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Home Recipes Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup

Net Carbs:5.1g
Published:03/01/21Updated:07/14/22
22 Comments This post contains affiliate links.
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When you are craving a warm, quick, and comforting meal, this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese soup will satisfy your every craving! This recipe is low-carb, nut-free, egg-free, coconut-free, gluten-free, and grain-free, and can be prepared, cooked, and served in 1 hour!

overhead shot of instant pot broccoli cheese soup in serving bowl beside spoon

Be sure to read through the blog post for the answers to frequently asked questions before you move on to the recipe card and begin making this recipe. You will find step-by-step photos within the blog post (located above the recipe card) that will help you to successfully make this instant pot broccoli cheese soup.

Keto and low-carb Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup

This is a very flexible recipe, as you have the ability to substitute in different ingredients based on what you have on-hand (ingredient substitution suggestions are listed below).

The soup is made in an Instant Pot, which means you’ll have a flavorful meal in much less time than if you were to cook this on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.

two bowls of instant pot brococli cheese soup atop a marble kitchen counter

Instant Pot broccoli cheese soup FAQs

Here are answers to the most commonly asked question about this low-carb Instant Pot recipe:

Are there any ingredient substitution options?

  • Unsalted Butter: You can substitute olive oil or avocado oil at a 1:1 ratio for butter.
  • Minced Garlic: If you want to use freshly-minced garlic, use 5-6 medium-sized cloves (use a food scale, if you can, to weigh 30g for accuracy). Garlic paste can be subbed in for minced garlic at a 1:1 ratio. For garlic powder, use 3/4 tsp in place of the minced garlic called for in the recipe.
  • Broccoli: Substituting the broccoli florets for cauliflower florets 1:1 will reduce the net carb content slightly. You could also make this soup with a combination of both vegetables.
  • Chicken Broth: Vegetable broth can be subbed in for chicken broth at a 1:1 ratio. Doing this will also make the soup vegetarian-friendly. Alternatively, beef broth can be used in place of chicken broth.
  • Shredded Cheese: You should be able to use any variety of shredded cheese in place of the shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack called for in the recipe. White cheddar or Colby-Jack in place of cheddar and shredded mozzarella in place of Monterey Jack would be my suggestions.
  • Stone-Ground Mustard: Dijon mustard or yellow mustard be subbed in at a 1:1 ratio. I do highly suggest using stone-ground though as I personally think this is the “game-changing” ingredient in this soup.
  • Paprika: Chili powder can be subbed in for paprika at a 1:1 ratio. Note that using chili powder will add some extra heat to this recipe and will alter the flavor just slightly.
  • Heavy Whipping Cream: Combining milk and butter is the easiest substitute for heavy whipping cream. Thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of melted butter with 3/4 cup of milk to make 1 cup of heavy cream.
  • Xanthan Gum: Glucomannan powder can be subbed in for xanthan gum at a 1:1 ratio.

What size Instant Pot should I use?

I personally use a 6 qt Instant Pot, but you can also make this in an 8 qt. If you have a mini 3 qt Instant Pot, you will need to use half of the listed amount of ingredients.

Regardless of the size of Instant Pot you use, do not change the cook time. That will remain the same.

Can I add protein to the soup?

Yes! I actually would highly encourage it. Every time I make this soup, I crisp up 8-10 slices of bacon in the oven. I crumble the cooked bacon up and stir half of it into the cooked soup and use the remaining half as a garnish.

How many net carbs per serving?

Per serving, this recipe contains 5.1 grams of net carbs. The recipe, as written, yields 10 servings and 1 serving is equivalent to ~3/4 cup of soup. Net carbs are calculated by taking total carbs, subtracting fiber, and subtracting sugar alcohols.

The full nutrition information for this recipe, including the calorie content, total carbs, protein, and fat per serving, can be found in the nutrition label located below the recipe instructions.

What diets is this recipe compliant with?

  • Keto and Low-Carb: Each serving of this recipe contains only 5.1 grams of net carbs, which makes it a great low-carb and keto-friendly dinner option.
  • Nut-Free: There are no nuts or nut products in this Instant Pot broccoli cheese soup recipe.
  • Coconut-Free: This recipe does not contain any coconut ingredients.
  • Egg-Free: Eggs are not used to make this soup.
  • Vegetarian: This recipe can easily be made vegetarian-friendly by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
  • Refined Sugar-Free and Sweetener-Free: This recipe does not include sugar or added sweeteners.

