Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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Creamy, comforting, and easy to make, this Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup comes together so quickly in a few simple steps. Full of broccoli, carrots, and cheddar cheese, this instant pot soup is the perfect hearty soup for a busy weeknight.

If you're a fan of Panera Bread's broccoli cheddar soup (in a bread bowl for me!), then you're going to love this homemade broccoli cheese soup in an Instant Pot! It's quick, easy, and full of flavor!

A bowl of Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup with a grey spoon. Some bread, more cheese, a linen napkin, and another bowl of soup on the side.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

I'm obsessed with soup, and making soup in the Instant Pot is one of my favorite things to do because it's so effortless. After sauteing the onions and garlic, you pretty much just put everything in and let the pot do the rest of the work for you!
It's a great family-friendly recipe. Kids love cheese, right? And when the broccoli and carrots are blended up, they won't even notice it inside the soup!
You can adjust this pressure cooker broccoli cheddar soup to make it as cheesy or creamy as you'd like! It's quite flexible and flavorful!

Ingredients You'll Need

Ingredients needed to make Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup.

olive oil & butter — sauteing the onions and garlic in butter adds more flavor, but the olive oil will help keep the butter from burning.
onion — I use a small yellow onion. Feel free to use more.
garlic — the more garlic, the merrier in my books!
broccoli florets — I use two broccoli crowns and cut them into florets. You can also buy pre-cut florets.
carrots — you can buy carrots that have already been cut but I just grate mine through a box grater.
broth — you can use vegetable or chicken broth as the base of the soup. I prefer using low-sodium broth.
seasoning — I use salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.
shredded cheese — I use sharp cheddar! I make sure to have extra so I can garnish the soup with some shredded cheddar as well.
cream — I use heavy cream but you can lighten it up with half & half.

How To Make Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Set of two photos showing butter and oil added to an Instant Pot and onions and garlic sautéed.

On sauté mode, add the olive oil and butter.
Once the butter has melted, add the onions and garlic to the pressure cooker and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Set of two photos showing seasoning added to the onions and garlic then broccoli and grated carrots added.

Add the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder to the onions and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Turn off sauté mode and add the broccoli and carrots to the pressure cooker.

Set of two photos showing broth added to the pressure cooker than pressure cooking.

Add the broth.
Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on high pressure for 2 minutes before quick releasing.

Set of two photos showing soup blended with an immersion blender then shredded cheese added.

You can remove up to half of the soup (or more) to blend with a blender or use an immersion blender and blend until the soup is as creamy or chunky as you'd prefer.
Add the shredded cheese to the pot and stir until melted into the soup.

Set of two photos showing dairy added to the soup and stirred to combine.

Add the cream to the soup and stir well to combine. Serve as is or adjust with additional seasoning or cheese.

A ladle of broccoli cheddar soup lifted from an Instant Pot.

Tips and Notes

If using a blender, be very careful when blending hot soup, and do not overfill a blender with hot soup. Always makes sure there's a way for the steam to be released.
For a thicker soup, you can use less broth. Alternatively, you can create a cornstarch slurry!
I prefer my broccoli cheddar soup to have a bit of texture, so I tend to blend only 80% smooth. If making for a kiddo, I blend everything up!
I prefer the flavor that sharp cheddar adds over mild or medium cheddar but you can use what you have on hand!
I only used two carrots, but feel free to add more! This is the perfect recipe to hide some extra servings of vegetables.
While you only select 2 minutes for the Instant Pot to pressure cook, it took my Instant Pot a little over 12 minutes to come up to pressure, so the soup does technically cook for more than 2 minutes. Make sure to quick release so the broccoli does not continue to cook!

A close up view of a bowl of Instant Pot broccoli cheddar soup with a grey spoon.

How do I store leftovers?

Once the soup has cooled, transfer leftover broccoli cheddar soup to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing leftovers.

How do I reheat leftovers?

I recommend reheating it on the stovetop on medium-low heat to prevent the cream and cheddar cheese from splitting in the soup. Make sure to stir throughout.

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