This easy broccoli and stilton soup is known for its creamy texture, warming goodness, and striking balance of flavours. This classic British soup is a must-try, especially in the chilly winter season. This simple recipe, ready in under 30 minutes, is perfect as a starter, a hearty lunch, or even a cosy dinner served with a chunk of crusty bread.
This soup is easy and very cheap to make using the most basic ingredients from any grocery store. The richness of the blue cheese makes this soup especially popular around the Christmas holiday season.
If you're a fan of hearty creamy soups, then you might also love our creamy leek and chicken soup, or this hearty Tuscan white bean soup. Both are also cheap and easy to make and are the ultimate in comfort food.
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⭐️ Why You'll Love This Creamy Broccoli Stilton Soup
- Versatile and Comforting: This soup is perfect for any meal and is especially comforting during winter.
- Easy to Prepare: With everyday ingredients and simple cooking steps, this recipe is a breeze to follow.
- Nutritious: The combination of nutrient-rich broccoli and distinctive Stilton cheese creates a delicious and healthy meal.
- Resourceful: This recipe is a brilliant way to utilize leftover Stilton from your cheese board.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: The soup can be prepared ahead, refrigerated, or frozen for future meals, making meal prep a cinch.
🧾Key ingredients needed
- Stilton Cheese: The primary ingredient that gives the soup its distinctive, rich and creamy taste. Stilton is a type of blue cheese that adds a sharp, tangy flavour to the soup.
- Broccoli: A nutrient-dense vegetable that forms the bulk of the soup. Its mild and slightly sweet flavour complements the Stilton cheese, and its vibrant green colour gives the soup a pleasing appearance.
- Butter: Used for sautéing the initial ingredients and adds a rich, savoury flavour to the soup.
- Aromatics:
- Onion: An essential ingredient in most soup recipes. Onions are used for their aromatic and sweet flavor which forms the base of the soup.
- Leek: Adds a subtly sweet and onion-like flavour to the soup, enhancing its overall depth of flavour.
- Garlic: Another aromatic that adds a robust, pungent flavour which complements the other ingredients.
- Potato: Helps thicken the soup and makes it heartier. Its subtle flavour doesn't overshadow the Stilton and broccoli but adds body and creaminess to the soup.
- Vegetable Stock: Forms the liquid base of the soup. It adds depth and richness to the flavour profile of the soup.
- Cream: Added towards the end of cooking, cream enhances the rich, velvety texture of the soup.
See recipe card for quantities.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
Variations
- Apple: Add diced apple to the soup for a sweet and tangy flavour.
- Walnuts: Top the soup with toasted walnuts for added texture and nuttiness.
- Broccoli and Stilton soup with cauliflower: Add cauliflower to the soup for a different texture and flavour.
- Broccoli and Stilton soup with spinach: Add spinach to the soup for added nutrition and a pop of colour.
Substitutions
- Blue cheese: Use a different type of blue cheese, such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola, for a different flavour profile.
- Stock: Use chicken stock instead of vegetable for a richer flavour.
👩🏻🍳 Step By Step
Prepare the ingredients
- Wash and chop the broccoli, onions, potato and leek. *Leeks are known to be particularly dirty and it can hide between the layers. Be sure to wash them very well to avoid any grit and dirt ending up in the soup.
Cook the soup
- Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add in all the vegetables except the broccoli.
- Sauté the onion, leek, garlic, and potato in butter until they're tender.
- Add in the broccoli and vegetable stock and let everything simmer until the vegetables soften.
Blending and finishing the soup
- Blend the soup mixture until smooth. *Use an immersion blender or an upright blender. If using an upright blender, blend the soup until smooth and return the soup to the pan.
- Add the cream and crumbled Stilton to the soup, heating gently until the cheese melts.
- Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and serve it hot.
Hint: Opt for fresh broccoli for the best taste and nutrient profile.
🚿How to clean leeks properly
🔪 Equipment
- Immersion blender - Very convenient for small jobs when you don't want to use (and clean) a large upright blender.
- Upright blender - For blending larger batches of soup and sauce to get the smoothest and silkiest results.
- Stockpot -The best stock pot for batch cooking. Comes with a glass lid so you can see what's cooking without letting any steam escape.
🍯 Storage
- Fridge
- Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freezer
- The soup can be safely frozen for up to two months. Remember to defrost it overnight in the fridge before reheating. *The texture may change slightly and become a little bit grainy. You can use an immersion blender to re-blend for a smooth texture if required.
- Reheat
- Reheat the soup on the stove or in the microwave until piping hot.
💡 Top tip
Adjust the thickness: If your soup is too thick for your liking after blending, you can add a bit more vegetable stock or water until it reaches your preferred consistency. Conversely, if the soup is too thin, allow it to simmer for a bit longer to reduce and thicken.
❓FAQ
Absolutely, this soup is great for meal prep. It can be made in advance, refrigerated, or even frozen.
The soup's flavour can be boosted by garnishing it with additional Stilton cheese, a sprinkle of chilli flakes for heat, a swirl of cream for added richness, or crunchy croutons for texture contrast.
Broccoli and stilton soup pairs excellently with a side of crusty bread. But it's also satisfying enough to be served on its own.
Related
Looking for more incredible soup recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
The perfect bread recipes to pair with broccoli and stilton soup:
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Broccoli And Stilton Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg roughly 2 pounds of fresh broccoli, chopped into florets
- 200 g 7 ounces of Stilton cheese, crumbled
- 25 g 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large leek, washed and sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 1 litre, 4 cups vegetable stock
- 200 ml ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced onion, sliced leek, and minced garlic, and sauté until they become translucent and fragrant.
- Add the chopped potato to the pot, stirring to combine with the onion mixture.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the broccoli florets to the pot, and continue to simmer the mixture for another 10 minutes.
- Once the broccoli is tender, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the crumbled Stilton cheese and cream, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth, or transfer to a countertop blender in batches, if needed.
- Return the soup to the heat to warm through, then ladle into bowls to serve.
Notes
- If you don't have Stilton cheese, you can substitute it with another type of blue cheese or even a sharp cheddar for a different flavour profile.
- For a vegan version, replace the butter with a vegan alternative, use a non-dairy cream, and omit the Stilton cheese or replace it with a vegan cheese of your choice.
- Cool the soup completely and then transfer it to airtight containers to store it. This soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
- To reheat, defrost overnight in the fridge if frozen, then reheat on the stove or in the microwave until piping hot.
Kathie
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 ?
Deborah Thompson
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!
Tim
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.
Deborah Thompson
You could do both! Never too much stilton! 🙂
Tim
Did you forget to add the stilton?