Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Trail Version
Freeze-dried broccoli, milk powder, and real cheddar in one pot. Panera without the bread bowl.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 144
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried broccoli florets | 1 cup | crush the big pieces so they rehydrate evenly |
|---|---|---|
| Dried diced carrots | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp | |
| Whole milk powder | 1/4 cup | replaces the half-and-half |
| Cornstarch | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt, black pepper, nutmeg | 1/4 tsp salt, a few grinds pepper, a pinch nutmeg | |
| Sharp cheddar | 2 oz | block cheese, not shredded; shredded is coated in starch and goes grainy |
| Butter or olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Bacon crumbles | 2 tbsp | the shelf-stable pouch kind |
| Crackers or a bagel | as desired | stands in for the bread bowl |
Method
- Pour 600 ml of water into the pot and add the broccoli, carrots, onion, garlic powder, and bouillon. Bring it up to a boil.
- Cut the heat to a low simmer and hold it for 8 minutes. The carrots are the slow ones; taste for them, not the broccoli.
- Pull the pot off the flame. Whisk in the milk powder, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and nutmeg together so nothing clumps.
- Back on low heat for 2 minutes, stirring the whole time, until it thickens and coats the spoon. Do not let it boil now or the milk will scorch.
- Off the heat again. Add the butter and the cheddar in small chunks, stirring until it disappears.
- Scatter the bacon on top. Dunk crackers.
The original is a stovetop soup built on butter, chicken stock, and two cups of half-and-half. None of that rides in a pack, so the dairy becomes whole milk powder and a chunk of block cheddar, and the fresh vegetables become freeze-dried. Everything else survives the translation intact, including the nutmeg, which sounds fussy and is not — it is what keeps a cheese soup from tasting flat.
Order matters more than technique here. Cornstarch dropped into hot liquid seizes into lumps, so it goes in premixed with the milk powder and off the heat. Cheese added to a boiling pot separates into oil and rubber, so that goes in last with the flame already out. Use block cheddar and cut it small; pre-shredded bags are dusted with anti-caking starch that turns the pot gritty.
Packing
Everything dry except the cheese, butter, and bacon goes into one bag at home. Whisk the milk powder and cornstarch together before bagging so they never meet hot water as separate lumps. Cheese rides in its own bag.
Variations
- Skip the bacon and swap in vegetable bouillon for a meatless bowl.
- A packet of instant potato flakes replaces the cornstarch and adds 100 calories.
- Freeze-dried cheddar powder instead of block cheese saves weight and never breaks, but the texture is thinner.
https://mealswithmaria.site/copycat-panera-bread-broccoli-cheddar-soup-recipe