Skinny Broccoli Cheese Soup with Hidden Veggies

Skinny Broccoli Cheese Soup with Hidden Veggies

Have I got a winner for those of you with picky kids or spouses. You know the kind that are generally veggie skeptics. I live with two of these people. A picky 3 year old that mainly exists on frozen pancakes and pixie dust and an overgrown man child that doesn’t like veggies and generally would prefer we eat man food like jalapeno popper stuffed burgers all the time.

Sorry babe. You’re much more evolved than man child in all ways but your veggie hating tendencies.

But, both parties, the picky 3 year old AND the overgrown veggie hating man both ate this soup. Without whining. Seriously, nary a whine from either one.

It was like the world was ending, or I was dying, or something. This skinny broccoli cheese soup made them both happy. And you guys, there are so many veggies.

Obviously, the star of the veggie show here is the broccoli, which is extra delicious because it’s not just boiled in the soup. Instead it gets all roasted and delicious with some garlic and olive oil in the oven before it goes into the soup. The supporting player? Obviously the carrots, as a nod to the carrots in Panera’s awesomely delicious broccoli cheese soup.

But the secret superstars? Well, there are two. First, there’s the fairly obvious secret superstar: the cauliflower. You want to make a cream soup or cream sauce healthy and do away with the butter and flour? You add cauliflower. It’s sort of a no brainer. And obviously, I added a whole head of cauliflower, roasted to make it a little more mellow.

But the second secret superstar is a lot less obvious. Say hello to these amazingly delicious roasted chickpeas. They add so much more volume and body to the soup. I know, it sort of sounds like I am describing a hair product. But what I mean is these roasted chickpeas make the soup extra thick and creamy and add a little background nuttiness to the mix.

You just add the veggies minus the roasted broccoli and the carrots to a blender and let it rip. The veggies blend up into the creamiest, yummiest broth ever. Sort of like thin hummus but not hummus like.

With that extra creaminess, you don’t have to add butter or flour or tons and tons of cheese. I used about a cup and a quarter of cheese in this whole recipe. Not too bad. And no heavy cream or half and half, just a bit of regular old milk. And you could totally sub in almond milk or whatever other kind of milk floats your boat.

The result? This hearty, delicious skinny broccoli cheese soup with so many veggies. I think my kid got a whole week’s worth of veggies in one serving. Totally winning at mom life with this.

Looking for other healthy soup recipes? Try these:

• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
• Vegetable Soup with Quinoa
• Roasted Carrot Soup
• Thai Sweet Potato Soup
• Healthy Corn and Zucchini Chowder

Skinny Broccoli Cheese Soup with Hidden Veggies

Skinny Broccoli Cheese Soup is lightened up and packing surprise extra veggies making this a healthy spin on a classic recipe

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Course: dinner, lunch, Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 -6 servings

Author: Seasoned Sprinkles

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 2 15 ounce cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 large head of broccoli
• 1 large yellow onion rough chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic pressed
• 6-7 tbs olive oil divided
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 32 ounces vegetable stock or broth
• 1 cup of shredded carrots chopped
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Remove the stem from the cauliflower and chop into equal pieces. Toss with chickpeas, garlic, onion, salt and pepper, and about 5 tbs of olive oil. Spread evenly onto two cookie sheets sprayed with nonstick spray. Set aside.
• Remove the stems from the broccoli and cut or pull the broccoli into equal bite sized pieces. Toss with remaining olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a third prepared cookie tray.
• Roast all trays of veggies in the oven for 20 minutes or until the broccoli and cauliflower are fork tender. Remove from oven. Set broccoli aside.
• Add half of cauliflower, chickpeas, garlic, and onions to a blender with 16 ounces of veggie stock. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large soup or sauce pot and heat over medium low to medium heat. Repeat with the other half of the mix. Stir in cheese, carrots, roasted broccoli, and milk. Let heat until the the cheese is melted and soup is hot. Serve immediately, garnish with more cheese if desired.

Notes

Use any kind of milk you like.

Nutrition

Serving: 4-6 servings

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