you're making mealtime meaningful.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup is on the shortlist of my all-time favorite soups so I am obviously always open to trying the combo in other iterations. This is one such iteration – a savory cobbler with all the comfort of the original soup but with the added goodness of biscuits. And why wouldn’t you want flaky, buttery biscuits to go along with your broccoli and cheddar? It’s a no-brainer.
This is pretty much the identical flavor of a bowl of broccoli cheddar, but it’s a little thicker in consistency. You just sauté up some onion, carrot, and garlic until they’re fragrant and tender and then add some flour to the mix to thicken up the sauce later. From there it’s just a little bit of broth, some broccoli, thyme, paprika, and nutmeg, and it only needs to simmer for about ten minutes before you bring in the creaminess. (That would be some milk and plenty of cheddar cheese.)
It’s fairly quick stovetop work since it’s going to spend some time in the oven too – after all, you need to get those biscuits beautiful and golden brown! While you could do a more rustic drop biscuit (or even rely on a storebought can), I love these buttery square biscuits that are a cinch to roll out. We use grated butter here, which is a great trick when you want flaky dough but don’t care to spend as much time working it into the flour. It’s quicker than cubed and still gives great results.
While I love a good bowl of soup, my family is not much for it, so this recipe gives us all something to be happy about. I get to tuck into something with the same comfort and flavor as one of my favorite soups, they get a hearty meal that feels closer to a casserole, and we all get a homecooked delicious dinner to sit down to. And biscuits. Because biscuits are always good news.
Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler
Yield(s): Serves 6
20m prep time
30m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 cups broccoli florets, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
For the biscuits:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, grated
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, chilled
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat olive oil and butter. Once hot, add onion and carrot and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Stir in flour and cook about 1 minute. Gradually stir in broth.
- Add broccoli, bay leaf, paprika, nutmeg, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cook until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Discard bay leaves, then stir in milk and cheese until cheese has melted. Continue cooking until mixture has thickened, if needed. (About 10 minutes.)
- Transfer to a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- To make the biscuits, combine flour, baking powder, parmesan cheese, and salt in a large bowl. Add the grated butter and toss together.
- Add buttermilk, mix until just combined, then add more buttermilk if needed.
- Turn dough out onto a clean surface and roll into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Cut into 6 biscuits.
- Place biscuits on top of broccoli cheddar mixture, then brush each with buttermilk.
- Bake until bubbly and biscuits are golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest.