A rich, velvety bowl of comfort that’ll warm you right down to your toes. This Jamie Oliver broccoli and Stilton soup recipe is bold, creamy, and surprisingly easy. Perfect for chilly evenings when you need something real on the table fast.
Recipe Overview
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Servings: 4 People
- Cuisine: British
- Category: Soup / Lunch / Dinner
- Approximately 320 per serving
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Fresh broccoli (cut into florets) | 1 large head (about 500g) |
| Stilton cheese (crumbled) | 150g |
| Onion (roughly chopped) | 1 medium |
| Garlic cloves (minced) | 2 |
| Celery stalks (chopped) | 2 |
| Vegetable stock | 1 liter |
| Butter | 2 tablespoons |
| Olive oil | 1 tablespoon |
| Double cream | 3 tablespoons |
| Salt and black pepper | To taste |
| Nutmeg (freshly grated) | A small pinch |
Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
- Immersion blender (or regular blender)
- Cutting board and sharp knife
- Ladle
- Soup bowls for serving
How to Make Jamie Oliver Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Step 1 : Soften Your Base Vegetables
Melt the butter with olive oil in your big pot over medium heat. Toss in the onion and celery and let them soften gently for about 8 minutes, stirring now and then. You want them translucent and sweet, not browned.
Step 2 : Add the Garlic
Drop in the minced garlic and stir it around for just a minute. It goes fragrant really fast, so keep an eye on it. This step smells absolutely incredible; my kids always wander into the kitchen at this point.
Step 3 : In Goes the Broccoli
Add all your broccoli florets right into the pot. Give everything a good stir so the broccoli gets coated in all those lovely buttery juices. Don’t worry about cutting it perfectly; it’s all getting blended anyway.
Step 4 : Pour in the Stock
Pour your vegetable stock over everything and bring it up to a gentle boil. Once it’s bubbling, drop the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes. The broccoli should be completely tender when you poke it with a fork.
Step 5 : Blend Until Silky Smooth
Take the pot off the heat and use your immersion blender to blitz everything into a smooth, beautiful green soup. If you’re using a regular blender, work in batches and be careful with the hot liquid. I always throw a kitchen towel over the blender lid just in case.
Step 6 : Melt in the Stilton
Now comes the magic part. Stir in most of your crumbled Stilton and watch it melt right into the soup. Add your cream, a pinch of nutmeg, and taste for seasoning. Give it one last gentle stir and let it sit on low heat for just a couple of minutes.
Step 7 : Serve and Enjoy
Ladle into bowls and crumble the remaining Stilton on top. A crack of fresh black pepper and maybe a drizzle of cream if you’re feeling fancy. Grab some crusty bread and settle in.
What is Jamie Oliver Broccoli and Stilton Soup?
This is a classic British-style blended soup made famous by Jamie Oliver’s simple, no-fuss approach to cooking. It combines the earthy goodness of fresh broccoli with the salty, punchy depth of Stilton blue cheese. The result is rich, velvety, and deeply satisfying.
Jamie always believed that good food doesn’t need to be complicated. This soup is the perfect example of simple ingredients, honest technique, and big bold flavor in every spoonful.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Honestly, the first time I made this, I was a little skeptical. Blue cheese in soup felt a bit wild to me. But one taste and I completely understood — the Stilton melts into this creamy, savory dreaminess that you just can’t get from regular cheddar.
It’s also one of those recipes that feels impressive but takes barely any effort. Thirty-five minutes from cutting board to table. That’s a weeknight win in my house any day of the week.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Melt the butter with olive oil in your big pot over medium heat. Toss in the onion and celery and let them soften gently for about 8 minutes, stirring now and then. You want them translucent and sweet, not browned.
- Drop in the minced garlic and stir it around for just a minute. It goes fragrant really fast, so keep an eye on it. This step smells absolutely incredible; my kids always wander into the kitchen at this point.
- Add all your broccoli florets right into the pot. Give everything a good stir so the broccoli gets coated in all those lovely buttery juices. Don’t worry about cutting it perfectly; it’s all getting blended anyway.
- Pour your vegetable stock over everything and bring it up to a gentle boil. Once it’s bubbling, drop the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes. The broccoli should be completely tender when you poke it with a fork.
- Take the pot off the heat and use your immersion blender to blitz everything into a smooth, beautiful green soup. If you’re using a regular blender, work in batches and be careful with the hot liquid. I always throw a kitchen towel over the blender lid just in case.
- Now comes the magic part. Stir in most of your crumbled Stilton and watch it melt right into the soup. Add your cream, a pinch of nutmeg, and taste for seasoning. Give it one last gentle stir and let it sit on low heat for just a couple of minutes.
