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 made this with vegetable broth and it was delicious! Next time I will double it because the only problem was there wasn’t enough! The whole family loved it!
Yay Julie! I’m so glad. My 6-year-old asks for it all the time.
I thought it was a little bland. I added some spices for flavor…but not a “5-star” in my book – sorry
Making this tonight! Can’t wait! š
– Jenny@smalltownhippies
AKA “Orgasm Soup.” Pretty dank.
I made this tonight for dinner and it was gobbled up by all. I subbed chicken broth with vegetable broth because I’m a vegetarian (not vegan) and doubled the garlic. Will definitely make it again.
Yay! Glad your family loved it as much as mine does.
So good! My son told me it was the best soup i’ve ever made! I will keep this recipe!
Going to make this in my crockpot today! It is going to be a hot one, so this will be great to not heat up the house! I am going to combine the chicken broth, veggies (had in the freezer already flashed boiled since I don’t like to waste fresh veggies we don’t get too), onion, garlic, and put some cubed ham I have that I use for my crockpot corn chowder in the the crockpot. Then at the last about 30-45 mins you put the milk, flower, and cheese in! This would also make a great freezer meal! I bet you can put chicken in this too! YUM! Great for when the whole fryers go onsale! I love to save my broth from those! š God Bless!
One of my favorite things about this soup is how versatile it is! You can definitely change it up to make it just how you like it!
how do you flash boil your veggies and i think that it would also be great with a little imitation crab.
This soup was so good! I put some cheddar cheese, asiago cheese, and regular sliced american cheese in it. I also added some crushed up crackers! Very yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Christina. Your cheese additions sound delicious! We just had it for dinner on Tuesday!
Made this for dinner last night and I have to say it was pretty tasty. I added some already shredded chicken I had in the freezer and cooked on low for at least an hour, then took it off the heat, let it stand and the re-heated for dinner. It was very thick and creamy. When I cooked on low, cheese and milk was already added in. I felt like it gave it time to thicken and for all the flavors to mix.
Sounds like it was a hit!
Found you on Pinterest! Made this for dinner tonight – it was delish, thank you!
Just made this for dinner and my husband and I loved it!! SOOO yummy š can’t wait to make it for guests!
I’m so glad you liked it Danielle!
I found this on pinterest! I am planning to make it for a friend with a new baby. I am allergic to wheat…do you think I could use cornstarch instead of flour to thicken it up a little?
Hi Stacy. I think you can most definitely leave the flour out. I’m sure cornstarch would work as a thickener, just not sure how much to tell you to add! Other ideas that would work: puree the whole thing with a stick blender; add instant potato flakes. Good luck!!
Found on Pinterest and made it tonight. It was so good and my husband (who hated vegetables until just a couple years ago and still isn’t the biggest fan of them) LOVED it! We crushed some saltine crackers over top while eating and it made it taste like a chicken pot pie (only without the chicken). My husband said this was his favorite “new” meal that I’ve made lately. Thank you for sharing your recipe and for helping my husband eat more veggies! š
Hey Susan. I’m a fan of anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that tastes like chicken pot pie! I’ll have to get out the saltines next time I make this!
Hi Lulu!
Just thought I’d comment to say I made this for tea tonight!
Because we are not a big onion family, I fried the potatoes in the garlic with the butter to start with! I then added the carrot, then followed through with the rest of the recipe. I also added half a cup of red lentils to the mix, which made it more ‘soupy’! My kids didn’t eat it, but oh well! I thought it was nice. Thanks for sharing =)
I’m wanting to do this with a crock pot and see some different ideas… but some said crockpot didn’t work so well. So what’s the best way to crockpot this and it turn out good?
Hi Angie. I’ve never actually made it in the crockpot; I always just cook it on the stove top. Just scroll through the comments to look for tips from people who have made it successfully in the crockpot. It seems like everyone has tried a slightly different method, and some people loved the results and some hated them. Helpful, huh?!
I just finished making this and it is super yummy… The only thing I did different is I left out the cheese and added some yummy chicken “meatballs” that I had made. Thanks for an amazing recipe.
Chicken meatballs sound like a delicious addition, stepc!
Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing. I made this in the crock-pot and it turned out great. I did make a couple of changes. I have a large family so here’s what I did…
chop into large chunks:
6 large potato
6 large carrots
2 stalks celery
add 4 cups stock, 1/2 cup milk and veggies to the crock and turn on high. Then mince onion and garlic. Fry the onions and galic in 1 stick of real butter. When tender add 6 tbls flour and wisk until cooked(1-2 mins). add the flour mixture to the crock and give it a good stir. Cook on high for 3 hrs then add a package of frozen broccoli. Get your cheese out and let it come to room temp. When veggies where tender(5 hrs total)I added 1 pound of Kraft shredded(fine) sharp cheddar. It turned out thick and creamy. This version served six.
Thanks for posting crock-pot directions! People keep asking me, but I’ve never made it that way. Now I can direct them to your comment!
Found this on pintrest… tried it out tonight and it turned out pretty darn tasty. i added some chicken, red pepper flakes, and some additional flour to thicken it up a little more. Thanks!
It is so easy to change this recipe up to suite your family’s tastes. We always have it on Meatless Monday, but I bet is was amazing with chicken!
Found this on Pinterest and made it tonight! I added Kale. It fed a family of five and was sooooo DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing your recipe. We will definitely be having this again.
I’m glad you liked it! Kale would be a delicious addition!
I am making this for dinner tonight…It is raining and this pregnant momma wanted some comfort food. So I made everything on stove top and then switched to the crockpot. We didnt have celery but I just added more carrots and broccoli…we like stuff veggie style but I was craving sausage so I added smoked sausage. I have another hr or so before we eat and my children have tasted the juice/sauce and LOVE IT!!! We are using French bread which I am adding cheese to and going to broil it and we can dunk it in. Can not wait!!! YUMMY!! Thanks
That sounds delicious! I wish I were eating at your house tonight!
this looks gorgeous…will be making it with leeks instead of celery and adding sweetcorn too…..looking forward to it!! and i also found this on pinterest…you also hold the rare achievement of me actually making something i’ve pinned to my recipe board!! love n peace xxx
I always have such good intentions of making things I pin, I just don’t get around to it as often as I’d like!
I made it just like u said then put it in the crock pot on lowfor 6 hrs and added salt and pepper and a can of cheerses cheese camblees soup to make it more cheeseit was wonderful!
Sounds like it was extra cheesy and delicious for you!
This is very similar to Mr. Foods broccoli cheese soup just not as fatening. I I sauted the onions, carrots and garlic, threw in raw chicken (cut into small cubes), frozen brocooli, potatoes and 6 cups of chicken broth and cooked on medium heat for 45 minutes, then added the milk, flour and cheddar cheese. Very delish and of course less fatening than the other recipe I was using. Thanks š
Just discovered your blog & I’m in heaven with your recipes! Then I found you on Pinterest!! *doing happy dance*
Hi! I tried this recipe tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!! I’m a newbie in the kitchen and slicing all those vegetables was really a workout (haha!), but my husband’s reaction was so worth it. Thanks for the great recipe! š š š
For those asking about making this in a crockpot. I made it last night in the crock pot. I sauteed vegs and put in the crockpot along with the broth and garlic(I let this cook for about an hour before adding the brocolli). Total cooking was 2 hrs on hi and 2 hrs on lo. I used a hand blender to semi mash vegs. Instead of flour I used a heaping tblsp of cornstarch and added it to the milk and omitted the water altogether. I let it cook and reheat for another 15 minutes then slowly added the cheese while stirring constantly as I added then once again let it reheat for about 10 minutes. It turned out delicious and the cheese did not clump at all for me. Definately will make it again!!
Thanks for the tips Charlene!
Just made it! Awesome. I used fresh veggies from the garden and local cheese and milk. I suspect this’ll become a go to recipe for us.
So glad you enjoyed it; it is certainly a go-to for us!
This was one of my favorite soups I’ve ever made! I served it with toasted homemade honey wheat bread. Mm! I tried to make it a bit healthier by adding 2 cups broccoli, omitting the milk, and substituting Promise margarine for butter, and using only 1 cup cheese. I would say it made about 6 servings. Thank you!
Homemade bread is the perfect accompaniment to this soup!
This was sooooo delicious! Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m always so happy when someone leaves a comment saying it turned out perfect and they loved it. Hooray!
Yummy! It looks fantastic!
DE-Licious! Just made this and I’m serving it up with some homemade bread. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! Enjoy!
Made this tonight and put in lots of extra cheese. It was great with whole wheat beer bread! Yum!!!
MKM–I never actually measure the cheese. My husband shreds a big pile and I throw it all in–it is always delicious!
SO easy and oh SO yummy!! My only alteration was to use 1/2 and 1/2 rather than milk. This soup could easily be whipped up for a weeknight meal and is a great option for those vegetarian days ~ thank you for sharing!
Hi Tara. I use whole milk if we have it, never ever ever skim, and I think 1/2 and 1/2 would make it so luxurious!!
