This Creamy White Cheddar and Vegetable Soup with Orecchiette is full of vegetables simmered in a creamy white cheddar cheese broth and served over orecchiette pasta. It is hearty and filling, and while it’s great for a cold winter day, I love it in the summer, spring, and fall too.
Ready in just over 30 minutes, it's a great family-friendly weeknight meal too.
This soup covers a lot of things all at once. It has lots of vegetables (just like this Fagioli Soup). The white cheddar cheese is melted into the broth to make it creamy.
When served over orecchiette, it is filling, but won’t leave you feeling weighed down, and it’s very comforting. It also comes together fairly quickly, so it’s a good weeknight meal and is great for leftovers (just like this Italian Tomato Lentil Soup).
For a lighter soup with similar vegetables, try this Spring Soup with Chicken and Vegetables.
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- White Cheddar Broth: The white cheddar cheese melts into the broth adding a lot of creamy richness.
- Orecchiette: The durum wheat semolina orecchiette is hearty and satisfying. The orecchiette acts as mini bowls in the soup that hold a little bit of the creamy broth and occasionally a veggie or two.
- Full of Veggies: It has lots of colorful vegetables perfect for balancing out the creamy broth and pasta.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Creamy White Cheddar and Vegetable Soup with Orecchiette.
- Butter: Combine with olive oil to sauté the onions, carrots, and celery.
- Olive Oil: I recommend using extra virgin olive oil. I love to use Spanish extra virgin olive oil from Trader Joe's or Costco.
- Onion: Use a small yellow onion or a few slices of a larger onion.
- Carrots: I use baby carrots, sliced. However, you can use regular carrots, peeled and sliced.
- Celery: Adds flavor and a little crunch.
- Bay Leaf & Thyme: Dried spices to add flavor to the soup. Be sure to remove the bay leaf before serving.
- Flour: To create a sort of roux and thicken the soup.
- Chicken Stock: Use low-sodium chicken broth.
- Frozen Peas: A great and easy way to add more veggies!
- Whole Milk: Use whole milk, not low-fat or skim.
- White Cheddar: I recommend buying a block of white cheddar and shredding it yourself.
- Salt: Adjust according to your own taste preferences.
- Orecchiette: I highly recommend buying a high-quality Durum Wheat Semolina Orecchiette. There is so much more flavor in this type of pasta and it holds up better in the soup. It's much less likely to get mushy than standard pasta. Be sure to cook it until al dente or even a minute less.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Creamy White Cheddar and Vegetable Soup with Orecchiette
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Creamy White Cheddar and Vegetable Soup with Orecchiette.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Sauté the Onions: Bring a large pot or Dutch Oven to medium heat. This should be a setting of "4" out of "10" on an electric stovetop. Add the butter and olive oil. Allow the butter to melt and the olive oil to warm through. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
Step 2. Add the Carrots and Celery: Add the carrots, celery, bay leaf, and thyme. Sauté stirring occasionally for 7 minutes.
Step 3. Create a Roux: Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the chicken stock a little at a time, starting with about 2 tablespoons. It will thicken quickly. This creates a roux, which thickens the soup. Continue adding the chicken stock ¼ cup at a time and stirring in between until each portion is fully incorporated.
Step 4. Simmer: Once all the chicken stock has been incorporated, add the salt, bring the pot to a boil, and reduce it immediately to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 5. Cook the Pasta: Cook the orecchiette according to the package directions for al dente or even one minute less.
Tip: Not all pasta package directions for al dente are accurate. If you're not sure, always err on the side of cooking the pasta less. It will continue to cook slightly in the warm soup. Check the pasta 1-2 minutes before the directions indicate al dente.
Step 6. Finish the Soup: Add the frozen peas and return to a simmer. Add the whole milk and the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir and allow the cheddar cheese to melt into the broth.
Remove the bay leaf.
Serve: Add a small amount of orecchiette to individual bowls, then ladle the soup on top. Serve warm.
✏️ Notes
- I always double this recipe. That way you end up using half of a 1lb bag of baby carrots, a whole bag of peas, most of a block of white cheddar, and a full lb of orecchiette. Though, when doubling this do not double the onion.
- Be sure to remove the bay leaf.
- We aim to put only a small amount of orecchiette in each bowl so that the emphasis is on the veggies rather than the pasta. However, this always depends on how hungry we are!
If You’re Looking For Other Soup Recipes, Here Are A Few That I Love:
If you've tried this Creamy White Cheddar and Vegetable Soup with Orecchiette or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Creamy White Cheddar and Vegetable Soup with Orecchiette
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- ½ lb baby carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 cups low sodium chicken stock
- ½ lb frozen peas
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese, about ¼ lb
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 lb orecchiette, Durum Wheat Semolina, Bronze Cut
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven at medium heat. Add the olive oil and diced onion, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, bay leaf, and thyme. Sauté the vegetables for 7 minutes.
- Add the flour, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes. Add the low-sodium chicken stock a little at a time, while continuing to stir. It will thicken very rapidly. Keep adding the stock little by little to make a sort of roux. Once all of the chicken stock has been added, add the salt, bring to a boil, and immediately reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Separately cook the orecchiette until al dente.
- Add the frozen peas and return to a simmer. Add the milk and cheese, and stir until the cheese has melted. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
- Serve the soup in bowls over a small amount of the orecchiette. If you have extra shredded white cheddar cheese you can sprinkle that on top.
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