I must confess: prior to developing this recipe I had never tried broccoli cheddar soup. It’s not as common in Australia as it seems to be in the USA. Here, soups like potato and leek or minestrone reign supreme. Having seen how good it looks on TikTok and Instagram, though, I knew I had to come up with a low FODMAP broccoli cheddar soup recipe.
Before we begin: a number of the photos were taken topped with my low FODMAP chilli crisp and gluten free buckwheat bread croutons.
Low FODMAP broccoli cheddar soup
This soup uses a few tricks to make a delicious low FODMAP alternative to the original. Because onion and garlic are high fructan (and thus high FODMAP) ingredients, this soup is onion and garlic free. Instead, it uses the greens of spring onions and leeks for that classic onion umami.
Potatoes are added to bulk out the soup in place of a flour based roux. They also help bulk out the soup to create a low FODMAP base for the broccoli to flourish.
The hardiest stems of the broccoli are cooked with the potato to form the base of the soup. Once that is blended, the florets are added and cooked to add texture.
Finally the soup is finished with a good quality vintage cheddar (which is essentially lactose free naturally) and a low FODMAP milk of choice.
The soup is full of flavour without high FODMAP ingredients or grains. A perfect winter dish that everyone will love, irrespective of dietary requirements.
FODMAP notes
Contrary to popular belief, cheddar cheese is extremely low lactose and thus low FODMAP. In fact, Monash lists it as being low FODMAP in serves of up to 500g per person.
Leek greens and spring onion (scallion) greens are low FODMAP. They’re a great way to add onion flavour without the FODMAP content.
You can use low FODMAP stock or water in this recipe. Personally, I prefer to use water over store bought stock. They tend to be full of salt and make me thirsty. I find that adding salt to my own taste is easier. You can add nutritional yeast or some miso paste to replace the umami from the stock.
There are a few options for your low FODMAP milk in this soup. It’s worth noting that this is not a dairy free recipe even if you replace the milk. Vegan cheese doesn’t melt the same way as dairy cheese and is unlikely to be suitable here. More on that in the substitution section.
Lactose free milk is the best option given that the soup already contains cheddar. However, you could also use rice milk, soy milk made from soy protein or macadamia milk. Oat milk also has a low FODMAP threshold. Oats are not considered gluten free in Australia, so keep that in mind if you are cooking for a coeliac.
FODMAP notes on the broccoli
Broccoli is a slightly complicated ingredient, FODMAP wise. The stems and the florets have differing FODMAP contents and are listed as such on the Monash app. This makes it a bit complicated (but not impossible!) to use on the diet.
Broccoli florets are low FODMAP in 75g serves per person. They become moderate for fructose in 240g serves per person, which suggests there is some wiggle room as to what constitutes a low FODMAP serve.
Broccoli stalks are low FODMAP in 45g serves, and moderate for fructose in 50g serves.
This means that the stalks are higher FODMAP than the florets. Monash used to have a listing for whole broccoli (florets and stalks) but have removed it from the app. Most articles suggest that 75g broccoli is a low FODMAP serve.
So, how much broccoli should I add?
This depends! If you are in the elimination phase, I would recommend using the portion size Monash and FODMAP Friendly suggest (75g per person or 300g for the whole dish). However, if you are not in the elimination phase and know how much broccoli/fructose you can handle, feel free to add more.
As discussed, Monash says that 240g of broccoli florets is a moderate serve of fructose. Servings under this size are low FODMAP on a personal tolerance basis. In practice: if you know you have no issues with broccoli florets, you could use up to 230g per person, for a total of 920g broccoli florets for the soup.
Substitution options for your low FODMAP broccoli cheddar soup
Let’s get this one out of the way first. Unfortunately there is no substitute for dairy based cheddar cheese here. Not one that I can recommend with full confidence, anyway. Dairy cheese melts very differently to plant based cheese and I can’t guarantee the results with a cheese alternative.
Most of the vegan recipes I looked at use nutritional yeast instead of store bought vegan cheese. That tells me that vegan cheese probably doesn’t work well here. I’ll work on a vegan recipe at some point, I promise.
The milk is really the only place you can play around a little. I use lactose free full cream milk, but you could experiment with adding a low FODMAP dairy free milk of choice.
