Easy Broccoli Chowder made with sharp and delicious cheddar cheese and ham. A perfect and easy weeknight dinner for those nights when cheese is a necessity.
This post and images have been updated. Don’t worry. You’re in the right place. 😉
We are in week three of our February soup series. So far, we’ve had the World’s Easiest Chicken Taco Soup and Easy and Comforting Ham and Potato Soup . This week, we’re moving onto something a little heavier and A LOT cheesier, Easy Cheesy Broccoli Chowder.
Proving that good recipes come from all over the place, the original version of this one came out of a recycling bin. A couple of years ago, I used up the last stick of butter in a Danish Creamery Butter box, broke the box down, and threw it in my kitchen recycling bin. Just as I was walking away, the recipe printed on the inside caught my eye. I fished it out, gave it a shot, and I’ve never looked back.
Of all the soup recipes floating around the interwebs, aside from your classic chicken noodle, broccoli chowder is the one I see with the most variations. I think that’s because everyone likes something a little different from their broccoli chowder. Are you there for the slightly sweet, earthy broccoli? Is it all about the salty ham? Do you like the rich creaminess of the broth with just a hint of cheddar?
This particular broccoli chowder is all about the cheese. And not just any cheese. This is sharp, tangy cheddar in a broth so thick, you could practically stand a spoon up in it. If you don’t like sharp cheese, that’s okay, there are a million other broccoli chowders out there for you. If you do, oh, my friend, you are in for a treat.
This soup is fast and easy, and you can do all the prep work a couple of days in advance. It’s absolutely gorgeous when it’s done and is so rich and delicious, you’ll feel like it should be eaten curled up by a roaring fire under a giant fluffy throw.
More Easy Weeknight Meals
- Tri-tip in the Oven
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Chicken in Cream Sauce
- Chicken in White Wine Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 1/2 pounds broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
- ▢ 3 cups chicken broth
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) butter
- ▢ 1 cup diced onion
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 30 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 1/2 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 1 1/2 cup ( 6 oz) sharp cheddar cheese cubed or shredded
- ▢ 1 cup ( 6 oz) fully-cooked ham diced
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- ▢ Salt
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine broccoli and chicken broth. Cover and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the chicken broth into a separate container to use later and set broccoli and broth aside.
- In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter and add onions, cooking until translucent.
- Add flour and cook, whisking continuously for about 2 minutes, until the flour is just golden.
- Continue to stir and slowly pour in chicken broth and milk. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the broth has thickened.
- Stir in cheese, ham, broccoli, pepper, and salt generously to taste. Heat until cheese is melted and soup is warmed through.
Notes
Nutritional Information Recipe Adapted From: Challenge Dairy
Low-yield Instructions: This recipe halves cleanly. Make-ahead Instructions: Broccoli, ham, onions, and cheese can be cut up to two days in advance and stored in an airtight container. Make sure your broccoli is dry when you store it. Freezer Instructions: This soup will keep in the freezer for up to four months in an airtight container. It must be defrosted in the refrigerator. If you try to defrost it in the microwave, the broccoli will turn to mush.
What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk: Buttermilk freezing instructions and 30+ buttermilk recipes for using up leftover buttermilk.
This is the first post in my new “Waste Not” series, a series where I highlight some of those ingredients that always seem to go to waste after their initial use.
Waste is one of my biggest pet peeves in the kitchen, but something I am totally guilty of and struggle with.
I’m hoping these posts will help me and others find creative ways throw away less, use up more.
More Waste Not Posts
- What to Do With Leftover Pesto
- What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream
- What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk
- What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
- What to Do With Leftover Egg Whites
- What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks
Up first, buttermilk. More buttermilk has gone bad sitting unused in my fridge than I want to think about. Most recipes call for a couple of cups at most, yet it’s generally only sold in quarts.
Here are some ideas on what to do with the leftovers…
What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk
Freeze Buttermilk
The great thing about buttermilk is that it freezes beautifully. My preferred method is to freeze 3/4-cup portions (the amount most of my recipes call for) flat in plastic bags so it can be neatly stacked or filed in the freezer.
For smaller portions of buttermilk, you can freeze cubes of it in an ice cube tray and then store it all in one bag. Just take out a cube as needed.
When it comes time to defrost, put the bag of buttermilk in a large bowl just in case the plastic has been damaged (you don’t want buttermilk everywhere) and defrost on the counter.
Frozen flat, it defrosts in about 15 minutes (let it come to room temperature if you are using it in baking). The only caveat is that buttermilk has a tendency to separate in the freezer, so make sure to give it a good stir before using in dips or dressings.
Buttermilk will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipes That Will Use Up Your Buttermilk
And now the fun part. If you have leftover buttermilk on hand and don’t feel like freezing it, why not take the opportunity to try something new?
