This cheesy vegetable chowder is packed with veggies and flavor! It’s one of my family’s all-time favorite dinner recipes. Perfect for chilly evenings.
This recipe has a long history with my little family. I got the original version from my sister-in-law when my husband and I were newlyweds. We had just moved into our condo with the bright red kitchen. I have such fond memories of that kitchen!
Anyway, the only veggies in the recipe back in those days were potatoes, and it called for turkey bacon. I remember thinking “heck no!” to turkey bacon and using regular bacon instead. It made the soup soooooo salty; it’s a wonder I kept making it after that, although I never again used bacon of any kind! And it originally only served 2, which was fine at the time but not really enough for a growing family.
Fast-forward seven years and it has morphed into a cheesy, comforting vegetable chowder packed with veggies that are good for you, and give the soup some much-needed color! It is one of our family favorites–even the kids love it–and now that the weather has cooled off a little, will resume its weekly appearance on our dinner menu.
Cheesy Vegetable Chowder has consistently been one of the most popular recipes here on Lulu the Baker since I first shared it. I love hearing from readers who make it for their families once and love it so much that they add it to their own regular recipe rotation. I know you’ll love it too.
*If you’re looking for crockpot directions for Cheesy Vegetable Chowder, several commenters have left their instructions in the comments section below!
Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
This is one of my family's all-time favorite dinner recipes! It is easy to make and tastes delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup finely chopped carrot
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)
- 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 cups chopped broccoli
- 2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.
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I have never heard of adding the flour right into the soup, I’ve always made a roux first and then added in the liquids. Is it possible to do that with this soup, such as adding in the flour after the vegetables are cooked in the butter, or is there a reason it goes in later?
Hi Leanne. I haven’t tried making a roux first. I always add it near the end so that the soup can simmer without getting too thick. I’ve never had a problem mixing the flour with a little water before adding it.
I just made this and my family loved it!
That always makes me so happy to hear, Bella!
I’ve been making this for my girls (age 2 & 1/2 and 6) for over a year now. They, and I, LOVE IT. One of our favorite recipes, especially in the fall/winter. Thanks for sharing!!!
I see many people are looking for crockpot directions, which tend get a bit lost among all the rave reviews! This soup is one of our family favorites, too! ? I thought I’d copy/paste/repost a few comments from other readers with their tips for making this in a slow-cooker and crockpot! Thanks to those who have tried it this way and have shared their experiences – you all help make our mealtimes even easier!! 🙂
From “Erin:)” :
Attention all crockpot lovers…i made a SUCCESSFUL pot of this DELICIOUS soup and here’s how:
I placed 2 cans of vegetable broth (im a vegetarian) in the crockpot with all the other ingredients minus the water, flour, cheese and milk. I saw the previous recommendation of 4cups of broth being too much but i added a cup more of broccoli and OMITTED the water to “make up” for it – it was still kinda runny but ill explain more about that later. Instead of celery and carrots, i used a broccoli slaw mix sold in the produce section at the grocery store next to all the bagged lettuce etc. I cut up 2 medium potatoes (skin on-i like it better that way) I used frozen broccoli and fresh onion. I didn’t saute anything, just plopped it all in. im pretty lazy. I added salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes and put crockpot on high for 5-6 hours. then once the potatoes were soft, i heated up fat free half and half in place of the milk to make it more creamy i added 1 tbsp of flour and stirred to make a rue. it didn’t quite make it and thicker so i added the runny rue to the crockpot and stirred as i put in cornstarch. i stirred until it was a consistency i wanted. then i added 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese stirred and stirred some more. i put it back to low for about a half an hour and then i ate it. i ate a lot of it. it was good and came out great. hope this solves everyone’s crockpot question. i took on the challenge and i succeeded happily 🙂
From “Anonymous” :
I made this today in a slow cooker. I sauted the onion, carrot and celery in the butter, then added all to the crockpot. Added the broth and potatoes and cooked on low for 7 – 8 hours. I added 2 extra potatoes, sliced about an 1/2 inch thick. After the potatoes were cooked, I took the sliced potatoes out. I used my stick blender and mashed the sliced potatoes with the milk. I then addded the mixture back into the crockpot and stirred. This thickened the soup without having to use flour. Added the broccoli (from frozen) and heated until the broccoli was warm. Added the cheese and stirred until blended. It turned out well, but is bland for us. Will add seasonings next time.
