Copycat Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I LOVE Panera Bread's Brocolli Cheddar Soup, however - it can get pricey! $4-$5 for a bowl of soup is a bit steep! This recipe makes about 10 cups so feel free to share ;)

Ingredients:

-2 cups of shredded cheese ( I used a 3-cheese blend of asiago, parmesan and cheddar)

- 2 bunches of brocolli

- 1 white onion

- 1 cup of shredded carrots

- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

- 3 cups of water

-4 tablespoons of butter

-3 tablespoons of flour

- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

- 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half

Directions:

Chop up the broccoli and carrots.Place in a pot with a steamer on high and let cook until broccoli is a bright green color like pictured below.

Dice up the white onion. In a separate large cooking pot, combine the diced up onion, minced garlic and 1 table spoon of butter and place on medium.

Once all of the butter melts, add in the chicken stock and water and mix.

In a smaller sauce pan, being making your roux and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Slowly mix in the flour, whisking until it makes a paste-like mixture. 

Add the steamed broccoli and carrots to the big pot with broth. Slowly add in your roux and stir. Slowly add your shredded cheese and mix well. Once the cheese is all melted, add in the 1 cup of cream. Lower the heat to low and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Serve with your favorite bread. I went and bought a stick of bread from Panera to make it taste more like the real thing!