The Best Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup, Grain Free And Gluten Free

It is hard to beat a meal of creamy broccoli cheese soup while sitting next to a warm fireplace on a cold winter day. That’s exactly what I did last night for dinner.

Everything was quiet.

No television.

No music.

No telephone ringing.

No computer.

No people.

It was just me staring out the window slowly eating my warm bowl of creamy broccoli cheese soup.

I used to think that broccoli cheese soup was a mysterious dish to cook and that it surely must be very difficult to get that creamy texture with all the bits of broccoli in it. Ummm, I was really wrong. When I made it the first time and discovered how SUPER EASY it was to make broccoli cheese soup AND to make it really creamy, I was amazed.

The only kink in the whole “Joy Of Cooking The Best Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup” occurred when I was diagnosed with an allergy to ALL GRAIN. How do you make broccoli cheese soup creamy without adding white all purpose flour to it?

Well, it proved to be not that hard. The first time I had to make gravy, I ran into the same problem. I just knew that none of the strange grain free ingredients were going to replicate my perfect flour thickened gravy, but I was completely wrong. My grain free gravy even fooled my mother! So I knew if I could replicate gravy that tasted so delicious it fooled my mother, I could surely thicken broccoli cheese soup and make it super creamy.

Like the Little Red Hen said…”And I did.”

My Grain Free and Gluten Free Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup can be served as a meal or a side dish. Last night it was my full meal because all that broccoli and cheese filled me up fast. Did you know that if you eat slowly, you don’t eat as much?

It has almost been a year and a half since I was diagnosed with a grain allergy. During that time I have experimented A LOT with all kinds of different “weird” ingredients that I had never thought about or heard of prior to the diagnosis. It has often been frustrating, but most of the time it has been highly rewarding. I think I am healthier than I have ever been in my whole life and I definitely don’t feel my age.

One of the biggest changes in my diet besides eliminating the grain, has been drinking water as my drink of choice and eating lots of vegetables of varying textures, colors and tastes. Some of my former recipes were already grain free, so it is nice that I didn’t have to change EVERYTHING in my diet. It’s also great that I found a really good thickener substitute to replace white all purpose flour.

So let’s get cooking!

The Best Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup, Grain Free And Gluten Free

Dice the onion into medium small pieces.

In a small pot, sweat and brown onion in butter over low-medium heat.

Clean the broccoli under cold running water. Some people enjoy eating the large stalk and some don’t eat it. If you are going to put the soup in a blender or food processor, then by all means eat the stalk. I didn’t want to use the blender, nor did I want to eat the thick stalks, so I cut them off this time.

Then I chopped the broccoli into medium small pieces.

Add chicken stock, broccoli, carrots and salt to the pot with the browned onions. Simmer for 20 minutes which is long enough for the broccoli and carrots to become tender.

Add the half & half and pepper to the soup mixture and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Then add the cheese to the hot mixture.

Stir constantly until all the cheese is melted. Dissolve the arrowroot in water and add to the soup. Continue stirring until soup is thickened.

Serve and eat while soup is hot and creamy. This creamy broccoli cheese soup is satisfying and tastes so delicious. I don’t even miss the flour and you can’t taste the arrowroot which is grain and gluten free.

I should have made some grain free bread to go with it too, but I decided to make the soup at the last minute. The soup is fast and easy to make whereas the bread, well, it takes a bit to mix and cook. I’ll have to show you my bread recipe one day and you can give that a try too. Until then, hop into the kitchen and cook up the best creamy broccoli cheese soup ever!

 
 

The Best Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup, Grain Free And Gluten Free

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 large bunch fresh broccoli
1 large carrot, chopped medium
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese, large sliced
1/4 cup arrowroot
1/8-1/4 cup water

Directions:

Dice the onion into medium small pieces. In a small pot, sweat and brown onion in butter over low-medium heat. Clean the broccoli under cold running water.

Some people enjoy eating the large stalk and some don’t eat it. If you are going to put the soup in a blender or food processor, then you can easily cook and eat the stalk.

Add chicken stock, chopped broccoli, chopped carrots and salt to the onions in the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the half & half and pepper to the soup mixture and cook for another 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add cheese to hot mixture. Stir constantly until all the cheese is melted. Dissolve the arrowroot in water and add to the soup. Continue stirring until soup is thickened. Serve hot.