Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup in the Crock-Pot (Feed a Crowd for Just $20!)
Make an entire 6 quart Crock-Pot of soup for a crowd at just $1.11/serving without measuring or cutting!
Love a warm bowl of hearty broccoli cheddar soup for lunch or dinner?
What if I said you could compile an entire slow cooker of comforting soup that tastes pretty similar to Panera, but honestly requires zero chopping and no prep work?! Yep, this recipe involves only adding cans and shelf-stable pantry ingredients to a Crock-Pot and warming it up together. It will serve a bunch of people — 18 servings to be exact for around $20!
Give it up to my brilliant teammate Emily who came up with this smart money-saving recipe idea!
She was inspired while shopping for premade Panera brand soup to warm up into a slow cooker to serve a group of friends. They were headed out on a ski trip and she wanted something easy that didn’t involve any cooking tools or prep time once at the ski lodge.
Here’s what Emily has to say about this broccoli cheddar soup:
“This recipe was created by accident in the grocery store in a pinch, so if you find yourself in a situation like me where you need a hearty and delicious soup that’s suitable for all palettes, easy enough to throw together without a full kitchen at your disposal, makes enough to feed a big group, all without spending more than $20 — this is THAT recipe!
It’s a foolproof soup that’s ready to start heating in a matter of minutes, and you’ll be saying ‘wow… that really was easy!’ once you turn the Crock-Pot on. Not to mention, the friends I made it for ate it for breakfast the next morning 😂 — yep it’s that good!”
A quart of refrigerated broccoli cheddar Panera soup is priced around $12 at the grocery store, and she’d need to buy 5 to fill a slow cooker. 🤯 Not about to drop $60 on soup, Emily instead compiled her own mix on the fly of condensed soups, broth, Velvetta, and fresh broccoli for a delicious slow cooker broccoli cheddar soup with a semi-homemade approach and minimal effort!
I tried this easy large batch of broccoli cheddar soup with my own family and can confirm it takes just a few minutes to add the ingredients. I am all for easy yummy Crock-Pot recipes like this!
Will this semi-homemade idea be appealing to everyone? Well perhaps not and that’s okay!
We do have a delicious homemade from-scratch broccoli cheddar soup to check out of you’d like to make that recipe instead. For low-carb eaters, there’s also a yummy keto broccoli cheddar soup on our sister website Hip2Keto.com!
Tips for making big batch Crock-Pot broccoli cheddar soup:
- We used fresh broccoli florets however I am certain frozen would be delicious as well!
- Serving this soup in a bread bowl or a side of crusty bread is highly recommended and yum!
- I simply added all ingredients to the Crock-Pot along with some water and cooked it on high for a couple of hours. If you’re looking for a longer cook time, consider cooking 4-5 hours on low.
- I used my immersion blender at the end to blend it a little, but that step is optional.
- This soup can stay in the fridge for 3-4 days in a covered container and reheats well.
Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup
yield: 18 SERVINGS
prep time: 5 MINUTES
cook time: 2 HOURS
total time: 2 HOURS 5 MINUTES
A large batch of creamy and hearty broccoli cheddar soup to feed a crowd!
Ingredients
Directions
1
To a large 6 quart Crock-Pot, add all ingredients including 3 can fulls of water (simply use the open soup cans for measuring) and stir.
2
Cover and cook on HIGH for about two hours until the mixture is melted and well combined, or cook on LOW for 4-5 hours instead.
3
Stir well to combine after cooking. This is optional, but I did use my handy immersion blender after cooking to blend up the broccoli pieces a little more. Makes about 6 quarts, 18 servings figuring about 1 1/3 cups per serving. Enjoy!
Easy Crock-Pot broccoli cheddar soup for the win!
This soup is so delicious, full of awesome flavor, and honestly tastes way fancier than it is! I love the cheesy thickness it has once it cools a bit, and I appreciate that this makes such a big batch. This will be so great for leftovers during the week, as it gets even better the next day.
You could carry this into a potluck, or maybe even tailgating for sports. My family loves Panera broccoli cheddar soup and this one has very similar vibes to it since there are no pieces of actual onion throughout!
Be sure to check out the rest of our delicious and easy Crock-Pot recipes!
I love most of the recipes shared on here, but wish this recipe didn’t have so many cans of processed soup and Velveeta.
Thanks for your feedback. We thought it was a clever pantry soup, and do also have a from scratch version to check out. 🤗
https://hip2save.com/recipes/broccoli-cheddar-soup-panera-copycat-recipe/
Thank you for that recipe!