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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Great recipe! I made some substitutions because I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand. I substituted 3/4 cup of cream cheese for the cream. I think that thickened the soup. I used Better Than Bouillon Vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Used Coastal (British) Extra Sharp Cheddar, not Gruyere. Also, I added mushrooms since I had them. I’m a Costco shopper, so it wasn’t too expensive. A 3-pound bag of organic broccoli was $4 at Costco. And if you see Coastal brand cheddar at Costco or Trader Joe’s, I highly recommend you try it. Best cheddar I’ve ever had.
I followed the recipe exactly. It was too rich, too thin, too salty and too expensive. I added a boiled potato (without salt) which made the soup thicker. It was flavorful, though.
We loved this soup! I needed something quick and easy for lunch. Though I had fresh broccoli, I chose to use frozen florets (saving the fresh broccoli for tomorrow for your broccoli purée, which is delicious, btw). I subbed Edam cheese for the gruyere (because I had it) and fat free half and half for the heavy cream (because I’ve had good results subbing fat free half and half for heavy cream in soups before). I used the blender to purée the soup and was very pleased with the consistency and flavor. Though I know it would have been richer and creamier with the heavy cream, we didn’t miss it and thought the soup was delicious. I’ll make this again for sure!
I wish I could freeze the soup. I’m thinking of serving it as a first course for a luncheon I’m planning. I might try following the recipe but leaving out the cream until I’m ready to heat and serve it.
One of the few recipes here that I didn’t like. Mine came out very thin and bland and I had to add a lot more seasonings. Loved the croutons. I’ll stick with my broccoli cheddar soup recipe
I thought this soup was delicious! I also thought it was just the right consistency…not too thick or thin. I did make two small changes. One was I used 2/3 Gruyere and 1/3 Tillamook Mild Cheddar. And after I put in the cheese, I chopped up additional broccoli and added it to the soup and simmered for a couple of minutes. I just like the extra texture. This is another stellar recipe to add to my arsenal of weeknight dinners! Thank you, Jennifer! I love all your recipes!!!
This was good, but just a little rich for me. Will try in again subbing something else for the whipping cream
Hi Jenn,
Made the soup yesterday from my own broccoli and gotta admit that’s the best broccoli soup I made so far, so thanks for the recipe! ^^
Simple and amazing! Easy for a mom of three!
Also I left it chunky! Love it that way!
I was craving broccoli cheese soup, but sadly this wasn’t my favorite version. It was thin and didn’t have the sharp cheese flavor that I was looking for. Back to the drawing board! (For the record though, I like almost every other recipe on this site!)
Did you use the cheese she recommended? It had a bite!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Jenn for these amazing soup recipes (and all of your recipes for that matter)! I had made the butternut squash and sweet potato recipe, and that is so wonderful! Rave reviews! I decided to try this soup – knowing that I usually don’t care for this soup at most restaurants. Even my skeptical husband who doesn’t love broccoli, loved this! We all did! The flavors are out of this world! So yummy! I did do half gruyere and half sharp cheddar, but I’m sure I would love the gruyere only. I am working my way through your cookbook, and have just loved everything you have come up with. I’m glad I found you!!
So glad you enjoy the recipes, Melissa, and that this one didn’t disappoint! 🙂
Absolutely to die for! I was gifted a huge amount of broccoli, carrots, onion and celery. I now have vast quantities of soup base in Ziplocs in the freezer, all ready for adding cream and cheese as the temperature drops! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.