Is there a Panera by you? I first discovered Panera when we were living in Florida. It was an easy go to spot. When we moved back to NY over 7 years ago, there were no Pameras to be found.
But then lo and behold Panera started making it’s presence here in NY!! My girls will always jump at the chance to go to lunch there. Our favorite is the “You Pick Two” combination and we usually get the broccoli cheddar soup with a salad – either Caesar or Greek.
I have to say, when we’re done with lunch I’m usually still hungry! Even with the big chunk of bread that comes with it. So the other day when my daughter and I were out shopping, we were nearing the neighborhood of Panera and she asked if we could go. I was really hungry and thought I want A LOT of soup so I told her we should try and make it on our own. that way we can keep refilling!
I found a recipe online that’s I used as my guide. The ingredients are pretty simple.
In a soup pot, start by sauteing a diced onion in butter.
Once it gets translucent, you add some flour and mix around to get the raw flour taste out.
Chicken stock and half and half are then added in. Let it come to a boil and thicken a bit. You can add some salt, pepper and a touch of nutmeg.
I used more broccoli than the recipe called for. I cut up a few heads into smaller pieces and then put it in the pot.
I then added a bunch of shredded carrots.
Once the broccoli got soft, I added in A LOT of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Here’s a side note – I normally love extra sharp cheddar cheese but if I make this soup again I would go a little less on the sharpness. Also make sure to use the white cheddar cheese and not the orange if you’re trying to mimic the look of Panera’s soup. ( I like the white cheese better anyway)
If the soup looks like it’s too thick, do as I did and add more chicken stock. Taste it and check for seasonings. I have an immersion blender so I blended it up a bit (not all the way) so there wouldn’t be big chunks of broccoli but you definitely don’t need to do that.
That’s it – you’re done! You have to have bread for dunking when you eat this soup so I bought a baguette and cut up some chunks
Earlier that morning I made some popovers so we had that for dunking as well.
So…what do you think? Looks pretty similar right? While it didn’t taste EXACTLY like the Panera soup, it was definitely a close second!
My younger daughter liked it better than my older one but they both said I put in too much broccoli. I think the combo of the extra broccoli and extra sharp cheddar cheese made it taste slightly different, but all in all I really liked it.
What’s your favorite soup at Panera? The other day we went (my mom, nephew, the girls and I) and I strayed from my usual and had creamy tomato! I feel like a traitor!
The aftermath of lunch at Panera…
If you want to try and make this soup, use this recipe as your guide.
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