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Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup is a cozy slow cooker dinner recipe for busy nights — and a great way to use up leftover ham! This hearty, satisfying soup combines broccoli, cheese, carrots, potatoes, onion, and ham in every bite. Serve the easy broccoli cheese soup alongside a loaf of crusty bread, a basket of buttermilk biscuits, or a pan of honey cornbread for a delicious family meal!
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
For as long as I can remember, my Mom has served a ham on Christmas Day. Don’t you just love holiday traditions? It’s fun to anticipate certain treats that we might not otherwise enjoy throughout the year, and a ham (with Dad’s homemade biscuits) is definitely one of those fond childhood memories that I have continued with my own family.
Even better, since Mom knows how much we enjoy the ham, we almost always come home with plenty of leftovers to stash in the freezer, to use on sandwiches, or to toss into a soup. Ham, cheese, and broccoli are the perfect combination, so I combined them all in this simple and satisfying Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup!
The soup tastes a lot like the broccoli cheddar soup that we love at Panera, with the addition of salty, smoky, flavorful meat. Better yet, this version could not be easier, since it’s essentially a dump-and-go slow cooker recipe that requires very little hands-on effort!
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for the best broccoli cheese soup recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Frozen broccoli florets: I like the bag of frozen broccoli for ease, but you can also use 3-4 cups of fresh broccoli florets if you prefer.
- Onion and carrots: extra vegetables that add flavor to the soup.
- Potato: thickens the soup, adds flavor, and makes the dish more filling. I use a large russet potato, but you can substitute with about 8-10 ounces of other potatoes instead (such as Yukon gold).
- Chicken broth: the liquid base of the soup.
- Water: extra liquid to thin the soup without adding more salt.
- Cream of celery soup: thickens the broth, provides a creamy texture, and adds great flavor.
- Velveeta cheese and cheddar cheese: provide the rich flavor and thick texture that give this soup its name! The Velveeta provides a smooth, creamy texture, while the cheddar adds nice flavor. Use sharp cheddar cheese for a bolder flavor, or mild cheddar for a more subtle touch.
- Ham: use leftover ham from a holiday meal (like Christmas or Easter!), or purchase ham steaks or diced ham at the grocery store. You can also omit the ham if you prefer.
- Salt and pepper: to enhance the other flavors and give the soup more complexity.
How to Make Broccoli and Cheese Soup in a Crock Pot
This crockpot broccoli cheese soup only requires about 10 minutes of prep for the ultimate comfort food! There’s no need to make a roux with flour and butter, and instead you can just dump in the ingredients and go about your day. Loaded with veggies, potatoes, ham, and cheese, it’s a true one-pot meal that the entire family will love.
- Place frozen broccoli florets, onion, potato, carrots, chicken broth, water, cream of celery soup, salt and pepper in a Crock Pot.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for about 3 hours, until the vegetables are very tender.
- Use a handheld stick immersion blender to purĂ©e some of the mixture (leaving some of the chunky vegetables for texture). If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer about 1-2 cups of the soup to a regular blender or food processor, blend until smooth, and then return to the slow cooker and combine with the rest of the soup.
- Stir in the cheeses and the ham, and continue cooking for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese melts smoothly into the broth. The end result is an easy, cheesy Velveeta Broccoli Cheddar Soup!
What to Serve with Broccoli Cheese Soup
This creamy crockpot broccoli cheese soup recipe pairs nicely with a crisp green salad or a Caesar salad. It also goes well with saltines or oyster crackers, homemade buttermilk biscuits, a loaf of crusty bread, a baguette (just like at Panera Bread), 3-ingredient sour cream muffins, corn sticks, or a pan of cornbread for dipping.
Storage
Properly stored in an airtight container, the soup will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To Reheat: Place the soup in a pot and warm over a low flame, just until heated through. Be careful not to let the soup boil, or the cheese may curdle.
Can you freeze broccoli cheese soup?
I do not recommend freezing this soup. While it works okay in a pinch, I find that the texture of the soup is a bit more grainy when thawed. That’s because dairy-based soups tend to separate or curdle after freezing, resulting in an undesirable texture.
Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe Variations
- Instead of the frozen broccoli florets, substitute with about 3-4 cups of fresh broccoli florets.
- If you don’t have leftover ham, you can purchase ham steaks or diced ham at the grocery store. You can also omit the ham if you prefer.
- For a vegetarian soup, omit the ham and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- For another protein option, substitute with 1 lb. of ground beef (cooked and drained), 2 cups of cooked, chopped chicken or 2 cups of cooked, chopped turkey.
- Swap out the cream of celery soup for a different flavor condensed soup, such as cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup. This will give the recipe a slightly different flavor, though. You might want to add some diced celery to the slow cooker so that it still has that classic taste.
- For a stovetop broccoli cheese soup, try this recipe. You can add ham to that version as well!
Tips for the Best Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
- To prevent your broccoli cheese soup from becoming grainy or curdled, make sure that the soup doesn’t get too hot. You don’t want to boil the soup, or the proteins in the cheese tighten up, squeeze out the fat, and give you that unpleasant curdled texture.
- Velveeta provides (by far!) the best, smoothest, creamiest texture for a cheesy soup. Yes, you can substitute with other types of cheese…but the soup will not have the same taste or mouthfeel.
- This soup is not low-carb or keto-friendly, as it contains 9 grams of carbohydrates per cup.
More Crock Pot Soup Recipes to Try
If you love the convenience of slow cooker soup recipes, be sure to sample some of these other great options:
- Crock Pot Potato Soup
- Lentil Soup
- Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
- Farmhouse Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Beef Barley Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
- Split Pea Soup with Ham
- Slow Cooked Beef Vegetable Soup
- Crock Pot Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef
- Summer Vegetable Soup
- Crock Pot Vegetable Soup with Cabbage
- Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup with Ham
Ingredients
- 16 ounces frozen broccoli florets
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
- 2 whole carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed cream of celery soup, NOT diluted
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 12 ounces (about 2 cups) diced, cooked ham
Instructions
- Place broccoli, onion, potato, carrots, chicken broth, water, cream of celery soup, salt, and pepper into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for about 6-8 hours or on HIGH for about 3 hours.
- Use an immersion blender to puree a portion of the soup. You still want plenty of chunks of potatoes and veggies, so only puree some of it. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can put a cup or two of soup in a regular blender to puree (and then return back to the slow cooker when done).
- Add Velveeta, cheddar, and ham to the slow cooker. Stir, and then place the lid back on the slow cooker and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Stir it again to make sure that the cheese is completely melted and smooth.
- Give it taste, and season with additional salt and pepper, as necessary.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy warm!
Notes
- To prevent your broccoli cheese soup from becoming grainy or curdled, make sure that the soup doesn’t get too hot. You don’t want to boil the soup, or the proteins in the cheese tighten up, squeeze out the fat, and give you that unpleasant curdled texture.
- Velveeta provides (by far!) the best, smoothest, creamiest texture for a cheesy soup. Yes, you can substitute with other types of cheese…but the soup will not have the same taste or mouthfeel.
- This soup is not low-carb or keto-friendly, as it contains 9 grams of carbohydrates per cup.
- Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in December, 2016. The photos were updated in December, 2021.
My family usually has ham sliced for sandwiches on Christmas day, but I’m loving your ham and cheddar soup! I think this would be perfect, especially for this year, since we’ve already had negative temps. And I love that you made this in the slow cooker, too! Looks just perfect, Blair!
Thank you, Gayle! It’s a great use for that leftover Christmas ham, and a good way to warm up at this time of year! 🙂
Hiya Blair,
I’m always so surprised by how many people in the US have ham and roast beef for Christmas. We’re all about turkey in Canada but then again, we had our Thanksgiving turkey way back in October so we’re ready for it again 🙂
This looks so fabulous and your photos are so beautiful! I’m imagining all those delicious flavours and I bet this doesn’t last long in your house.
Happy Holidays, friend. I’m sure I’ve said that a few times now but I am sincere in wishing you the best of times! xo
Hi, Robyn! Thank you for your kind words and I hope that you have a wonderful holiday as well — enjoy that turkey!!! 🙂
Our family will be having this for dinner tonight! First time trying the recipe and I am excited to see how it comes out!
