Broccoli Cheese Soup

unckat09 · April 2011

This soup was pretty yummy. Next time, I will find a way to reduce sodium and fat to make it a bit "cleaner" (i.e., no cream cheese or laughing cow cheese wedges). But, as far as comfort food, it still doesn't break the scale! I pared it with a toasted Pepperidge Farm thinly sliced wheat bread (only 40 cals!!).

1 Stick Margarine OR "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
1/2 Sweet Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves
16 oz Frozen Broccoli, chopped (fresh broccoli is ok, too)
3 1/3 cups (approx 26oz) Low Sodium Chicken Stock
2 cups Water
3 wedges Laughing Cow Original Light Swiss
1 1/2 cups Non Fat Milk
12 tablespoons (6oz) Fat Free Cream Cheese
2 cups Mild Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cups Shredded Carrots
3/4 cup corn starch
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

~~~~~~~
* Melt butter in stock pot or large pot
* Roughly chop onions and garlic then add to melted butter
* Cook until onions and garlic are translucent, stirring occasionally
* Add broccoli and cook until tender
* Add chicken stock, 1 cup water and laughing cow cheese wedges, simmer
* In a separate pot, add milk, cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese
* Stir constantly until shredded cheese melts
* Transfer milk and cheese mixture to pot and mix well
* Add carrots to pot
* In a bowl, mix cornstarch with 1 cup of water until dissolved
* Add to stock pot and let ingredients simmer
* Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
* If necessary, thin out with water
* As your soup cooks, check on it and stir occassionally

**I let mine cook/simmer for 1-2 hours so all the flavors can develop**

Servings: 10

Calories: 230
Fat: 17 (eek! this is mainly from the margerine, so I'm sure there is a good substitute. suggestions welcome!)
Sugar: 6
Sodium: 556 (again, too high!!)

JesaGrace · April 2011

I love Broccoli Cheese Soup!!

nikkialexander · April 2011

this sounds delicious, i wish i knew a way to cut out all that margarine.

JennDoesKeto · April 2011

you could sub part of the butter with some evoo and it should cut it down some

daniellejg · April 2011

what's the serving size?

My3Rayz · April 2011

Sounds amazing and the sodium is high but not SUPER high. Is the nutritional information for the whole thing? How many servings does it make?

ClarkMer · April 2011

Land O Lakes makes a light butter, its half the calories of regular butter, it might help to use that instead of the margarine

haylayne81 · April 2011

yummmm...my favorite kind of soup! Definitely going to have to try this! Thanks for sharing!

ckilgore77 · April 2011

Using Country Crock Light comes out to 40 g of fat instead of the 88 for a stick of I Can't Believe it's Not Butter. It reduces the sodium from 760 to 720, which isn't HUGE but it helps.

unckat09 · April 2011

Great suggestions!

It makes about 10 servings. The nutritional information includes the soup, not the bread.

Unfortunately, I didn't exactly measure the serving size, but it is about 1 cup (8oz) or less. I just spooned it into a regular sized bowl. Also, the corn starch makes it thick, so you could also thin it out to increase the serving size and decrease the calorie/fat/sodium counts. I will probably do that next time and freeze the leftovers.

ckilgore77 · April 2011

I figured it out with the following ingredients and it got it down to 202 calories and 8 grams of fat. Not sure if the vegetable broth would make a big difference in the tase as opposed to the chicken stock, but it also makes it vegetarian in case anyone wants that.

- 8 TB Country Crock Light
- 1/2 Sweet Onion, chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 16 oz fresh chopped broccoli
- 3 1/3 cups (26 oz) Fat Free Vegetable Broth
- 2 cups Water
- 3 wedges Laughing Cow Original Light Swiss
- 1 1/2 cups Non-Fat Milk
- 12 tablespoons (6oz) Fat Free Cream Cheese
- 2 cups Mild Cheddar Cheese
- 3/4 cups Shredded Carrots
- 3/4 cup corn starch
- Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

meganwolsker · April 2011

I love, love, love Broccoli and Potato Soup and this is the recipe that I have been using since I have been more calorie conscious

This recipe uses only 1 TB of butter!! I am not a "follow the recipe exactly" kind of girl but this is the base I use for my soup. Sometimes I will add an extra potato (if I'm feeling naughty) or I will throw in 2-3 thin slices of ham for some flavor, I always tweak the spices. But here it is an its YUMMY!! For more great recipes check out skinnytaste.com (which is where this came from) and they also have a great baked potato soup on there

Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1-1/4 cups • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 281.6 • Fat: 8.0 g • Carb: 33.0 g • Fiber: 5.0 g • Protein: 20.4 g

1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup fat free milk
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced small
salt and fresh pepper
4 cups (about 2 heads) broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
1-1/2 cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar
2 slices 2% American cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Izzys_mom · April 2011

If you like Broccoli Cheese soup, you should try this one. It is absolutely delish.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Low Fat Recipe
Ingredients:
1 quart (4 cups) water
6 cups broccoli florets
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 (10.5 ounce) cans reduced sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Bring 1 quart water to boil in large soup pot. Add broccoli and cook for 7 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add broccoli and onion mixture in a blender or food processor and pulse blend into small pieces.
Combine yogurt and flour in a large saucepan and mix well with a wire whisk. Add broth and next 4 ingredients and stir well. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until thickened. Add broccoli mixture and 3/4 cup cheese and heat until cheese is melted. Top with remaining cheese and serve.
Recipe akes 10 Servings Broccoli Cheese Soup; Serving Size: 12 ounces

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 105
Total fat: 4g
Saturated fat: 2g
Cholesterol: 12mg
Sodium: 280mg
Carbohydrate: 9g
Protein: 9g
Dietary fiber: 2g