How should this recipe be stored?

  • Refrigerator Storage: Once cooled, this Instant Pot broccoli cheese soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  • Freezer Storage: Wait for the soup to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container or storage bag. If you transfer it to the freezer before it’s cooled, condensation will occur and will degrade the flavor. Freeze for 1 month. I would not recommend freezing longer than this as the flavor begins to change rather quickly after this timeframe. Thaw soup in its container overnight in the refrigerator.

Reheating Instructions: Spoon portion you plan to eat into a saucepan or into a bowl to microwave and heat until the desired temperature is reached (taste test and add more time if desired). Stir regularly while reheating otherwise it will not reheat evenly, especially if microwaved.

How to make this low-carb broccoli cheese soup recipe

Turn Instant Pot to Sauté setting, add butter, and, once melted, add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

instant pot with sauteed garlic in butter

Add broth and sauté for 1 minute.

broth poured into instant pot with sauteed garlic in butter

Add broccoli florets and screw-on lid. Set Instant Pot to cook on Manual setting for 10 minutes. (It will take 10-15 minutes for it to come to pressure and then the timer will begin to countdown.)

broth garlic butter soup with fresh broccoli florets

Quick-release pressure once Instant Pot timer has gone off. Remove lid, add shredded cheddar cheese, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, mustard, paprika, and pepper, and stir until cheese begins to melt.

broth with cooked broccoli cheese and spices in instant pot

Pour in heavy cream and continue to stir until all ingredients are well-incorporated. Taste mixture and, based on your preferences, add salt or omit altogether.

heavy cream poured into instant pot that has broth with cooked broccoli, cheese, and spices

Using a ladle, scoop out ¾ cup of soup and transfer to a mixing bowl. In ¼ tsp increments, add xanthan gum and whisk vigorously until soup thickens. Transfer thickened soup back to Instant Pot and stir.

instant pot half full with broccoli cheese soup stirred with a wooden spoon

Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar before serving.

instant pot broccoli cheese soup garnished with more sharp cheddar cheese

Looking for other easy keto soup recipes?

If you are craving some more low carb easy soup recipes, try these delicious options:

  • Slow Cooker Taco Soup
  • Pumpkin SunButter Soup
  • Low Carb Beefy Cabbage Soup
  • Keto Zuppa Toscana
  • Creamy Keto Italian Sausage Soup
  • Easy Keto Cauliflower Cheddar Cheese Bacon Soup
  • Keto Miso Soup
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two bowls of instant pot brococli cheese soup atop a marble kitchen counter

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup


★★★★

3.7 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Sara Nelson
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 10 servings 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

When you are craving a warm, quick, and comforting meal, this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese soup will satisfy your every craving! This recipe is low-carb, nut-free, egg-free, coconut-free, gluten-free, and grain-free, and can be prepared, cooked, and served in 1 hour!


Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp (1 oz) unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp (30g) minced garlic
  • 3 cups (24 fl oz) chicken broth
  • 36 oz broccoli florets
  • 2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 tbsp (15g) stone-ground mustard
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ⅛ tsp black pepper
  • 1 cup (240mL) heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ tsp salt (optional)
  • 1 tsp (~3g) xanthan gum

Optional Garnishes:

  • 2 tbsp (14g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Turn Instant Pot to Sauté setting, add butter, and, once melted, add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth and sauté for 1 minute. Add broccoli florets and screw-on lid. Set Instant Pot to Manual setting for 10 minutes. (It will take 10-15 minutes for it to come to pressure and then the timer will begin to countdown.)
  2. Quick-release pressure after Instant Pot timer has gone off. Remove lid, add shredded cheddar cheese, shredded Monterey jack cheese, mustard, paprika, and pepper, and stir until cheese begins to melt. Pour in heavy cream and continue to stir until all ingredients are well-incorporated. Taste mixture and, based on your preferences, add salt or omit altogether.
  3. Using a ladle, scoop out ¾ cup of soup and transfer to a mixing bowl. In ¼ tsp increments, add xanthan gum and whisk vigorously until soup thickens. Transfer thickened soup back to Instant Pot and stir. Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar before serving.

Recipe Notes:

Unsalted Butter Substitution: You can substitute olive oil or avocado oil at a 1:1 ratio for butter.

Minced Garlic Substitution: If you want to use freshly-minced garlic, use 5-6 medium-sized cloves (use a food scale, if you can, to weigh 30g for accuracy). Garlic paste can be subbed in for minced garlic at a 1:1 ratio. For garlic powder, use 3/4 tsp in place of the minced garlic called for in the recipe.

Broccoli Substitution: Substituting the broccoli florets for cauliflower florets 1:1 will reduce the net carb content slightly. You could also make this soup with a combination of both vegetables.

Chicken Broth Substitution: Vegetable broth can be subbed in for chicken broth at a 1:1 ratio. Doing this will also make the soup vegetarian-friendly. Alternatively, beef broth can be used in place of chicken broth.

Shredded Cheese Substitution: You should be able to use any variety of shredded cheese in place of the shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack called for in the recipe. White cheddar or Colby-Jack in place of cheddar and shredded mozzarella in place of Monterey Jack would be my suggestions.

Stone-Ground Mustard Substitution: Dijon mustard or yellow mustard be subbed in at a 1:1 ratio. I do highly suggest using stone-ground though as I personally think this is the “game-changing” ingredient in this soup.

Paprika Substitution: Chili powder can be subbed in for paprika at a 1:1 ratio. Note that using chili powder will add some extra heat to this recipe and will alter the flavor just slightly.

Heavy Whipping Cream Substitution: Combining milk and butter is the easiest substitute for heavy whipping cream. Thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of melted butter with 3/4 cup of milk to make 1 cup of heavy cream.

Xanthan Gum Substitution: Glucomannan powder can be subbed in for xanthan gum at a 1:1 ratio.

Adding Protein To The Soup: Every time I make this soup, I crisp up 8-10 slices of bacon in the oven. I crumble the cooked bacon up and stir half of it into the cooked soup and use the remaining half as a garnish.

Size Of Instant Pot: I personally use a 6 qt Instant Pot, but you can also make this in an 8 qt. If you have a mini 3 qt Instant Pot, you will need to use half of the listed amount of ingredients. Regardless of the size of Instant Pot you use, do not change the cook time. That will remain the same.

Net Carbs: Per serving, this recipe contains 5.1 grams of net carbs. The recipe, as written, yields 10 servings and 1 serving is equivalent to ~3/4 cup of soup.

Refrigerator Storage: Once cooled, store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Freezer Storage: Wait for the soup to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container or storage bag. If you transfer it to the freezer before it’s cooled, condensation will occur and will degrade the flavor. Freeze for 1 month. I would not recommend freezing longer than this as the flavor begins to change rather quickly after this timeframe. Thaw soup in its container overnight in the refrigerator.

Reheating Instructions: Spoon portion you plan to eat into a saucepan or into a bowl to microwave and heat until the desired temperature is reached (taste test and add more time if desired). Stir regularly while reheating otherwise it will not reheat evenly, especially if microwaved.

Keywords: instant pot broccoli cheese soup, how to make broccoli cheese soup, low carb broccoli cheese soup

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me on Instagram at @realbalanced or leave me a comment & rating below.

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Photo credit: Jess Larson

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22 Comments

  1. DUSTIN BLACKBURN says

    October 4, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    Made this soup in a pinch with a few substitutions and it turned out great! I did not have the thickening ingredient so I added a little extra cheese and used an immersion blender to create the correct consistency. Flavor was spot on!

    Reply
  2. B Middleton says

    March 6, 2021 at 12:55 pm

    I tried this and LOVE it.

    Reply
  3. Guy Extinguished says

    October 3, 2020 at 12:15 pm

    Not too sure what Guy Flaming’s issue was, especially since he didn’t say much other than to insult someone, but this soup is delicious. Maybe he’s never had steamed broccoli before, but it isn’t the most pleasant smell to begin with. Nor can someone control the smell of food. Regardless, this soup is an awesome low-carb alternative.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Sara Nelson says

      October 3, 2020 at 12:50 pm

      LOL, thank you for this hilarious response! We love this soup in our house!

      Reply
      • Claudia says

        April 10, 2021 at 10:02 pm

        Sara should it be 16oz of the shredded sharp and 8oz of the Monterrey? 1 cup =8oz I believe the oz for these items in the recipe are not correct.

