Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Michael Eisenwasser

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A creamy broccoli cheddar soup made with florets only, aged cheddar, and lactose-free milk.

Prep 15 min

Cook 30 min

Serves 6

Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup scallion greens, thinly sliced (about 40 g)
• 2 medium carrots, shredded or finely diced
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour (or 2 tablespoons cornstarch slurried with cold water)
• 4 cups (950 ml) low-FODMAP chicken broth or low-FODMAP vegetable broth
• 3 cups lactose-free whole milk (or 1 1/2 cups lactose-free milk plus 1 1/2 cups heavy cream for a richer soup)
• 450 g broccoli florets only (about 4 1/2 cups), chopped small (use florets only)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 8 oz (225 g) sharp aged cheddar, shredded off the block

Instructions

Build the Base

1. Warm the garlic-infused oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium heat until the butter foams.
2. Add the scallion greens and carrots. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the carrots soften.
3. Sprinkle the gluten-free flour over the vegetables. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the raw flour smell cooks off. If using cornstarch, skip this step and add the slurry at the end.

Simmer the Broccoli

1. Pour in the broth a little at a time, whisking to work out any lumps. Add the lactose-free milk.
2. Stir in the mustard powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using. Bring to a gentle simmer. Do not hard-boil.
3. Add the broccoli florets. Simmer uncovered for 8 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until the florets are fork-tender and the soup has thickened to coat a spoon.

Finish with Cheddar

1. Pull the pot off the heat. Wait 2 minutes so the soup is just below a simmer. If you add cheese to boiling soup, it can turn grainy.
2. Add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until melted smoothly before adding more.
3. Stir in the Dijon if using. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. For a smoother soup, blend about 1 cup of the soup with an immersion blender and stir it back in; for chunky, serve as is.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use the florets only, and weigh them. Monash clears 3/4 cup of broccoli heads (75 g) per serve as low-FODMAP. Broccoli stalks have a smaller low-FODMAP serving than florets, so avoiding them helps keep each bowl under the serve limit. If you want to be exact, weigh 450 g of florets total for 6 servings (about 75 g per bowl) rather than relying on cup measures.
• Aged cheddar is lower in lactose. Cheddar aged over 3 months drops to about 0.1 g of lactose per ounce. Monash clears 40 g per serve. An 8 oz block split across 6 bowls is about 38 g per serving — just under the limit. Skip pre-shredded cheddar. The anti-caking coating can keep it from melting smoothly.
• Lactose-free milk vs. heavy cream. Lactose-free whole milk (Lactaid, Fairlife) is low-FODMAP at 1 cup per serve. Heavy cream is low at 1/2 cup per serve because it's higher in fat. A half-and-half split (1 1/2 cups each) makes the soup richer without stacking lactose.
• Cornstarch slurry for a gluten-free thickener. If your GF flour blend is finicky, swap in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch whisked with 3 tablespoons of cold water. Stir the slurry in during the last 2 minutes of simmering, before adding the cheese. If you're keeping it strictly low-FODMAP, choose a GF flour blend without chickpea or bean flours, since those can push a serving past the low-FODMAP limit.
• Shred the cheese off a block. Bagged pre-shredded cheddar is coated with potato starch or cellulose to prevent clumping, and those coatings keep the cheese from melting into a smooth soup. Grate from a block the same day you cook.
• Don't boil after the cheese goes in. Dairy plus cheese over a hard boil will turn grainy and oily. Keep the heat low once you add the cheddar, and reheat leftovers gently.

Why This Works

Florets only, not the whole head. Monash tested broccoli heads and broccoli stalks separately. The florets stay low at 75 g per serve; the stalks have a smaller low-FODMAP serving, so trimming tight off the crown is a simpler way to keep the serving size in range. Weighing 450 g of florets total for 6 servings lands each bowl around 75 g — within Monash's low-FODMAP serve for broccoli heads.

Aged cheddar is nearly lactose-free. Most of the lactose gets used up as the cheese ages. A 6-month or sharper cheddar runs about 0.1 g of lactose per ounce. It's much less than milk or fresh cheeses like ricotta. That's why 40 g (about 1 1/3 oz) per serve is the Monash low-FODMAP cap.

Garlic-infused oil and scallion greens stand in for the usual onion base. Traditional broccoli cheddar starts with onion and celery. Fructans in onion and garlic don't dissolve in oil, so the infused oil carries the flavor without the FODMAP load. Scallion greens add the onion note the bulbs would've given.

Lactose-free milk keeps the creamy body without the lactose hit. Regular milk contains lactose and has a much smaller low-FODMAP serving than lactose-free milk — not enough to build a creamy soup around. Lactose-free milk has the lactose already broken down, and Monash clears it at 1 cup per serve.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container at 40°F (4°C) or below for 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring often — a hard boil will break the cheese and curdle the milk. Don't freeze this soup; dairy-based soups separate on the thaw and the broccoli turns mushy. If you want to freeze part of it, freeze the broth-and-broccoli base before adding the milk and cheese, then thaw and finish with the dairy fresh.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.