The most AMAZING Vegetable Soup!! Thick and creamy, loaded with tender vegetables, it tastes luxurious and rich but itโs a SUPER HEALTHY soup recipe withย 90% LESS calories than the usual creamy soups!
Magic super low calorie creamy Vegetable Soup!
Though my recipe feed doesnโt exactly scream โhealthy eatingโ by any stretch of the imagination, the more discerning may have noticed that most of my dinner recipes actually have a sensible level of calories.
I donโt often cook with cream. I control my use of butter (sometimes reluctantly). And I am pretty sure I can count the deep fried recipes on this blog on one hand.
I believe that food is for enjoying not just survival. I donโt believe in butchering great dishes of the world for the sake of drastic calorie reduction and compromising taste. Iโd rather eat a smaller serving of something super tasty and bulk up on vegetables.
However, Iย do have a thing for creating seriously tasty, super low cal meals that are filling. I have a few friends I often brainstorm with for calorie controlled food intake ideas. (Well, they brief me on exactly what theyโre after and I do the brainstorming).
This is the product of one such session โ a Healthy, Creamy Vegetable Soup recipe thatโs just 124 calories for a big bowl and itโs seriously delish!
Secret ingredient: Pureed peeled zucchini
This recipe is sort of an extension of my Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Which I initially used as the soup broth for this healthy creamy Vegetable Soup and while tasty, it had a distinct cauliflower flavour which was not what I was after. I was specifically trying to make a super low cal cream of vegetable soup, so I wanted the white soup broth to have a fairly neutral but seasoned flavour.
The solution? Two zucchinis in the bottom of my fridge past their used by date. Peel off the green = almost pure white flesh. I knew it would thicken the soup and add silkiness just like in my Creamy Zucchini Soup โ except this soup would be white.
Bingo.
Flavour!
The soup broth is also flavoured with onion and garlic which is cooked with the cauliflower and zucchini in vegetable broth and water until soft, then whizzed up until silky smooth. Pour it into the pot loaded with even more veggies, simmer to bring it all together and this is what you end up with โ a big pot of HEALTHY creamy Vegetable Soup that looks like itโs been made with tubs of cream.
Iโm not going to lie to you. Is it as good as making a real Cream of Vegetable Soup made using a big chunk of butter and 1/2 cup of flour to thicken milk? And letโs add a nice swish of cream while weโre at it, and weโd be mad not to sautรฉ the veggies for the soup in more butter, because after all, butter = flavour.
Then we must, oh we MUST serve it with big hunks of grilled cheese on toast, and donโt hold back on the cheese please, and while youโre at it, please slather the bread with butter before topping with cheese.
No, this Healthy Creamy Vegetable Soup is not โas goodโ as that.
But does it stand on its own as a seriously delicious soup for a ridiculously low amount of calories for a gigantic VERY filling bowl?
YES IT DOES.
I know some people would use all the calorie credits for a little sweet treat. Not me. Bring on the grilled cheese. โ Nagi x
Soup Dippers
More creamy cream-less soups
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup โ bid Heinz goodbye!
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WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Magic healthy low cal creamy Vegetable Soup!
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of cauliflower , about 600 โ 700g / 1.2 โ 1.4 lb (Note 1)
Low Cal Creamy Soup Broth:
- 500g / 1 lb zucchinis (2 large), peeled and cut into 1.5cm / 3/5โณ slices
- 1 large onion , roughly chopped (brown, white, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves , whole
- 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- 1 cup (250 ml) 0% fat milk (or other milk of choice)
- 1/2 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder (or 1 tsp of one of them)
- Pinch black pepper
Soup:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 onion , chopped (brown, white, yellow)
- 2 large carrots , cut into 1.25cm / 1/2โณ pieces
- 3 celery sticks , cut into 0.75cm / 1/4โณ slices
- 2 red capsicum / bell peppers , cut into 1 cm / 2/5โณ pieces
- 500g / 1 lb zucchinis (2 large), peeled and cut into 1.25cm / 1/2โณ slices
- 1 tsp dried thyme (or other herb of choice)
- Salt and pepper
- Finely chopped parsley , optional garnish
Instructions
Cauliflower:
- For soup โ Break off 1/4 of the cauliflower into small bite size florets and put aside to use in the soup.
- For broth โ Break up the rest of the cauliflower into medium florets. If you have a small cauliflower, use the stem too โ peel then rough dice.
Broth:
- Place cauliflower for broth in a large pot. Add zucchini, onion, whole garlic cloves, vegetable broth and water. (Note 2)
- Place lid on, bring to boil then adjust heat so itโs simmering energetically. Cook for 15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
- Transfer to blender (Note 3), add garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and milk. Place lid on, place tea towel on lid and hold down very firmly, then whizz to puree soup, starting on low then getting faster.