This has become a favorite for our family! It has made its way into our meal rotation for fall and winter after trying it for the first time last year. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Yay, Emily!
I love this recipe. Been making it for a few years now. I have shared and made this for several friends. Great recipe. Thanks so much for sharing this.great recipe. I have a pot on the stove now.
Hello Sandra! So happy you like the soup!
For the last few years this is our go to recipe in the fall. It signals the beginning of this wonderful season for us. To make it stretch I add a few extra potatoes. Double the broth and add extra veggies at the beginning plus Mir broccoli and cheese. Pots on the stove now. So very excited for dinner time! Happy fall everyone!
Marcelle, thank you for your kind comment! I’m so glad your family loves this soup!
This is by far one of the best recipes I have tried. I love making it! I tend to add a lot more vegetables, tho, since our household loves their veggies. I also add a bay leaf it gives it a bit more flavor, at least to us anyways.
I love adding a bay leaf to soups! I’ll have to try that next time. Happy Holidays! xoxo
Thanks for posting! I made this tonight. Added cauliflower instead of broccoli because that’s all I had. I think I added a tad too much butter because it was very buttery-rich. Anyway, flavor was great!! My husband and 3 yr old picky son, both loved it!! I was so happy since I am a newbie at cooking, so when I make something that they love, it makes me feel very happy!!
I’m so glad it was a hit with your family, Natalie!
This is the second time that I made this and it’s amazing!! The first time I doubled the recipe but it went too quickly so tonight I tripled it! I do not add the cheese but grate some cheese and everyone just adds their own. Also I had some plain chicken and plain rice which I added at the end as well. I added a bit more liquid to compensate for the additions and it could not have been better! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Your additions sound delicious!
I want to try this soup. Could you use sweet potato or butternut squash instead of the white potato?
Hi Elaine. I’m sure you could do that. I think the consistency of the soup would be quite different. The starchiness of the potatoes helps thicken the soup and give it that chowder texture.
I am making this right now and it smells heavenly! I added black pepper because I like everything with a bit of a kick. I’m so excited to try this! Thanks for sharing
Yes, salt and pepper to taste. My husband likes a lot of black pepper too. xoxo
Love it! I added diced chicken breast to step one. New favorite soup recipe.
Yum! I’ll have to try that sometime!
I value the post.Thanks Again. Awesome. ekdgfdfcfbak
I received this recipe from a girlfriend and have been making it for the last 4 years. My family still loves it! Thank you!!
Yay, Pam! That’s what I like to hear!
For everyone looking for the crockpot version, just make it on the stove. I made it in the crockpot tonight and it was pretty bland and thin. I think cooking it over the stove would really bring out the flavors better than the crockpot can. I’ll definitely try this again over the stove.
I make this recipe all of the time as it is one of my family’s favorites. I keep it printed out in my kitchen with my binder of favorites, but had to come back here and let you know how much we truly enjoy it!
I follow the recipe as written with a couple of modifications due to allergies (I sub in chopped up golden potatoes leaving the skins on, and use corn starch to thicken). Thank You!
I’m so happy it’s a favorite in your family, too! xoxo
My husband is SO not a soup fan and this is on his top 3 list of favorite things I make for dinner. Totally crazy because I feel like I triple the amount of veggies that the recipe calls for. Cover it all in cheese and they will eat it! We have served it in bread bowls and it is amazing! Coworkers and husband loves when I make this soup!
I had a Facebook memory popup of me making this soup 11 years ago and my family loving it. I had to dig up the recipe again and it’s going on the menu this week. So excited this recipe is still available as this sounds divine in this cold weather!
Riced vegetables and frozen corn make this soup even easier!
Those sound like great additions, Nora!
Delish! We really enjoyed this recipe on a cold winter day!