Savory Recipes Using Buttermilk
(2/3 cup buttermilk) Beef Pasties
(2 tablespoons) Individual Chicken Pot Pies for Two (1/3 cup) Pie Crust Pizza Tarts (1/2 cup) Dip Recipe Creations’ Cheddar Bay Biscuit Dip (1/2 cup) Culinary Hill’s Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (1/2 cup) Karen’s Kitchen Stories’ Oven Fried Onion Rings (2/3 cup) Green Eggs and Ham Mini Quiche (2/3 cup) Two Purple Figs’ Upside Down Veggie Kale Herb Cake (1 cup) Game of Thrones Frey Pie (1 cup) Baker Bettie’s Buttermilk Biscuits (1 cup) The Cozy Cook’s Cheddar Biscuits (2 cups) Aileen Cooks’ Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Tenders (2 cups) Chew Town’s Baked Panko Buttermilk Drumsticks With Hot Sauce Mayo
Sweet Recipes Using Buttermilk
(3/4 cup buttermilk) Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes for Two
(2 tablespoons) Dutch Apple Galette for Two (2 tablespoons) Marsha’s Baking Addiction’s Red Velvet Roulade (3 tablespoons) Strawberry Shortcake Sundaes for Two (1/4 cup) Mini Strawberry Breakfast Cake (1/3 cup) Easy Dutch Apple Pie (1/3 cup) Caramel Apple Pie Sundae (1/2 cup) Small Red Velvet Cake (2/3 cup) My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust (3/4 cup) Domestic Gothess’ Buttermilk Spice Cake With Vanilla Mascarpone Icing (3/4 cup) Living Lou’s Whole Wheat Gingerbread Muffins (1 cup) Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins With Honey Butter (1 cup) Say Grace’s Red Velvet Cupcakes in a Jar (1 cup) Zag Left’s Lemon and Grapefruit Buttermilk Cake (1 cup) Mon Petit Four’s Hazelnut Chocolate Cake With Caramel Marshmallow Ice Cream (1 cup) The Flavor Bender’s Chocolate & Peanut Cake With Caramel Peanut Butter Nougat Filling (1 cup) Keep it Sweet Desserts’ Fudgy Black and White Devil’s Food Cake (1 cup) Ilona’s Passion’s Strawberry Shortcake Baked Mini Buttermilk Donuts (2 cups) All Roads Lead to the Kitchen’s Cherry Buttermilk Popsicles (3 cups) Living Sweet Moments’ Ricotta Filled Cornbread Recipe
Saturday Morning Snapshot
Edible props from the morning’s shoots and the /Fimcast to help pass the time…
State of the Blog
Hey look, my Simply Delicious Asian Chicken Salad is in a round up of 15 Tasty Recipes To Help You Keep Those Healthy Eating Resolutions on Buzzfeed. You should check out the other recipes on the list. There are some really good ones on there.
Also on the internets, Baking Mischief was Foodista’s featured blog of the day on Wednesday. Many thanks to them for that!
On the blog this week, I got to share my Green Eggs and Ham Mini Quiches, which I’ve been wanting to make for YEARS. Wednesday, post numero uno of our new “Waste Not” series went up, which included buttermilk freezing and substitution tips and links to forty fantastic recipes to use up leftover buttermilk. And Friday, we had my Sharp Cheddar Broccoli Chowder, of which I still have a serving in my freezer and am thinking about eating right now…
Next week, we have one of my favorite sides to pair with soups, the final entry in our February soup and stew series, and a special treat inspired by our friends across the pond.
Recipes/posts released this week were:
Green Eggs and Ham Mini Quiche – Green eggs, ham, and cheddar cheese in a buttermilk crust make a fun and delicious tribute to one of Dr. Seuss’ most beloved works. So tasty you might not want to share them with the kids! What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk – How to freeze and substitute for buttermilk and 40+ recipe ideas to use up this often-wasted ingredient! Sharp Cheddar Broccoli and Ham Chowder – Broccoli and ham chowder made with sharp and delicious cheddar cheese. A perfect and easy weeknight dinner for those nights when cheese is a necessity.
Pop-culture Corner
Did you watch the Grammys last week? I tuned in and out throughout the evening, but that Hamilton number was perfection.
Any comics fans in the house? Soooooo, I read Civil War last weekend and let’s just say, way less nuance and way more gratuitous Spiderman crotch shots than I was expecting… Kinda glad Cap 3 is going to be a loose adaptation.
I am obsessed with the Sherrilyn Kenyon/Cassandra Clare lawsuit going on right now, not just because as a young teen, I devoured everything Kenyon ever wrote, but also because Clare is such a polarizing figure in the literary world.
New Girl creator, Liz Meriwether’s Vulture essay that ran this week on the comedy inspired by living in and hating LA is so lovely it almost makes me want to start watching New Girl again.
Finally, I’ve been doing a Pushing Daisies rewatch, and man, I had forgotten how just how much good singing there is on that show. A Pushing Daisies recipe is percolating. I just have to figure out when to fit it in…
Meal Planning
Saturday: Spaghetti Sunday: Oven-baked Beef Ribs Monday: Teriyaki Chicken Tuesday: Simply Delicious Asian Chicken Wednesday: Carne Asada Burrito Bowls Thursday: Chicken in Cream Sauce Friday: World’s Easiest Chicken Taco Soup
Easy Cheesy Broccoli Chowder With Ham
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup ( 30 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup milk any percentage
- 1 1/2 cup ( 6 oz) sharp cheddar cheese cubed or shredded
- 1 cup ( 6 oz) fully-cooked ham diced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine broccoli and chicken broth. Cover and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the chicken broth into a separate container to use later and set broccoli and broth aside.
- In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter and add onions, cooking until translucent.
- Add flour and cook, whisking continuously for about 2 minutes, until the flour is just golden.
- Continue to stir and slowly pour in chicken broth and milk. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the broth has thickened.
- Stir in cheese, ham, broccoli, pepper, and salt generously to taste. Heat until cheese is melted and soup is warmed through.
