Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup
By: Beth Velatini
Published: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 2:56pm

Ingredients




2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups fat free half and half
2 cups chicken broth (I use dry soup base – 2 teaspoons dry mix with 2 cups 10 ounces fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (don’t go low fat on this ingredient!)
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1 Melt butter in stock pot.  Add the flour and stir to a paste for about 2 minutes.  Slowly add the fat free half and half – you are basically starting with a roux.  Once you have your thick white sauce, add chicken broth, broccoli and carrots.  Simmer for 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender. 2 The only thing I don’t like about Panera’s soups is that sometimes I have a giant piece of broccoli in my soup, so I pureed mine. 3 Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.   I tend to under salt the soup because I think the cheese is salty enough, but you can decide for yourself! 4 This made 7 cups of soup for me:  Each one cup serving:  284 calories, 17 fat, 15.3 carbs, 2.1 fiber and 13 protein.

About


They probably have onion in theirs, which of course, I left out!  I would have loved to have the French baguette with mine though!