Viral cottage cheese broccoli cheddar soup

Viral broccoli cheddar soup with cottage cheese.

Once upon a time, way back in the 1980’s cottage cheese was a weird thing my Mom (and probably yours!) would eat inside a sadly underripe cantaloupe for days on end. Lactose intolerance be damned, she would eat low fat cottage cheese for lunch and dinner (who ate breakfast in the 80’s?) spend some of the day curled up in a ball holding her stomach and the rest holed up in our only bathroom. Fast forward to the early 2000’s and I’m in my bodybuilding era choking down cottage cheese, whey protein and peanut butter before bed. Needless to say, I ate cottage cheese like it was a punishment, not a snack. Nothing screams "diet food" louder than lumps of runny curd.

Here we are in 2025 and cottage cheese is the glue that is holding our never ending quest for getting the most protein in our bodies as humanly possible together. My relationship with cottage cheese has changed over the years, maybe it’s the different less chunky varieties, or call it being influenced, but it’s become a staple of my diet. I love it blended with lots of veggies and seasoning, making eggs, spinach and cottage cheese and adding it to recipes for the added cheesiness and protein like this soup!

This is for sure not the first time you’ve laid eyes on a recipe like this, but this is my take. Feel free to make it your own!

What you’ll need: I’ve starred the items found in this week’s basket.

1 large onion, diced. *
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into about 1/4 “ circles. I like my carrots a little thicker. *
1-2 stalks of celery, washed and diced
2 crowns of broccoli (or 1 large) washed and cut into florets. Dice the stalks thinly and add in*
Minced garlic. I’m not the boss of you, measure with your heart. I use about 2 tsp.
Butter for cooking veggies in. I use 1-2 tablespoons. You want the veggies coated well in the butter. Use what works for you.
Flour/Cornstarch/Instant mashed potatoes for thickening (optional. about 1/3 cup) I use a little potato flakes. It’s a great gluten free option!
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken broth. I use my own homemade broth!
1 cup warm water with 1 tbsp better than bullion dissolved and mixed well. I like roasted garden vegetable.
1.5 cups milk. I used whole because that’s what I had, but any percentage works.
1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half. Totally optional, you can add 1/2 cup milk in if you prefer.
1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Much like garlic use your discretion or let your lack of discretion guide you.
1 cup blended low fat cottage cheese. I blend it up in a single serving blender cup, but a stick blender works too. You want to get as many lumps out as possible.
Basil Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions:

Vegetables you’ll need for the soup. The carrots, broccoli and Vidalia onions are in the basket we’re delivering December 9th to Woodstock/Roswell and December 10th to East Cobb. You can find our order form on the front page or under ‘vegetable baskets’.

Using a heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium heat melt butter. Add carrots, onions and celery and cook until the onions and celery a sprinkle of salt to help them sweat and cook for about 8-12 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently as not to burn the veggies. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
At this point I like to add my first round of seasonings, but that’s up to you. I add a few shakes of basil salt and a little pepper. Sprinkle flour or potato flakes over the veggies and mix well, coating the vegetables. Add a splash of broth as needed to avoid burning.
Add broccoli and mix well.
Add veggie broth and water with beyond bullion. You can skip the beyond bullion if your broth has salt and add add an extra cup of broth.
Cover and simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until carrots and broccoli soften. Once the soup is boiling I take the top off. During this time you can blend up your cottage cheese. See photo below for consistency.
Reduce heat to low/medium Add the milk and cream, stirring well and scraping along the bottom. You want the soup to be warm but not a rolling boil.
Add cheeses, (cottage and cheddar) and stir until cheese is melted. Keep your eyes on the pot and the temp, you don’t want it to boil and go bad.
At this point if you want a thicker soup you have a few options: Add more potato flakes, remove a cup or two of soup and run it through the blender, or pop your immersion blender in the pot and mix until you’re happy.
Remove from heat and add additional seasonings as needed. Serve immediately and enjoy!