        You have….

        2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
        1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

        Thanks!

        Reply
        • Sara Nelson says

          April 12, 2021 at 11:15 am

          Hi, Claudia! The amounts are correct. 1/4 cup of cheese weighs 28g (1 oz), so 1 cup weighs 4 oz and 2 cups weigh 8 oz.

          Reply
  4. Guy Flaming says

    August 19, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    I thought I did something wrong but went back step by step and compared to the photos above and it all looks the same.

    This soup smelled like old gym socks and tasted worse.

    Family got through a couple of spoonfuls and then we flushed it. It was God awful.

    ★

    Reply
    • Sara Nelson says

      August 20, 2020 at 12:43 pm

      I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it! I’m not too sure why it wouldn’t have worked since the ingredients are just the basic ingredients for any Broccoli Cheese Soup, aside from the xanthan gum; maybe that’s what you didn’t like about it? Xanthan gum shouldn’t really have a flavor, but if you’ve never had it before, I wonder if that’s why. Could also be that the xanthan gum was old and/or expired.

      Reply
  5. Sue says

    January 11, 2020 at 4:05 pm

    Is it OK to use a 32 oz bag of FROZEN broccoli florets?

    Reply
    • Sara Nelson says

      January 12, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      That should work!

      Reply
  6. Agne says

    October 21, 2019 at 3:31 pm

    I put too much Dijon mustard by accident! How do I fix it??? It tastes bitter & mustardy! Help!

    Reply
    • Sara Nelson says

      October 21, 2019 at 3:42 pm

      I don’t know how much you put in, so I can’t say exactly for sure, but if it’s a lot, I would probably just re-make the recipe (without mustard) and then combine the two batches. If it isn’t too much, you could offset the flavor with more heavy cream and cheese, but the consistency of the soup will change; to thicken the soup up, add more xanthan gum.

      Reply
      • Carol says

        June 29, 2021 at 4:07 pm

        Just threw this together because I had everything for it already and it was fabulous!! My mother even said it was better than Panera!

        ★★★★★

        Reply
        • Sara Nelson says

          June 29, 2021 at 7:54 pm

          I’m so glad you both enjoyed, Carol! Thank you!

          Reply
  7. Terri Holley says

    December 21, 2018 at 6:46 pm

    When the Instant Pot releases steam do you leave the Instant Pot off as you prepare the rest of the soup?

    Reply
    • realbalanced says

      December 21, 2018 at 8:37 pm

      Great question! Yes, leave the IP in “off” mode while doing this.

      Reply
  8. Terri says

    December 21, 2018 at 6:37 pm

    I have an instant pot but it does not have a manual setting. I just used the soup/broth setting. Suggestions?

    Reply
    • realbalanced says

      December 21, 2018 at 8:36 pm

      It should have some sort of setting that will allow you to increase/decrease the time manually. If it’s an Instant Pot, it should have that and, if you’re having trouble finding it, I would do a google search for the model of IP you have to figure out how to manually change the timer to 10 minutes.

      Reply
  9. Matthew Kelly says

    December 18, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    Do you have a non-instant pot version of this? Looks like a great soup, but it also looks like maybe a crock pot could handle this potentially. Just don’t want to buy yet another thing for on top of the counter. Many of us live in apartments.

    Reply
    • realbalanced says

      December 18, 2018 at 4:13 pm

      Totally understand, Matthew! But, unfortunately I’ve never tested this recipe in a crock pot or on the stove top, only in my IP. I am working on developing more crock pot recipes though, so stay tuned!

      Reply
  10. Montie Bergstedt says

    December 17, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    Do I have to use an instapot I don’t own one?

    Reply
    • realbalanced says

      December 17, 2018 at 1:57 pm

      Hi, Montie! Yes, for this particular recipe, an Instant Pot is required. If you’re on the fence about getting one, I’d highly suggest it! They are a fantastic kitchen appliance that I use daily!

      Reply

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My name is Sara Nelson and I am the face behind Real Balanced. I am a Mom to two, obsessed with my Boston Terrier, and a proud Wisconsinite. On my site, you will find easy and delicious low-carb, keto-friendly, nut-free, and 30-minute recipes. Read More
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