Healthy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup
This Healthy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup is creamy, light, and delicious. You’ll never miss the flour, butter or heavy cream! This recipe comes together very quickly and is the perfect way to warm up on a chilly night.
The shredded chicken is a great way to add more protein to this soup recipe. Plus, this soup is thickened with cauliflower puree instead of a roux and heavy cream, keeping it on the lighter side. Lastly, if you use bone broth instead of chicken stock, you’ll get the added benefits of collagen too. This soup is so good your entire family will be coming back for more!
Looking for more soup recipes? Try my Chicken Tortilla Soup, Buffalo Chicken Chili, Bone Broth Chicken Noodle Soup.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Clean ingredients. This creamy soup recipe is so good you’ll never miss the flour, heavy cream or butter.
- Easy to make. With only a few simple ingredients you’ll have a wonderful soup recipe that you can enjoy throughout the week.
- Perfect for meal prep. This soup can be easily reheated and enjoyed for lunch, dinner or whenever the craving strikes!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken – This recipe calls for one pond of shredded chicken. Option to boil the chicken and shred it or you can use rotisserie chicken.
- Oil – This recipe calls for extra virgin olive oil. Option to use olive oil or avocado oil instead.
- Vegetables – This recipe calls for diced onion, grated carrots, broccoli florets, and boiled / pureed cauliflower.
- Bone Broth – You’ll need chicken bone broth for this recipe. Option to use chicken stock instead. However, the bone broth adds collagen and extra nutrients.
- Milk – This recipe calls for 2% milk.
- Cheese – Freshly grate some mild cheddar cheese for this recipe.
- Seasoning – Season with kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
Variations
- Spice it up. Add a few shakes of hot sauce for a hint of spiciness.
- Swap the chicken breasts. Option to use shredded chicken thighs or tenderloin instead. Rotisserie chicken will work as well but remove the skin.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Boil the Chicken
Add water and chicken broth to a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken breasts to the boiling broth and let them cook through. This will take about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. Drain the liquid and let the chicken cool before shredding.
Boil and Puree the Cauliflower
Boil a pot or water and cook the cauliflower florets until fork tender. Drain off the water and add the fork tender cauliflower to a food processor. Buzz until smooth and creamy, no lumps. Set aside.
Make the Soup
Heat a soup pot over medium heat, add olive oil, diced onions, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the onions are translucent, then add the chopped broccoli and grated carrots. Sauté for a few minutes.
Once the broccoli and carrots are tender, add the bone broth followed by the milk. Stir well. Next, add the cauliflower puree and the shredded chicken. Let everything simmer in the pot.
Finally, add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted and the soup reaches your preferred thickness. If it gets too tight, add some broth to thin it. Serve hot and enjoy!
Storage
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Reheat in a soup pot or in the microwave until warmed through. Looking for more recipes? Try my Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’d suggest using the mild cheddar cheese recommended. If you want to swap for something else, just make sure it melts easily.
Enjoy this soup with crusty bread, naan bread or sourdough bread for dipping.
Yes! Simply reheat this soup recipe in a pot or in the microwave until warmed through.
Other Soups to Consider Trying
Healthy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Equipment
- 1 soup pot
- 1 food processor
- 2 pots one for boiling chicken, one for boiling cauliflower
- 1 colander
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 cups sweet onion, diced small
- kosher salt, to taste
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- 3 cups broccoli florets, remove stem, chop small
- 1 cup carrots, grated or shredded
- 2.5 cup chicken bone broth, or low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 24 ounces cauliflower florets, boil, drain and puree
- 2-2.5 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
How to Make Healthy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Boil the Chicken
- Add water and chicken broth to a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken breasts to the boiling broth and let them cook through. This will take about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. Drain the liquid and let the chicken cool before shredding.
Boil and Puree the Cauliflower
- Boil a pot or water and cook the cauliflower florets until fork tender. Drain off the water and add the fork tender cauliflower to a food processor. Buzz until smooth and creamy, no lumps. Set aside.
Make the Soup
- Heat a soup pot over medium heat, add olive oil, diced onions, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Sauté until the onions are translucent, then add the chopped broccoli and grated carrots. Saute until tender.
- Once the broccoli and carrots are tender, add the bone broth to deglaze the pan, followed by the milk. Stir well. Next, add the cauliflower puree and the shredded chicken. Let everything simmer in the pot.Finally, add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted and the soup reaches your preferred thickness. If it gets too thick, add some broth to thin it out. Serve hot and enjoy!
57 Comments on “Healthy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup”
The soup was great but it is very bland. Great for kids I guess. We loaded it up with more pepper and a little salt and my husband relented and added Suracha in the end.
Sorry to hear that! But hot sauce is always a good idea!
Is this soup good for someone w/ TYPE 1diabties?
I am not a doctor, so I suggest you speak with a medical professional.
Can you freeze this after making it?
I haven’t tried freezing it so I am unsure how it would hold up.
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times and it’s one of my favorites!!!
I really want to try this one..thanks for the recipe, new follower here,.♥️☺️
hope you enjoy! Glad you’re here!
I love this recipe! Did not really make any changes except added more veggies, sweet potato and frozen corn. Brilliant use of cauliflower puree
Thank you for the review! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe! Easy to follow and gave excellent result. I did forget to add the cheese, but it still tasted good. Surprise how “creamy” it was with the addition of the puréed cauliflower.
So happy to hear that!
This is a great recipe. I loved using cauliflower instead of the roux. It is very filling and satisfying with great flavor and texture. Will definitely make this again and again! Thanks!
I see the nutritional info but wondering what 1 serving portion is. Recipe is 8 servings but not sure what volume this makes TIAr
It just the entire amount divided by 8. I didn’t measure it out by cup… hope this is helpful!
I made this last night. SO good! Thank you for sharing. If anyone is interested, it made half a stock pot full, so 8 fluid cups. We were hungry and ate half of it. Looking forward to our next bowl 😋
So glad to hear that!! Thank you for the review!
I’m confused. How much water and broth used for boiling chicken? It isn’t listed. It says discard so don’t think this is what’s used to make the soup. I see an amount of broth listed but is that not for making the soup? I’ve got everything ready to make this, but don’t want to mess it up.
Fill a pot with half water and half chicken broth. Amount doesn’t matter, just make sure the chicken is completely submerged! Hope you enjoy!
Thank you! Looking forward to making this. Sounds delicious!!
This soup is great! I roasted the cauliflower before pureeing to bring out a deeper flavor. It was worth it! The only thing I am not sure I got right was the puree – it’s still a bit grainy, but completely livable. Any tips for getting a silkier texture with the cauli?
Just make sure you are using a high powered blender or food processor! This will help!
Absolutely delicious. I added a few drops of hot sauce.
yummy!
Can’t wait to try this, it’s currently cooking in the stove 😍 quick question, is 1 serving 1 cup?
All nutritional info is listed at the bottom of the recipe card!
Great recipe. Loved it
I made this for lunches while my kids were home from college and my daughter asked for some to take back with her after break! I think that says it all.