Oh, good! I hope you love it! 🙂
Hey Blair,
I’m astonished to see the soup recipe , and thinking that how time you give to prepare the tasty recipe. It’s not only the matter of time but also the thinking of ingredients are making me puzzled !
What a delicious recipe! This would be such a great way to use up leftover ham!
Exactly! Thanks, Kristy!
The soup sounds delicious. However I’m not a huge fan of Velveeta, with the exception of queso. Is there anything I can use as a substitute? Maybe a mixture of other cheeses?
Hey, Courtney! Kind of like when you make queso, the Velveeta just melts differently than a regular cheese. I don’t care for Velveeta on its own, but I think it’s kind of necessary in this particular soup. If you want to experiment with using other cheeses, I would go with a mild cheddar cheese. I have heard the tip of shaking the shredded cheddar in a bag with some flour to coat it a bit before adding it to the hot sauce or soup to help it melt smoother, but I’ve never tried that myself. You might also need to add some additional cream or butter to the soup if the texture doesn’t seem right. Sorry that I can’t be more helpful…I just stick with what I know works. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by, and let me know if you give it a try!
This looks amazing! I have it cooking now! One question, when does the water go into the crockpot? I see it listed in the recipe but not in the instructions.
Cant wait for the hours to pass so we can eat it!
Thanks
Hey Carol! Thanks for noticing that typo in the recipe! The water goes into the slow cooker at the same time as the broth. I will update the recipe to fix that as soon as I can get to my computer!?
Love that you have combined cheddar with the other ingredients, Blair. This must be very delicious!
Thanks, Agness! It’s SO good! 🙂
This is one FANTASTIC recipe. I know the “velvetta” throws some people off, but PLEASE TRY THIS RECIPE. It is the BEST. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made this soup AND how many people have asked me for the recipe. And thank you Blair for creating AND sharing your delicious soup recipe. You have a wonderful and artistic site. ????
Thank you, Arleen! I appreciate the positive feedback and I’m SO glad that you and your friends have enjoyed the soup. The Velveeta is definitely key to getting that creamy texture!
Take care, and have a great weekend!
This soup was delicious! I was afraid it would be too heavy with all the cheese, but the balance was just right. Ham is not my favorite, so next Time I think I’ll just omit the meat. I served this with some homemade beer bread and the combination was irresistible! Thanks Blair for another winning recipe!
Awesome, Lorraine! So glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Velveeta? Is not cheese.
I would love to try the ham and cheddar soup, but I need to know what kind of ham. Some recipes don’t taste very good with smoked ham for example.
Hi, Linda! You can really use any ham that you prefer. I have made the soup with leftover Honey Baked Ham, as well as with ham steaks that I purchase from the grocery store. Hope that helps, and enjoy!
Ten minutes? I assume that is for putting all the ingredients in the pot after someone has already prepped everything. This makes a soup that is a favorite with the whole family. I would even stand in line for it. For some reason the ratings stars won’t work for me. I say a four because of the inaccurate prep time.
This sounds wonderful. I love soup no matter what time of year. I make things a little quicker by using frozen potatoes o’brien ( onion already in there and we like the peppers) and you can buy chopped ham in packages. (We use in omelettes) This goes together really well. Can’t wait to try. Thanks for recipe.
Thanks, Linda! Your shortcuts are great! I hope you enjoy the soup. 🙂
What a wonderful way to use leftover holiday ham! I used fresh broccoli but also added butternut squash, chopped celery and thyme. Thank you for posting this awesome recipe.
Yay! Your version sounds delicious, Kim! Thanks for your note. 🙂
Really a very nice recipe. Do you have a recommendation if you don’t own a slow cooker?
Thank you.
Hi, Mike! Yes, you can definitely prepare this soup in a pot on the stovetop. Here is my broccoli cheese soup recipe for the stovetop, which will give you a good sense for the cooking time/instructions: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/broccoli-cheese-soup-recipe/
This year will be the year I finally nail the turkey. The last couple I made turned out real dry and tough. For some reason I just can’t get the bird to turn out moist and soft. I’ve got a good feeling about this one.