Change up your typical bowl of broccoli soup with our Smoked Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe! Smoked and roasted broccoli get mixed into a rich broth, full of smoked sharp cheddar, and finished with a hit of cream.

Traeger Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Soup season is here, and I’m on a mission to recreate my favorites this year in bigger, better, ways, and the first stop on this delicious, warm, hearty train is my re-do of the classic Broccoli Cheese Soup.

If you want to really amp up the smoked flavors, you can toss in some shredded smoked cheddar. It isn’t super necessary though because the soup gets a decent amount of that smoke just from the roasting of the broccoli and the caramelization of the onions.

Get all of my Easy Traeger Recipes here!

The key to a good soup is the roux

Anytime you are making a thickened soup or gumbo, make sure to pay close attention to the quality of your roux. A hurried roux is a terrible roux, and you don’t want to do that to a whole pot of soup where every ingredient makes a difference in how great your final bowl will be.

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Smoked Broccoli Cheese Soup shopping list

Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here’s the list of items you’ll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

broccoli
olive oil
butter
flour
onion
carrots
chicken stock
garlic powder
cream
shredded smoked cheddar cheese

More Soup For You!

How to make Smoked Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This is just the overview so you can see what you’re actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

Preheat your smoker

275° is the target temp, or thereabouts. We’re actually going to be roasting the broccoli, but it is still going to have some pretty amazing wood-fired flavor even if we aren’t actually smoking it, by definition.

Roast the vegetables

Lay the broccoli, carrots, and onions out on a large grill-safe baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set the whole thing in the smoker. It doesn’t take too long. 20 minutes or so is about right. Just make sure the broccoli is fork-tender.

Make the roux

While the broccoli is roasting, make your roux by whisking flour into melted butter and cooking over medium-low heat, whisking frequently. You want it to wind up being a golden brown color. Set aside and let cool.

Make the soup

Take your vegetables (reserve 2 cups of broccoli and set aside) and the chicken broth and put them both in a large Dutch Oven or stockpot. Turn the heat on the smoker up to 325° and place it inside. Cook for 1 hour, or until the mixture has simmered and all of the vegetables are soft.

Stir in the roux and bring the soup back up to a simmer, stirring every 3-4 minutes.

Finish it

Once the soup has thickened, remove it from the grill and bring it inside. Using an immersion blender, blend until everything is smooth. You can use a regular blender too, but be very careful working with hot liquids!

Stir in the heavy cream and the smoked cheddar cheese until melted. Heat over low heat if necessary. Gently stir in the whole reserved broccoli.

Serve topped with extra shredded cheddar cheese and Traeger Grilled Croutons.

This soup would be great with Bread Sticks!

What should you make with this broccoli cheese soup?

I like to eat a big bowl of this as a meal, personally, but if you want to add to it I have some great options.

First, homemade milk rolls would be perfect alongside this hearty soup.

Next, a fresh, crisp, salad with a vinaigrette is perfect with creamy soups. My Greek Salad would be incredible here!

Want to make this into a FULL meal? My kids are obsessed with my Cheesy Broccoli Noodles, and this soup would be the perfect base for it.

Have some chicken? I make Traeger Chicken Divan Casserole that’s out of this world!

Check out these great recipes too!

Yield: 8 servings

Smoked Broccoli Cheese Soup

Name: Smoked Broccoli Cheese Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup salted butter; 1/3 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup onion, chopped; 1/2 cup carrots, chopped; 6 cups broccoli florets; 2 quarts chicken stock; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/2 cup cream; 4 cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese (we love Beechers, if you can find it!)

Our Smoked Broccoli Cheese Soup uses fresh ingredients and the magic of live wood fire on the pellet grill combined with smoked cheddar cheese to make the best bowl of broccoli chedd

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Roux

1/2 cup salted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
6 cups broccoli florets
2 quarts chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup cream
4 cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese (we love Beechers, if you can find it!)

Instructions

Preheat your grill to 275°.
Place the broccoli, carrots, and onions on a grill-safe baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast the vegetables for about 20 minutes. Or until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Remove and place into a large stockpot or Dutch Oven, reserving a couple of cups of the broccoli and setting it aside to add back in, whole, later.
While the vegetables are roasting, make your roux by melting the butter in a small non-stick skillet. Whisk in the flour, and cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is golden brown. This can take 20-30 minutes sometimes. Set aside when done.
Turn the grill up to 325°. Add the chicken stock to the stockpot along with your roasted vegetables. Cook for about an hour on the grill, stirring occasionally. The vegetables in the pot should be super soft.
Using an immersion blender, carefully blend until completely smooth.
Stir the roux into the soup and let cook on the grill for an additional 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup has thickened.
Once the soup is thickened, remove it from the grill and let sit for about 10 minutes. Add in the reserved broccoli florets, the heavy cream, and the smoked cheddar cheese. Stir until everything is combined and melted.

Smoked Broccoli Cheese Soup