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Next time you’re craving broccoli cheddar soup, make this Healthy Broccoli Soup instead! It has half the calories of most recipes, 8 grams of protein, and is made without butter or heavy cream.
Create a healthy version of your favorite comfort soup so you can still lose weight while enjoying the foods and flavors you love! This broccoli soup without cream is vegetarian, uses an olive oil roux, and uses fat-free half and half instead of cream.
These simple substitutions still taste delicious, but will help you achieve your weight loss goals. Pair your soup with more protein to make it a full meal for dinner or lunch!
If you like cheesy broccoli recipes, you will love my ham potato broccoli casserole and chicken Alfredo casserole!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed with Veggies and Nutrients: This healthy broccoli soup recipe has all the flavor you crave in broccoli cheddar soup, but with more fiber, protein, and plenty of broccoli.
- Ready in 30 Minutes: It only takes 30 minutes to make this soup from scratch using a single pot, so it’s great for a quick lunch or dinner.
- Better for You Than Panera: This soup is a great replacement for Panera, which has over 400 calories per serving and loads of excessive fat. It still tastes delicious, but has only 175 calories per serving. Get more low-calorie soup recipes here!
Ingredients
- Broccoli: Use fresh broccoli florets steamed to lock in the nutrients and flavor for this soup.
- Leeks: Instead of onions, I used leeks for a milder and more restaurant-quality flavor.
- Vegetable Broth: Use a low-sodium vegetable broth to create the broth base. Soups usually contain a lot of sodium, so use low-sodium ingredients when you can.
- Fat-Free Half & Half: Make the soup creamy without using a full-fat cream. Fat-free half and half has the same effect without the excess calories and fat.
- Cheddar Cheese: Use a low-moisture cheese and shred it yourself. Prepackaged cheeses have a coating that doesn’t melt easily and can make the soup gritty.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Make It Dairy-Free: You can easily make this low-calorie broccoli cheese soup dairy-free. Replace the half and half with a dairy-free, plant-based half and half. Use a bit of nutritional yeast to give it the cheesy flavor without the dairy.
- Give It a Protein Boost: This soup doesn’t have enough protein to be a meal on its own, but you can add more protein with shredded chicken, cubed ham, tofu, or even white beans.
- Spice It Up: Add more crushed red pepper, a sprinkle of cayenne, or top your soup with a few slices of jalapeno for a spicy kick.
How to Make Healthy Broccoli Soup
This healthy broccoli cheddar soup will satisfy all of your cheesy soup cravings without all the excess calories. It only takes 30 minutes to make it on the stove with hardly any preparation.
- Step 1: Steam the Broccoli. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, then add the broccoli florets. Steam the broccoli in boiling water for 4-5 minutes, then drain and set aside. The broccoli should be bright green and tender.
- Step 2: Sauté the Leeks and Garlic. At the bottom of the same pot, add a tablespoon of olive oil along with the leeks and garlic. Sauté them for 3-4 minutes until the leeks are tender. Then remove them from the pot and set them aside.
- Step 3: Make a Roux. Add the remaining olive oil to the bottom of the pot and bring it to medium heat. Whisk in the flour continuously for 3-5 minutes to thicken the mixture into a roux.
- Step 4: Add Most of the Ingredients. Add half of the steamed broccoli, the leeks and garlic, vegetable broth, half and half, and seasonings to the pot. Stir the ingredients, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Step 5: Blend ½ of the Soup. Use an immersion blender to blend the broccoli in the soup pot. You can also turn off the heat, let the soup cool for 10 minutes, then add it to a blender and blend it. Pour the blended soup back into the pot and let it heat back up for 10 minutes.
- Step 6: Add the Cheese. Stir in the other half of the broccoli and the cheddar cheese. Once the cheese has melted, taste the soup and adjust the seasonings before serving.
Expert Tips
- Steam Fresh Broccoli: Steaming the broccoli before adding it to the soup seals in nutrients, helps it retain its vibrant green color, and prevents it from turning mushy. You only need to steam it for 4-5 minutes, or until it is slightly tender and vivid green.
- Lower Heat Before Adding Cheese: Reduce the heat to low before you stir in the cheese to keep it from turning gritty and melting unevenly.
- Blend A Portion to Improve Texture: Make this soup even creamier by blending half of the broccoli and broth. This makes it creamy without adding additional cheese or cream. You can do this with an immersion blender or cool the soup and carefully add it to a blender.