Tips for the cheddar cheese
I really just gave this it’s own dedicated space to say: buy a block, and buy as good quality and as vintage as you possibly can.
Pre-grated cheese is not only more expensive per gram, but it contains fillers that prevent it from fully melting. The idea of the cheese in this soup is to subtly dissolve into it, adding flavour.
Furthermore, pre-grated cheese is generally (in my experience) way less flavoursome. To get bang for your buck, I recommend choosing the most vintage cheddar you possibly can. The flavour will shine through and you might even need less cheese as a result (if less cheese is a good thing for you).
One thing to keep in mind: not all cheese is vegetarian. Be sure to check the labels, as some cheese contains rennet, which is part of a calf’s stomach. I have a post on vegetarian cheeses in Australia which you can find here.
Recipe tips for your low FODMAP broccoli cheddar soup
Just a few quick tips to aid you in low FODMAP broccoli soup success:
- Choose an all rounder or a starchy potato to make a lovely thick soup. Waxy ones won’t do too much for you here.
- You can blender the soup with a soup stick (immersion blender) or a blender. Because the soup is chunky, I just use an immersion blender. You can do what works for you, though.
- Grate your own cheddar and add it off the heat, gradually, at the end. This will help stop is overcooking and becoming grainy or stringy.
- Add water or stock as you see fit. If you like a thinner soup, add more.
- I recommend adding conservative liquid to begin, then adding more as you see fit. You can always loosen a soup, but it’s harder to thicken it up.
- Read the FODMAP notes if you are low FODMAP.
More low FODMAP soup recipes
- Low FODMAP pumpkin soup (vegan)
- Low FODMAP lentil soup (vegan)
- Vegan, low FODMAP carrot soup
- Low FODMAP vegetarian or vegan lasagne soup
- Low FODMAP ‘tomato’ soup
Low FODMAP broccoli cheddar soup
Ingredients
- 60 ml (3 tablespoons)* oil of choice
- Greens from 1-2 large leeks thoroughly washed and sliced
- Greens from 1 large bunch of spring onions thoroughly washed and sliced (my greens weighed 125g in each test)
- 500-600 g all-rounder or starchy potatoes washed and chopped into small cubes (I leave the skin on)
- 300 g+ broccoli stems and florets separated and finely chopped (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional
- 1000 – 1500 ml 1- 1.5 litres low FODMAP stock or water (plus more if needed)
- 250-500 ml (1-2 cups)* milk of choice
- 200-250 g good quality vintage cheddar freshly grated
- Lemon juice to taste
- Seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium heat. Once shimmering, add the leek and spring onion greens and stir to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the chopped potatoes, chopped broccoli stems (not the florets, yet) nutritional yeast (if using) and stock or water. I recommend adding the lesser 1000ml (1 litre) of stock/water first, then adding more if need be.
- Stir, then top with a lid and cook for 10-20 minutes or until the potatoes are completely cooked through.
- Once everything is totally cooked, turn off the heat and use your soup stick (immersion blender) or blender to process the soup. If you’re using a blender without a steam valve, you will need to let the soup cool completely or you risk exploding the blender.
- Blend until you achieve your desired consistency, turn the heat back onto a low-medium. Add the finely chopped broccoli florets and cook the soup for an additional 10 or so minutes or until the florets are cooked to your desired consistency. Larger chunks will take longer to cook.
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the milk. Add the grated cheese gradually to ensure it doesn’t overcook and become stringy. Season with plenty of salt, pepper and lemon juice according to your tastes.
- You can serve as is, with some cream or croutons, or with some chilli oil/chilli crisp for spice.
- Leftovers keep well in the fridge for a number of days and can be frozen.
Notes
- If you are in the elimination phase, I would recommend using the portion size Monash and FODMAP Friendly suggest (75g per person or 300g for the whole dish). However, if you are not in the elimination phase and know how much broccoli/fructose you can handle, feel free to add more.
- As discussed, Monash says that 240g of broccoli florets is a moderate serve of fructose. Servings under this size are low FODMAP on a personal tolerance basis. In practice: if you know you have no issues with broccoli florets, you could use up to 230g per person, for a total of 920g broccoli florets for the soup.
- The soup will likely thicken overnight, so feel free to add more water/stock/milk to leftover soup before eating.
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