The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
on Feb 10, 2018, Updated Sep 04, 2024
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This Instant Pot broccoli and cheese soup recipe has a ONE MINUTE cook time. It’s an easy Instant Pot soup that’s thick, creamy and healthy. Enjoy this gluten free and vegetarian soup for any meal!
I’ve been on the Instant Pot train for a while now, and I won’t be getting off anytime soon. While the slow cooker is the “set it and forget it” miracle dinner maker in the kitchen, consider the IP as your “oops, I forgot it” meal helper when you need a hot meal fast. Soups made in the Instant Pot are one of my favorite things pretty much ever.
And this broccoli and cheese soup recipe? It’ll knock your socks off. It comes out impeccably rich, thick, and creamy with the most perfectly cooked veggies and a delicious texture. I’d say the best part is that the cook time is literally only one minute. Yep, you read that right. This one-pot meal will be a huge hit with your family, and I can’t wait for you to try it out! I love to dip my classic French baguettes in it.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This soup takes just 1 minute to cook in the Instant Pot, making it perfect for busy days.
- Packed with broccoli and carrots, it’s a creamy soup that’s both gluten-free and vegetarian.
- You can easily customize the recipe with different cheeses or even use frozen veggies.
- Thick, cheesy, and full of flavor, it’s a satisfying meal for any occasion.
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Onion – I like to use a white or yellow onion for this recipe
- Garlic cloves
- Vegetable broth – or chicken stock if not vegetarian
- Broccoli
- Carrots – Matchstick or grated
- Spices – Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
- Corn starch
- Cream – Or half-and-half
- Cheddar cheese
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Step #1. In the Instant Pot, sauté butter, onion, and garlic until fragrant.
Step #2. Add broth, broccoli, carrots, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook on high pressure for 1 minute, then quick release.
Step #3. Stir in a cornstarch-water mixture while sautéing until the soup thickens.
Step #4. Turn off the Instant Pot, then slowly stir in cream and cheese until melted. Serve hot.
Recipe FAQs
Yep! You can use whatever you have on hand. Frozen and fresh will both work the same in this recipe, and no need to change the cooking time. Score! And sometimes I use the frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix and it works just great too. I don’t chop up the frozen broccoli, but it seems to cook up just great.
I know not everyone has an Instant Pot (but y’all MUST add it to your wish list!), so this recipe can easily be made on the stovetop, too. Follow the recipe as directed, but instead of pressure cooking the veggies, just let them simmer in the broth until tender, about 20 minutes. Then, move on with adding the cornstarch, cream, and cheese as directed.
This recipe specifically calls for cheddar. I like to use a nice sharp cheddar for this recipe but we love sharp cheeses. Sometimes I’ll toss a variety of cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, and pepper jack cheese! You can use what you like or have on hand and feel free to use a variety of cheeses if that’s what you have.
Expert Tips
- Use extra sharp cheddar for a bold flavor, but feel free to experiment with other cheeses like gouda or Swiss.
- If using frozen broccoli, you don’t need to adjust the cooking time; it works just as well as fresh.
- For a smoother soup, blend half the soup before adding the cream and cheese.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning at the end, adding more salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes to suit your preference.
How to Serve and Store Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
I love bread for dipping into broccoli and cheese soup. I highly recommend serving this soup with fresh baguettes, sourdough bread, my mom’s easy French bread recipe, my easy no-knead crusty loaf, cornbread, or buttermilk biscuits.
Keep this soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To freeze, let the soup cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. It will keep well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop over medium heat. Stir in a little extra cream or broth if the soup becomes too thick. The texture might change slightly after freezing due to the dairy content, but it will still taste delicious.
More Soup Recipes to Consider
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White Chicken Chili
Soups, Stews & Chowders
Slow Cooker Veggie Beef Soup
15-Minute Recipes
Cornbread Waffles with Chili – 15 Minute Dinner Idea
Soups, Stews & Chowders
Texas Chili Recipe
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The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth, (or chicken stock if not vegetarian)
- 4 cups bite-sized broccoli florets
- 1 cup matchstick or grated carrots
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, , plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 cups cream or half-and-half
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Select browning/saute to preheat the pressure cooker. Add the butter and onion and saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chicken stock, broccoli, carrots, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Lock the lid in place, make sure the vent is set to seal, and select high pressure and 1 minute cook time.
- When the cooking time ends, use the quick pressure release. When the valve drops, remove the lid carefully.
- In a small bowl whisk together the corn starch and cold water until smooth.
- Set the pressure cook to saute/browning and slowly add the corn starch mixture to the pot. Stir constantly until the soup comes to a boil and thickens.
- Turn off the pressure cooker. Slowly stir in the cream or half-and-half.
- Add the cheese a handful at a time and stir until it melts.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
Video
Notes
- You can use frozen broccoli in place of the fresh, no need to change the cooking time. Sometimes I used the mixed broccoli and cauliflower that’s frozen and it works great too.
- Feel free to use whatever cheese you like or have on hand, I use extra sharp cheddar for this recipe.
- For a smoother soup, blend half the soup before adding the cream and cheese.
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This came out incredible! We didn’t have red pepper flakes, but will add next time. This was my first time using the instant pot and it came out wonderfully!! Best broccoli cheese soup ever!! Thank you!
Yay!! Good choice for your first IP experience, this is a good one for getting use to it! You’ll be whipping up all kinds of things soon (I have a good mac and cheese recipe if you need a recipe for your next thing!). Thank you for leaving a review!
I added 1/2 cup extra cheese. Make sure you shred your own cheese. It makes a huge difference. My 3 kids loved it and I just heated up a cup in the microwave this evening for dinner, it was just as good as it was last night! This is going to be a regular in my house! Yum!
This was the easiest, quickest and one of the best soups I have ever made. Honestly every other recipe I looked up was so complicated. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Can I transfer this to the crock pot to keep warm? Just because made too much to add ham in instapot. It would have over flowed.
Yes! That would work great!
This is superb!!!!! Amazing!
Can i add Italian sausage to this recipe?
Ohhh that would be really good! I would!
I only have sour cream in the house. Can I sub for the cream/half & half with sour cream? If so, how much
I’d replace the half and half with more milk and add about a 1/2 cup of sour cream too!
Like Ruth I only have sour cream (no milk)
Loved the cheese broccoli soup. I actually tossed in a bag of frozen cauliflower, broccoli and carrots because that’s what I had. Spectacular!! This is such a great recipe.
Sounds like a great recipe to make and send with my daughter to college. Will it freeze well? What would be the warming instructions?
It does freeze well! Just thaw it overnight in the fridge and warm it up slowly on the stove. If you warm it up at too high of a temperature you might curdle the milk.
Thank you for this recipe, Melissa! To really make this recipe pop, I added 1/2 tsp of paprika, a 1/2 tsp of ground mustard powder, and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. I also very quickly ran the hand blender through the soup before Step 8 to chop some of the larger broccoli chunks into smaller pieces (but I still kept some tasty broccoli chunks!)
Sounds wonderful, thank you for letting us know what worked for you!