Broccoli Apple Soup Recipe

Name: Broccoli Apple Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 large bunch broccoli (about 3 heads with stems); 3 tablespoons butter; 1 cup yellow or white onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped; 1 good cooking apple (a non-tart apple such as Jonagold, golden delicious, McIntosh), peeled, cored, chopped; 3 cups chicken stock; 1 cup unfiltered apple juice or apple cider (not hard cider); 4 sprigs lemon thyme or thyme; 2 long strips lemon zest; 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

You'll just have to trust me on this one. Broccoli and apples aren't two foods that you would expect to find together in a soup, or in anything for that matter. But this soup? It's sublime.

The apple adds a light sweetness and tartness that makes any vegetal bitterness in broccoli disappear. The result is a broccoli lover's dream, a creamy, full bodied broccoli soup, without any cream!

For more information on apple varieties, check out our Guide to Apples.

The recipe comes from my friend Kathi who has been making this soup for her family for 30 years. She first got the idea from a 1979 cookbook, Cooking the Nouvelle Cuisine in America, by Michele Urvater and David Liederman.

Broccoli Apple Soup

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Servings 4 to 6 servings

1 large bunch broccoli (about 3 heads with stems)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup yellow or white onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped
1 good cooking apple (a non-tart apple such as Jonagold, Golden Delicious, McIntosh), peeled, cored, chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup unfiltered apple juice or apple cider (not hard cider)
4 sprigs lemon thyme or thyme
2 long strips lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

Prep the broccoli:

Separate the broccoli florets from the stems. Peel the outer tough skin of the stems with a vegetable peeler. Slice the stems into rounds and chop finely (a mini chopper food processor works well for this step).
Cook the sliced onions and apples in butter:

Heat a thick-bottomed medium large (4-quart) saucepan on medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Add the onion and the apple and lower the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until onions are translucent and apples are softened.

Elise Bauer
Add broccoli, stock, cider, thyme, lemon zest:

Add the broccoli florets and the chopped broccoli to the apple onion mixture. Add the stock and the cider.

Tie up the thyme sprigs with kitchen string and add to the pot. Add strips of lemon zest to the pot as well.

Increase the heat, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer, covered. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Purée soup:

Remove from heat. Remove thyme and lemon peels from the soup (discard)! Working in batches, filling up the blender bowl to no more than one third full at a time, purée the soup.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Adjust seasonings:

Return soup to the pot, reheat and adjust seasonings to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh chives to serve.

Recipe adapted from Cooking the Nouvelle Cuisine in America by Michele Urvater and David Liederman.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
196	Calories
8g	Fat
27g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	196
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g	10%
Saturated Fat 4g	21%
Cholesterol 19mg	6%
Sodium 278mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate 27g	10%
Dietary Fiber 6g	22%
Total Sugars 13g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 114mg	570%
Calcium 80mg	6%
Iron 1mg	8%
Potassium 682mg	15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.