Comforting and cheesy cream of broccoli soup with the added kick of flavorful kielbasa.
Great Flavors
There’s not many people who don’t like cream of broccoli soup with cheese. Add the savory flavor of kielbasa to the mix and you have the perfect flavor combination.
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The broccoli imparts that lovely sweet yet earthy flavor and the kielbasa gives a hint of smokiness. The addition of a sharp cheddar cheese completes the taste experience.
A Meal In Itself
This cream of broccoli and kielbasa cheese soup is more than just a soup. It’s a complete meal in itself.
It’s packed with broccoli, kielbasa, cheese and unpeeled potatoes. You can certainly peel the potatoes if you wish, but I find scrubbing them well and leaving them unpeeled in these types of dishes adds a rustic look. It also adds a bit more fiber if you are concerned about that.
All you’d have to do is add some crusty rolls or bread and you have a totally delicious and complete meal.
Smoked Sausage Or Kielbasa?
The choice is pretty much up to you, but to be honest here, I can’t really tell the difference between the two! Turkey sausage can be substituted if you prefer the taste.
Another thing that would be great substituted in this soup would be Andouille sausage. Now that would add a bit of kick for folks who like a bit of zing to their food.
As far as the broccoli is concerned, I used frozen florets, but frozen chopped broccoli will do nicely as well as fresh.
The Recipe
- 16 oz frozen broccoli florets or chopped broccoli (see NOTES)
- 4 medium potatoes, unpleeled cut in chunks
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 tbs butter
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme -OR- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup half-and-half cream
- 14-16 oz fully cooked kielbasa, cut in ¼-inch slices
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used white cheddar)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Thickening (if desired):
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup water
- Melt butter in a dutch oven or very large (6 cup) saucepan. Add onion and cook until translucent.
- Add the thyme, chicken stock, potatoes and broccoli. Heat to boiling. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes or until broccoli and potatoes are tender.
- Add the kielbasa and heat through.
- Thicken, if desired, by mixing the flour and water until there are no lumps. Stir into soup base. MIXTURE WILL BE VERY THICK.
- Gradually add the milk and cream, stirring to incorporate well with no lumps (if you thickened the soup). If soup is too thick, additional milk may be used to thin. Add salt and pepper to taste at this point.
- Stir in cheese until it melts. Cheese is given in a range--use the ½ cup if you don't want it too cheesy and the full cup if you are a cheese lover.
Yum
