minutes.
Step: 3: Add the cream and purée. Stir in the heavy cream, then use a hand-held immersion blender to purée the soup until it’s completely smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup to a regular blender in batches. Just let it cool a bit first, leave the hole in the lid open, and cover it with a kitchen towel so the steam can escape.)
Step 4: Stir in the cheese. Gradually add the Gruyère, stirring until it melts smoothly into the soup. Stir in the nutmeg, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Step 5: Toast the croutons. While the soup is cooking, make the croutons. You’ll need bread cubes (preferably day old), melted butter, salt, and pepper. Simply toss everything directly on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until the bread cubes are golden.
Step 6: Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with croutons. Enjoy!
More Cozy Soups To Try
Broccoli & Gruyère Soup with Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 small yellow onions, roughly chopped (about 1¾ cups)
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 pound broccoli, florets and stems, roughly chopped
- 4 cups (32 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream (or half & half, for a lighter version)
- 3 oz grated Gruyère (1 packed heaping cup)
- Pinch nutmeg
For the Croutons
- 2 cups cubed French bread, preferably day old
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Soup
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the white wine and cook until almost completely reduced, a few minutes.
- Add the broccoli, chicken broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream; then, use a hand held immersion blender to purée the soup until completely smooth. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then purée in a blender in batches. Be sure to leave the hole in the lid open and cover with a kitchen towel to allow the steam to escape.) Bring the soup to a simmer, then gradually stir in the cheese, stirring until melted. Add the nutmeg, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper). Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with croutons.
For the Croutons
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Directly on the baking sheet, toss the bread cubes with the melted butter. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, tossing once, until the bread cubes are golden brown and crisp.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Delicious soup! Quick & easy & so much flavour. Followed recipe exactly. Used immersion blender & soup looked like your pics. Also, I had never knew croutons were so easy to make & wow they tasted so much better than store bought!
Hi- I need to use up broccolini- do you think this would be ok to substitute?
Hi Marsha, I’ve never made this with broccolini, but I think it should work. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Made this soup for the first time and it is now our favorite! The Gruyere adds such a wonderful flavor and will be making this often!
I made this the other week and thought it was very good. I did not make the croutons though.
This soup is WONDERFUL and I have watched my entire family enjoy it, including my husband, who is not a fan of soups (I have watched him eat it two nights in a row – shocker!!!) and my daughter, who doesn’t like vegetables.
I do make a few changes. First, I double the amount of everything. I also play around with celery and carrot ratios, depending on what I have on hand. I use leeks instead of onions and give them a head start with the butter, like you would for a potato leek soup. I also add some other spices like paprika and a bit of turmeric. I use Better Than Bouillon, Organic Chicken Base, in lieu of pre-made chicken stock or make my own using the carcasses of rotisserie chickens (I store them in freezer until I have enough for stock). I leave out the cream and when I serve, I add a bit of grated mexican blend cheese and some Frenche’s crispy fried onion. This keeps great in the fridge and when the soup is hot, the cheese melts in and the fried onions give it crunch.
Absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Again, another delicious recipe! I used half and half and the prescribed amount of cheese and loved that this soup wasn’t overly heavy. Croutons addictive!
A big hit! Chock full of veggies and a great depth of flavor. I lightened it a bit and used half and half instead of heavy cream and it was still delicious. I also threw in some extra carrots and left over mushrooms I had on hand. It was really easy to make even without an immersion blender. Will be making this again soon.
Swiss cheese tasted great, as a substitute 🙂
This is a great soup to make with Fall right around the corner. I add 1/2 tsp to the crouton butter mix!
Made this tonight exactly according to the recipe and it was a winner, enjoyed by all, and my husband who dislikes vegetables. I tasted the soup before adding the cheese and it was already delicious, if anyone wanting a slightly lighter version omitting the cheese, still leads to a tasty soup. Thanks so much Jen, am adding to my recipe collection.