This roasted broccoli and white cheddar soup is loaded with creamy white cheddar cheese that's enriched with the flavors of perfectly roasted broccoli and melted Parmesan.
Grate the white cheddar and let it come to room temperature. This is needed to ensure that the soup is smooth and creamy.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Add the broccoli to a baking sheet and drizzle the olive oil and desired amounts of salt and pepper.
Toss the broccoli around to coat it evenly in the olive oil and heat in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the tops just start to blacken. (I recommend checking it around 15 minutes and keeping an eye from there)
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top of the broccoli and heat until the cheese is just melted, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large soup pot, over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, covered, for 7 minutes.
Remove the cover, decrease heat to medium low, add the minced garlic, thyme, and bay leaves and cook for an additional minute.
Sprinkle in 1/4 cup of the flour and whisk with a fork, heating just long enough to rid the raw flour taste, about 2 minutes.
Gradually add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil, then decrease the heat back down to medium low.
Heat the half and half in the microwave until just warmed or no longer cool (about 30 seconds or so), then add it to the soup mixture.
If you prefer to slice your roasted broccoli into smaller bites, do so, and then add to the soup.
Turn the heat off and transfer the pot to a cool burner.
Sprinkle the cheese with a Tablespoon of flour. Gradually add the cheese to the soup, stirring as you do so. Serve once well-combined!