- Ladle into bowls and crumble the remaining Stilton on top. A crack of fresh black pepper and maybe a drizzle of cream if you’re feeling fancy. Grab some crusty bread and settle in.
Notes
Pro Tips from My Kitchen
Don’t overcook the broccoli. The moment it’s fork-tender, pull it off the heat. Overcooked broccoli loses that gorgeous green color and can turn the soup a little grey and sad-looking.
Use good-quality Stilton if you can find it. The flavor is so much more complex and nutty than cheaper versions. It really does make a difference in this soup specifically.
Ingredient Substitutions
No Stilton? Gorgonzola works beautifully as a swap, though it’s a touch milder. Roquefort is another great option if you want that bold blue cheese punch. For a non-blue-cheese version, sharp white cheddar gives a totally different but equally delicious result.
Swap double cream for coconut cream if you want a dairy lighter version. It changes the flavor slightly but still keeps that lovely richness.
Easy Variations to Try
Add a leek alongside the onion and celery for extra sweetness in the base. It makes the soup a little more complex without any real extra work. I tried this by accident once when I had a leek that needed using up — never looked back.
A handful of toasted walnuts sprinkled on top adds a wonderful crunch and pairs really nicely with the Stilton. My husband started doing this, and now we can’t stop.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Adding the Stilton while the soup is still boiling is a big one. High heat makes the cheese go grainy and greasy instead of melting smoothly. Always take it off the burner first, then stir the cheese in.
Also, taste before you add salt. Stilton is already quite salty on its own, so the soup usually needs way less added salt than you’d think.
Serving Suggestions
This soup loves crusty sourdough bread or a warm baguette alongside it. A simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness really nicely. For a cozy lunch, I sometimes serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side, pure comfort food heaven.
Storage Tips
This soup keeps really well in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container. Reheat it slowly over low-medium heat and add a small splash of stock if it’s thickened up too much. It also freezes well for up to 2 months. Just freeze before adding the cream and Stilton, then finish those off fresh when you reheat.
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 320 kcal |
| Total Fat | 24g |
| Saturated Fat | 14g |
| Carbohydrates | 12g |
| Fiber | 4g |
| Sugar | 5g |
| Protein | 14g |
| Sodium | 620mg |
| Calcium | 280mg |
| Vitamin C | 85mg |
Health Benefits and Taste
Broccoli is genuinely one of the most nutrient-packed vegetables you can put in a pot. It’s loaded with Vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants that do real good things for your body. The fact that it tastes this incredible in soup form feels like a happy bonus.
Stilton brings protein and calcium to the table alongside all that amazing flavor. Yes, there’s fat and richness here, but this is real, wholesome food made from scratch. That matters so much more than any guilt about a little cream and cheese.
My Personal Experience
The first time I made this Jamie Oliver broccoli and Stilton soup recipe was on a grey November afternoon when I had a big head of broccoli and half a wedge of Stilton just sitting in my fridge. I threw it together mostly on a whim, and my whole family went quiet at the table, that good kind of quiet.
Conclusion
This Jamie Oliver broccoli and Stilton soup recipe has earned a permanent spot in my regular dinner rotation, and I have a feeling it’s about to do the same in yours. It’s warm, it’s bold, it’s honest food that makes people happy. If you give it a try, I’d absolutely love to hear how it went. Drop a comment, share it with a friend who loves soup, or leave a star rating below. Happy cooking, friend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this soup ahead of time?
Absolutely yes! I make it a day ahead all the time. Just hold off adding the cream and Stilton until you reheat it. Trust me, it tastes even better the next day.
What if I can’t find Stilton at my grocery store?
Don’t stress at all! Gorgonzola or any creamy blue cheese works just fine. In my kitchen, I’ve even used sharp white cheddar when I was totally out of blue cheese, and it was still delicious.
Can I freeze this broccoli and Stilton soup?
From my experience, freezing works great as long as you freeze it before stirring in the cream and cheese. Add those fresh when you reheat it, and you’ll honestly never know it was frozen.
Is there a way to make this lighter or lower in calories?
You’ll be surprised how well it works with just a splash of regular milk instead of double cream. I always tell people to try it that way first because it’s still incredibly rich and satisfying without feeling heavy.
My soup turned out a bit grainy. What went wrong?
Oh, I’ve been there! The cheese probably went in while the soup was still too hot. Next time, pull it completely off the heat first, wait a minute, then stir the Stilton in slowly, and it’ll melt like a dream.