- Remove lid. Marvel at super low cal ultra creamy soup broth.
Soup:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Then add carrots and celery, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add thyme, capsicum and zucchini. Cook until softened, around 2 minutes.
- Pour in soup broth. Adjustment consistency with water to achieve desired thickness. Add reserved cauliflower.
- Simmer 5 minutes to bring flavours together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve, garnished with parsley. Or splurge your calorie credits on a piece of grilled cheese to dunk into the soup!!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZERย
A familiar sight: a furry head peeking around the bench to check out if anything of interest (to him) is going on in the kitchenโฆ.. In this case, no, just raw cauliflower!
Nagi you are a genius with this soup base, you can manipulate the liquid to create any type of cream sauce substitute!! I can not thank you enough for this recipe, TOTAL game changer ๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป
This was the most unique idea for soup and it is truly delicious. It is now in my top five of soup recipes, and not just the healthy ones. Amazing recipe.
scrumptious
i didnโt have cauliflower so used washed potatoes skin on for broth and added peas and corn to the mix. great way to use up homegrown zucchini and parsley
Definitely worth it! I added 2 seedless poblanos to the broth recipe to give it a smoky burst of flavor. SO GOOD. Not spicy, just flavorful. I also added a dash of pesto and peas at the end to stir in and they offer a bit more texture in the soup. Also, needs way more salt! But overall, great base recipe to work with.
I am happy that you enjoyed it Olivia! N x
This soup is FABULOUS. Iโve been eating it for breakfast every morning. Super healthy and filling. LOVE IT. Always have a hard time with breakfast. This soup is life changing soup. THANK YOU.
I followed the recipe and it turned out fine, but for me it was very bland. So I had to add more spicies for flavor. Yeah, itโs a good recipe as a base healthy cream vegetable soup.
Absolutely delicious, and super healthy! This could easily be a tasty vegan soup if you swap the broth for veggie stock and milk for plant based. I didnโt have any celery, but it still came out great. I also added 1/4 cup nutritional yeast for a cheesey flavor. Despite the recipe saying its a little time consuming, i didnt think so. This will definitely be in the rotation of meals at my house.
That soup is amazingly delicious I added chopped spinach and oh my how awesome was that THANK YOU for this recipe
Broth was a little thin. Iโd recommend less water. Good flavor!
A lovely, warming soup, full of vegies. Amazing that itโs so creamy with only 1 cup of milk. Quite time consuming but nice to do on a winterโs day. I added some savoury yeast flakes at the end for a hit of umami.
I love that idea Lulu, genius! N x
I had a cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot bag, and it was fineโฆthe broth was a little darker than what she had (kinda orangey) but it was delicious!
This soup was delicious! The only difference I made was to take out the bell peppers and I also cooked it for longer as when I simmered for 5 min, the onions and celery were uncooked, so I wound up cooking it for about 25 more min until everything was soft. It was phenomenal! Thanks, Nagi!
Canโt wait to cook this tomorrow, going the frozen cauliflower version, my question is I have cauliflower & broccoli mixed bag, will this have same outcome?? Thanks ๐
Hello! Canโt wait to try this. Do you know what the serving size is in cups instead of grams?
Thank you so much!
Domo again Nagi
Ive made this soup as well as your other healthy low cal creamy veg soup ( the one without cauliflower) I use coconut beverage for milk. Both so good. My hubby waiting for gallbladder surgery so trying to eat super healthy w lotsa fiber and veg. Any other suggestions?
Iโm so glad you love them Lesley!! I have a stack of salads and low carb meals in the categories list which might suit! N x
Oh that is great. I had not noticed the special dietary section.
Konichiwa to Dozer๐พ๐
There is no cauliflower listed in your ingredients
Directions
Step 1: Place cauliflower for broth in a large pot. Add zucchini, onion, whole garlic cloves, vegetable broth and water. (Note 2)
Itโs at the very top, just below Ingredients and above Low Cal Creamy Soup Broth. I missed it the first time I made this soup too!
Delicious and flavorful! I added a little parm on top. Iโll be remembering this one when I have an overabundance of garden zucchini in the summer!
Amazing!
This was fantastic! This recipe is great for someone following weight watchers.
It is a very versatile recipe. You can put so many different vegetables in this cauliflower base to customize it to your tastes. The only things I did different was to add some corn and peas. I topped mine with a little bit of turkey bacon and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. In the base I added a little better than bouillon chicken flavoring. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
V yummy recipe. I tried .its awesome ๐ . I replaced bell pepoervw ๐ฝ.
Just wanted to say thanks for this great recipe. So satisfying, diet-friendly, and works with all sorts of veggies. Can you please create a super-low-calorie grilled cheese bread?! ๐