The Best Homemade Broccoli Stilton Soup
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This easy broccoli and Stilton soup is rich, creamy and packed with fresh broccoli and tangy blue cheese. Made with leek, potato and vegetable stock, it’s ready in about 40 minutes and makes a brilliant easy soup recipe for a cosy lunch or simple dinner.
The potato naturally thickens the soup while the Stilton melts into the broccoli for a smooth, creamy finish. If you love rich homemade soups, try my cauliflower cheese soup or leek, potato and bacon soup next.
Why this Recipe works
Ingredients required
- Fresh broccoli: The star of the soup and where most of the flavour comes from. Buy 1kg of fresh broccoli and chop it into florets before cooking. The broccoli is added after the potato has had a head start so it only needs to cook until tender before blending.
- Stilton: Gives the soup its distinctive salty, tangy blue cheese flavour. Crumble it before adding so it melts quickly and evenly into the hot soup.
- Potato: This is the secret to the thick, velvety texture. Once cooked and blended, the starch naturally thickens the soup without needing flour or a roux.
- Leek, onion and garlic: These create the savoury flavour base. Cooking them gently in butter before adding the stock brings out their sweetness without adding any colour.
- Vegetable stock: Forms the base of the soup and keeps the broccoli flavour prominent. Because both stock and Stilton can be quite salty, wait until the end before adding any extra salt.
- Double cream: Adds richness and rounds out the stronger flavour of the Stilton. You only need a small amount because the potato already gives the soup plenty of body.
- Butter: Used to gently soften the leek, onion and garlic at the beginning of the recipe, creating a richer base than oil.
- Salt and pepper: Season only after adding the Stilton and tasting the finished soup. Depending on your stock and cheese, you may find it needs very little additional salt.
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and full instructions.
How to Make Broccoli and Stilton Soup
- Prepare the vegetables: Wash the broccoli and cut it into florets. Dice the onion and potato, slice the leek and mince the garlic. Wash the leek particularly well between the layers, where grit and soil can easily hide.
- Cook the soup: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic and cook gently until softened but not browned. Stir in the diced potato, pour in the vegetable stock and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and continue to simmer for another 8–10 minutes, until the broccoli and potato are tender.
- Blend and finish: Remove the saucepan from the heat and blend until completely smooth using an immersion blender. Stir in the crumbled Stilton and cream while the soup is still hot, allowing the cheese to melt gently. Taste before seasoning, then add black pepper and salt only if needed. Return to low heat briefly if necessary to warm through, but don’t let the soup boil.
Variations and Substitutions
- Stilton: Another good blue cheese can be used in place of Stilton. Choose one with plenty of flavour, as the cheese is one of the main seasonings in the soup.
- Milder cheese: If you don’t enjoy blue cheese, mature cheddar works well for a milder broccoli cheese soup. The flavour will be different, but the same basic method works.
- Cream: Double cream gives the soup a rich, silky finish, but single cream can be used for a slightly lighter version.
- Extra vegetables: Stir in a couple of handfuls of spinach with the broccoli for the final few minutes of cooking. It blends easily into the soup without substantially changing the flavour.
- Texture: I prefer this soup completely smooth, but you can blend only three-quarters of it and leave some small pieces of broccoli for a chunkier finish.
- A little heat: Add a pinch of chilli flakes with the garlic or finish the soup with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper to balance the richness of the Stilton.
Chef’s Guide: Expert Tips
Here are a few simple tips, drawn from my training and kitchen experience, to help you get the best results every time.
- Soften the vegetables without browning: Cook the onion, leek and garlic gently in the butter until soft and translucent. You want their sweetness as a background flavour without the deeper caramelised flavour you’d get from browning them.
- Give the potato a head start: Let the potato simmer in the stock for about 10 minutes before adding the broccoli. Potato takes longer to soften, and adding the broccoli later means you don’t have to overcook it while waiting for the potato to become tender.
- Don’t overcook the broccoli: Simmer it only until completely tender, about 8–10 minutes. Prolonged cooking dulls both the fresh broccoli flavour and its colour.
