This Broccoli Parmesan Chicken Soup is a quick cooking and vibrant soup recipe that the whole family will love. It’s a cozy (and healthy!) one pot meal ready in 30 minutes.
Cold, wet, nasty weather calls for warm cozy cheesy soup, am I right? This soup hits the spot whether you’re experiencing torrential rains like we are here in Southern California, or sub zero temps in other parts of the country. What I love about this particular recipe is that it comes together super quickly, in under 30 minutes. That means that nothing gets over cooked ~ the broccoli and spinach stay vibrant and full of flavor. It hits that sweet spot where comforting and healthy meet.
If you could see the trunk that sits next to my side of the bed, you’d crack a smile. It’s littered with magazines and cookbooks, most of them propped open, with torn pages scattered all over the place. The problem is that the more I bookmark and tear out, the more gets buried in a landfill of recipes…never to be seen again. But every once in a while when I get up in the morning, something will catch my eye and I’ll grab it as I go off to work (i.e. the few steps to my office.) The other day it was this beautiful broccoli soup, I couldn’t let it languish there, it was calling to me. It’s from December’s Good Housekeeping.
Cozy soups that don’t take too long to put together (30 minutes or less!) are a favorite of mine…
- Italian Sausage and Bean Soup ~ I use a special method with this and other soups that have a lot of fresh veggies in them…after I add the cut veggies I bring the soup to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and let it sit for 30 minutes. This allows the veggies to cook just to an al dente stage. When I cook soup this way the veggies stay firm for days of leftovers. It’s a great trick!
- Not Your Grandma’s Chicken Soup ~ super colorful veggies make this brothy soup so cheery, and a bright green basil pistou brightens it up even more.
- Finnish Salmon Soup ~ this is a gorgeous Scandinavian inspired meal with a light milky fish broth and plenty of chunky potatoes, carrots, and salmon.
- Irish Leek and Potato Soup ~ an Irish classic, this soup has a lovely green color and silky texture.
Broccoli Parmesan Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 heads of broccoli, or broccoli crowns
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 32 ounce carton of chicken broth
- 3 large handfuls of baby spinach
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, you could substitute sharp white cheddar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 cooked chicken breast, I used a rotisserie chicken shredded
Instructions
- Set a pot of water to boil on the stove for blanching the broccoli. Meanwhile cut the broccoli into small florets, and thinly slice the tender, upper stems.
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot and sauté the stems, onion and garlic for about 8 minutes, stirring often.
- Plunge the florets into the pot of boiling water for about 30-45 seconds, then immediately drain and rinse briefly with cold water before proceeding with the recipe. I love how it sets the bright green of the broccoli.
- Add the chicken broth to the soup pot, and bring up to a simmer. Add the broccoli florets (reserving about 2 cups for garnish) along with the spinach. Bring the soup back to a boil, then gently simmer for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cheese and lemon juice.
- Puree the soup, in batches, in a food processor. You can also use an immersion blender, but it will take longer.
- Return the soup to the pot, add the cream, and bring up to a simmer, then taste to adjust the salt or add extra cheese if you like.
- Ladle the soup into bowls garnished with the reserved broccoli florets and shredded chicken. Give each bowl a shower or Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper and dig in.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving suggestions ~
Serve your soup with a crusty artisan loaf from the supermarket, or a simple homemade bread. Something easy like Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread or Crusty Anadama Rolls, or my Quick Whole Grain Oat Rolls would be great.
This is by far the most addicting soup.
🙂 so glad you loved it.
We love broccoli soup and this was a nice variation on what I normally do. Will definitely make again.
Sue- where are all the carbs coming from in this recipe?
Had the same question! It must be a typo because none of these ingredients are high in carbs!
The automatic nutrition calculators are unfortunately not perfect, I ran the same recipe through another calculator and got 7 grams of carbs. I’m in the process of looking for a better solution!
Hi Sue yes it was freezing this morning but the mountains looked so beautiful all covered with snow! So unusual! This soup sounds yummy and I wanted to make it by substituting coconut milk for the cream. What do you think? Also, it doesn’t really give an amount of broccoli except for reserving 2 cups. I always buy the Trader Joe’s organic broccoli crowns. Do you think I would need one bag or two? Thanks Sue….Stay warm!
I think 2 of the TJs broccoli crowns will be fine, it’s flexible, just reserve a good couple of cups for the garnish. Be sure to slice up any stems for the soup.’
As for the coconut milk, you could certainly do it, as long as you like the flavor.
Hi, I print out quite a few of your recipes. Would it be possible for a small photo of the finished product to be included, say in the top right corner, or somewhere ?
Yes, I think I disabled that feature because some people complained…I’ll see about reinstating it 🙂
LOVE this easy soup Sue! Broccoli and Parmesan are great together and add in some chicken – it’s the perfect meal. We’re having 70 degree temperatures today – feels like spring. But I see snow is in the forecast for next week. Crazy spring-like weather for sure! But I still want to eat tons of delicious soup. Pinned 🙂
Thanks Tricia ~ it’s actually 39 degrees here this morning, yikes that’s cold for Los Angeles!
Great combination! Lovely winter lay meal!
Looks warming and so tasty…perfect for cold winter days!