For Better Broccoli Soup Never Skip This Simple Step

Some of the best, most comforting soups feature broccoli as the star ingredient. Broccoli cheese soup, broccoli potato, and cream of broccoli are all rich, bright green dishes with the unmistakable flavor of the cruciferous veggie. For the most part, these recipes call for the broccoli to be cooked and softened in the soup pot, but if you take a little extra time to sear and caramelize your broccoli, you'll make your soups taste so much better. Surprisingly, this is the kind of broccoli you also want in your quiche dishes. 

Seared broccoli gets caramelized and slightly crispy in your sauté pan or soup pot, bringing out the sugars in the vegetable and gaining a delicious nutty flavor.  All you need to do is coat your soup pot with a thin layer of oil and heat. Place your broccoli in the pot and leave it undisturbed for a few minutes until it gets golden brown on the bottom. If you want more browned bits, halve your broccoli florets and place them cut side down in the hot pot so more surface area is exposed to the heat. Once the vegetables are prepared, just follow the rest of your recipe as directed.

There are several ways to brown your broccoli before incorporating it into your soup. The aforementioned method is fine, but if you have a lot of broccoli, you may have to sear it in your pot in batches. If there is too much of the vegetable in your pot at once, not all of it will caramelize, and you could end up steaming it instead. An alternate method is pre-roasting the broccoli on a sheet pan, where you'll have more room to spread the florets out. Just toss your veggie with some olive oil and roast in the oven until it starts to brown. You can also use an air fryer to speed up the process, or grill your broccoli.

To serve your soup, there are a lot of tasty garnish options that would taste great with the flavors of browned broccoli. For inspiration, think of the things you might toss with a pan of roasted broccoli. Lemon zest, chile flake, good olive oil, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, and toasted garlic would all be delicious with your soup. Of course, you could also top each bowl with a few seared or roasted broccoli florets. Croutons are another great choice, giving crunch, which is something many good soups lack. Caramelized shallots would be delicious as well. For broccoli potato soup, consider roasting some small squares of potato and adding them to the top.