Healthy Broccoli Soup
Whip up a delicious, healthy broccoli soup in one pot in less than 30 minutes! It has all of the flavors of broccoli cheddar soup, but half the calories!
Servings: 4 servings
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
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 999mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1047IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 2mg