I use a similar recipe along the same lines, I puree all the veggies to make it smooth….it really is amazing
Hi Shannon. We’ve pureed on the few occasions where the consistency turned out weird, and that always fixes the problem!
Yum! I’m going to take a stab at this later on in the week. I can’t wait š
Hope you love it Trish!
Very tasty! Just made it with some bannock and it got gobbled up! š
Found this on Pinterest and I made it tonight. It was delicious. My little ones loved it! I wanted to use frozen broccoli but my tiny little grocery store was all out because they had it on sale so I ended up using the broccoli cauliflower mix and it was great. I love that you can mix and match the veggies to your own taste. I’ll be using this for a regular now š
Thanks!
Hi Karma. That’s one of my favorite things about this soup too–that you can use pretty much whatever veggies you have on-hand and it always tastes yummy!
Just made this today and it is deeeeeeelicious! My picky eaters love it! I tweaked it a lil because I doubled, possibly tripled it, and I still came out good. I added fresh sweet corn at the end & it gave it a little added crunch. Great recipe! š
I bet the corn made it extra tasty!
I’m trying to figure out if a stalk of celery means the entire stalk (the package of celery all clumped together is called a stalk) or if it means just one of the individual pieces from the stalk. I’m assuming you don’t mean the whole stalk, seems like a ton of celery!
Rootbeer–you are correct! Thanks for pointing that out! I don’t really know what you call one stick of celery. I guess one stick of celery, but that sounds stupid!
Made it tonight…Added Salt, fresh cracked peppercorn, wanted to add thyme (but I was out) still needed more herbs/spice. Also should have used red potatoes instead of russet potatoes and more broccoli.
I usually use whatever potatoes I happen to have on hand. Lately, it’s been fingerlings, and the soup always turns out great regardless!
could you use Vegetable broth to make it vegetarian?
smada5–I haven’t tried vegetable broth, but I’m sure it would turn out exactly the same. The only thing I would think you might have to adjust is the seasoning. Good luck!
Well, I have been looking for just something like this. My DH just had all his teeth removed and was given dentures. However, the lowers hurt so bad he wasn’t able to put them in and now the gums have healed different from the original impressions. Sooo, I plan on making this and then running it through the blender to make it a more liquid soup, but still all the nutrition. Hope it works out. I know it will be delicious as is. Thanks for sharing.
Cardscrapper–I hope this worked out for you!
I made this for dinner last night for myself, husband and 16 month old daughter and we all loved it! I also made my daughter some bread spoons to help her eat it and she really enjoyed it. So glad we’ve got enough left over to have again tonight! Perfect recipe for the chilly weather we’ve got over here in the UK right now and this recipe is definitely going to be putting in a regular appearance š Thanks for sharing it x
I’m glad it was a hit with everyone in your family Victoria!
This is a really simple recipe. I regularly blend my soups, going to try this recipe soon,it might be nice to add some shredded chicken to make it a one pot meal.
Mary–I think chicken would be a delicious addition! Best of luck!
Thank you for the recipe. I made it tonight, and it was delish – for the kids too! As vegetarians, we substituted veggie broth. Making this again soon, for sure š
Hi Michelle. I’m glad it was delicious with the veggie broth!
just made this tonight and it was delish – thank you!
can this be made in the crockpot? if so how long do you think it should cook?
Hi Sarah. I’ve never made it in a crockpot, but a lot of the commenters here have. If you scroll through the comments you should be able to find a few different sets of instructions for making it in the crockpot. Good luck!!
This was sooo good!!!! Thank you!! It didn’t really thicken… not sure what i did wrong there? But it was delicious anyway! My hubby loved it too!
Hi Melissa. I’m glad you both loved it, even if it didn’t exactly turn out the way it was supposed to! š
We love this soup! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
You are welcome Jodi!
Made this tonight and it was AMAZING! I’m on a vegetable soup kick right now and this is the best soup I’ve ever made, maybe even had! Ever! The only thing I did different was double the recipe so I could take some to work for lunch tomorrow š
I’m so glad that it worked out for you and that you loved it! And doubling it was a great idea; it is even better the next day!
I made this tonight but being a vegetarian I switch to vegetable broth and 2 cans cream of celery. Both my little kids loved it. I actually stuck some extra broccoli and extra carrots in the blended and chopped them rather fine to add even more veggies with out adding lots of chunks. I also added 3 celery stalks and a bit more onion. The more veggies the better. Thank you for the idea it sure beat whatever I would have made that Ive made a hundred times=)