- Storing: Keep leftover low-fat broccoli soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can also separate the soup into individual servings and store them in the freezer for 60 days.
Serving Suggestions
Make this low-calorie broccoli soup anytime a craving for Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup hits! It has the same great flavor, with fewer than half the calories and way less fat.
This recipe doesn’t have enough protein to count as a full meal, but pair it with a lean protein to make it one.
- Skip the bread bowl and serve your healthy cream of broccoli soup with gluten-free cauliflower bread or pumpkin corn muffins.
- These ground chicken burgers are loaded with protein and go so well with a bowl of cheesy veggie soup.
- Keep dinner simple and make some slow cooker pulled pork to go with your soup.
Healthy Broccoli Soup Recipe FAQs
Sure, you can absolutely use frozen broccoli instead of fresh broccoli. You don’t need to steam frozen broccoli before you add it to the soup.
Yes, you can make this gluten-free broccoli soup in the Instant Pot to make it even faster! Start by using the saute function to cook the leeks and garlic. Remove them and use the saute function to also make the roux. Then add the broccoli, broth, and seasonings, and seal the lid. Manually set it to high pressure and cook for 3 minutes. Release all of the pressure, blend half the soup, and then stir in the half and half and cheese. Stir until they are well combined and melted. You can also reserve half of the broccoli, steam it, and stir it in with the half and half and cheese at the end.
Yes, you can make this soup in the slow cooker, but you’ll need to steam the fresh broccoli before adding it to the crockpot. Add all of the ingredients, minus the cheese and broccoli, and cook it on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 3-4 hours. Stir in half the broccoli in the last 30 minutes. Once it’s finished, remove half of the soup to blend, then add it back to the slow cooker with the cheese and remaining broccoli.
You can reheat the soup in a pan on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave at 50% power in 60-second intervals. Be sure to thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating them. The soup will naturally thicken in the refrigerator, so add a splash of veggie broth to thin it out as you reheat it.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
If you tried this Healthy Broccoli Soup recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Broccoli Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups Broccoli Florets, diced into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup Leeks, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
- 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour, or gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoons Garlic, minced
- 3 ½ cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- ½ cup Fat Free Half & Half
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, or paprika
- ⅓ cup Low Moisture Cheddar Cheese, shredded, or sub nutrition yeast for dairy free
- Extra Cheese for topping
Instructions
- Add 2 cups of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli florets. Steam the broccoli in the boiling water 4-5 minutes then drain and return the pot on the stove.
- Reduce the heat to medium then add one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the leeks, garlic and olive oil. Stir together and cook 3-4 minutes until the leeks are tender. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and flour. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until the flour is thickened. This makes a roux and it’s very important the mixture is thick or soup will not thicken properly.
- To the pot, add half the broccoli, the cooked leeks and garlic, vegetable broth, half and half, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir and simmer covered 5-7 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, blend half the broccoli into the broth. If you do not have an immersion blender, turn off the heat and cool the soup for 10 minutes then blend in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot and heat 10 minutes on medium heat before proceeding.
- Stir the other half of the broccoli then add the cheese into the soup. Taste to adjust the seasonings as needed.
Notes
- Steam the broccoli before adding it to the soup to help lock in the nutrients and color. It also prevents the broccoli from turning mushy.
- Lower the heat of the soup before stirring in the cheese to help it melt slowly and not turn grainy.
- Blend half of the broccoli and soup mixture to make it more creamy without adding additional cream or cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looking for a good low calorie broccoli soup so excited to try this! How much is a serving since I’m counting calories and protein etc?
The recipe makes 4 servings so 1/4th of the recipe equals one serving.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made this several times and shared it with my neighbors. They are pleasantly surprised when I tell them it is low calorie and no cream!
Hi Megan,
Where is the sugar from and the carbs?
I can’t have any sugar or carbs with fat.
Can u advise.
Thx
Lucy
Sugar and carbs are coming from the broccoli and cheese.
Going to make this but where’s all the sodium coming from
Sodium is coming from all the ingredients. Broccoli naturally has sodium, black pepper has sodium, red pepper flakes has sodium, cheese has some sodium and the low sodium broth has some sodium too. The salt is the most dense in this recipe so if you are concerned about sodium then that is the area to reduce.