- Blend before adding the Stilton: Get the broccoli and potato base completely smooth first, then stir the crumbled Stilton into the hot soup off the heat. The residual heat is enough to melt the cheese without boiling it.
- Add the Stilton gradually if you prefer: Stilton varies in strength, so you can stir in most of the cheese first, taste, then add the remainder until the flavour is where you want it. Save a little to crumble over the bowls if you like.
- Taste before adding salt: Stilton and vegetable stock both bring plenty of salt to the soup. Season with black pepper first, taste, and only then decide whether it needs additional salt.
- Be careful when blending hot soup: An immersion blender is easiest here. If you’re using a countertop blender, work in batches and don’t completely seal very hot liquid inside the jug, as the steam needs somewhere to escape.
What to do with leftovers
- Fridge: Cool the soup completely and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in airtight containers for up to 2 months. Because the soup contains cream and Stilton, the texture may separate slightly once defrosted, but it can usually be brought back together with a quick blend.
- Reheating: Reheat gently in a saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until piping hot throughout. Avoid boiling the soup, as high heat can cause the dairy to separate.
- From frozen: Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating. If the soup looks slightly grainy or separated, blend briefly with an immersion blender until smooth again.
If the soup has thickened considerably in the fridge, add a splash of vegetable stock or water while reheating until it’s back to the consistency you like.
FAQs
Yes. Make the soup completely, cool it and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the hob until piping hot, avoiding a hard boil so the cream and cheese stay smooth.
Yes. Freeze the cooled soup in an airtight container for up to 2 months and defrost overnight in the fridge. The dairy can cause the texture to become slightly grainy after freezing, so give the reheated soup a quick blend if necessary to make it smooth again.
The potato naturally thickens the soup, and it will become thicker again as it cools. Simply stir in a little extra vegetable stock or water until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
Yes. The stalks have plenty of flavour and there’s no reason to waste them. Trim away any particularly tough or woody outer parts, chop the tender stalk into small pieces and add it with the potato so it has enough time to soften before blending.
Easy Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2 lb) fresh broccoli, chopped into florets
- 200 g (7 oz) Stilton cheese, crumbled
- 25 g (2 tablespoons) butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large leek, thoroughly washed and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 1 litre, (4 cups) vegetable stock
- 200 ml (¾ cup) double cream
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Soften the Aromatics: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic and cook gently until soft and translucent, without allowing them to brown.
- Cook the Potato: Add the diced potato and vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes to give the potato a head start.
- Cook the Broccoli: Add the broccoli and continue to simmer for another 8–10 minutes, until the broccoli and potato are completely tender.
- Blend the Soup: Remove the saucepan from the heat and blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth. Alternatively, carefully blend in batches using a countertop blender.
- Add the Stilton: Stir the crumbled Stilton and cream into the hot blended soup until the cheese has completely melted.
- Season and Serve: Taste the soup before seasoning, then add freshly ground black pepper and salt only if needed. Return to low heat briefly to warm through if necessary, but don't allow the soup to boil. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
- Broccoli: The tender parts of the stalk can also be used. Peel or trim away any tough outer parts, chop the stalk into small pieces and add it with the potato so it has enough time to soften.
- Stilton: Add the cheese after blending and off the heat. The residual heat is enough to melt it smoothly into the soup.
- Seasoning: Taste before adding salt. Stilton and vegetable stock are both salty, so the soup may need very little additional seasoning.
- Consistency: The potato naturally thickens the soup. If it’s thicker than you prefer, stir in a little extra stock or water.
- Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat gently and avoid boiling.
Nutrition
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Meet the Chef!
Hi, I’m Debs, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef dedicated to helping you create unforgettable meals on a budget. Discover more about my journey and dive into a world of foolproof recipes designed for those who love to eat well without overspending.
A very simple soup with a lovely flavour . I would never have thought to put mixed spice in it but it was lovely .
Thanks for sharing your recipe ?
So happy that you loved it! That mixed spice just adds a little hint of something special! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and a raating!
Duh! missed that in stage 2. I would have thought it better to add the stilton after blending so you can adjust the stilton taste.
You could do both! Never too much stilton! 🙂
Did you forget to add the stilton?