Did you know that April is National Grilled Cheese Month? I didn’t, until Craig came home yesterday with some ingredients and declared his intention to make some grilled cheese. His creation, turkey breast with munster, pepper jack and barbecue sauce was AMAZING. So amazing, in fact, that we gobbled them up without even thinking of taking photos.
It’s cold and raining here in Boston. After taking Archer to the dog park where he got absolutely filthy in the mud I decided I really felt like soup. After the grilled cheese extravaganza the night before, I wanted to create a soup that would go really well with grilled cheese or any other yummy sandwich. One of my favorite lunch soups is broccoli cheddar. The version at Panera Bread is phenomenal. However, it’s loaded with calories and butter, cream and cheese. In thinking about how to create a healthy broccoli soup I had a brainwave: beans. Cannellini beans have a smooth and creamy texture and I thought they would be the perfect way to make a healthy, low calorie soup that is still creamy and hearty.
I used a food processor to shred garlic, onions and broccoli. You could certainly puree these, but I wanted the soup to have some small chunks for texture. I used some fresh rosemary for seasoning and topped the bowl off with a light sprinkle of tangy parmesan.
This soup was so good. It tastes comforting and creamy and, due to the protein and fiber in the beans, it is extremely filling. The best part is that it’s very low in calories and takes only 20 minutes to make! Please make this soup on a cold day. It feels good and it great for you. I was especially thrilled when I calculated the nutrition info and compared it to the Panera version. A cup of my soup was extremely low in fat and sodium while being less than half the calories of the Panera version! Luckily, this recipe made about 6 12oz servings, so there is plenty for me to bring for lunch!
Here’s the comparison:
My soup:
125 calories
2.9g fat
312.76mg sodium
Panera soup:
300 calories
19g fat
1250mg sodium
Read more for the full recipe!
Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large head of broccoli (approx. 4 cups) washed and cut into florets
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, washed and chopped
optional: parmesan cheese
Step by Step Instructions:
1. Using a food processor, shred garlic and onions
2. In a sauce pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil and saute garlic and onions on medium heat for 4-5 minutes
3. Shred broccoli in the food processor until desired size is reached
4. Add broccoli and saute in onion/garlic mixture 2-3 minutes
5. Puree cannellini beans in the food processor and add to the vegetable mixture
6. Season with salt, pepper and paprika
7. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate vegetable broth
8. Add rosemary
9. Cover and simmer on med-low heat for 12-15 minutes until reduced to desired thickness
10. Serve with parmesan cheese and black pepper
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Just found out about grilled cheese month from Lizzy's and your blog.
I like your idea of adding cannelloni beans with broccoli giving a nice colour and creamy texture:)
Once I made broccoli soup and my daughter just did not eat it because of its green color.
Cannot believe this has so few calories – I love it! Beans, broccoli, cheese the lot! With our gloomy weather, it is definitely what I would love to be eating
Thank!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
One of us needs to make a foodie day calendar cuz I always hear this stuff after the fact. Great soup my dear. Hubs would want to swim in it then eat it.
Wow, this looks like a fantastic soup! I'm extremely impressed by the nutritional stats. I don't like cheese, so I'm super excited for cheese-less alternative to broccoli cheddar soup. Can't wait to try this out!
This look sooo tasty and healthy. Love how you cut down on the calories fat and the salt. Great recipe and I love the beans too. Impressive!!
Great idea to use the beans as a thickener! It looks even more flavorful than the Panera verson.
My kind of soup! Or to be precise, I need to eat more food like this instead of big plate of dessert I just had (for breakfast) *grin*
This sounds so, so good! I'm definitely going to try this. How much soup is in a serving?
I keep a food holiday calendar on my site. You may want to check it out!
This is a great recipe. I like to puree beans in my soup, as well, for the great texture without adding extra stuff.
this looks awesome – i can't believe how creamy it is!
What a genius fakeout for broccoli cheese soup. Looks great!
I'm down with a massive cold right now and want nothing more than a bowl of your soup.
Ooh, I bet the white beans add a creaminess that's healthy and unexpected with broccoli soup! Yum!
Sounds delicious. Like that is has beans and doesn't use cream.
LL
I really like your blog – and these photos are gorgeous!
What a comforting creamy bean soup! Totally right up my alley.
mmmm….beans and black pepper in this soup? I'm gonna love this!
http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.hk/
Este sopa tiene una pinta excelente,y muy sana
un saludo
pepe
Lovely looking soup!!So delicious and comforting
That’s how I like my soup. All fresh ingredients, no cream, so you can taste the flavour of the ingredients. Thanks
I m following your recipes now.Meriem
Made this and I love it! It wasnt quite creamy enough so i added a little half and half to boost the creaminess…. turned out perfect! great along side a grilled cheese!
Kelsey I am so thrilled you like this soup. It’s become one of my o to recipes. Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Hey, just made this for my husband and a neighbor watching Monday night football.
Tastes great to me. Didn’t have fresh rosemary so I used herbs de Provence. Taste great!
I predict the guys will like it.
I’m so happy you like it! Adding Herbs de Provence is a great idea. Thanks for letting me know how this turned out.
The hubs and I LOVED this soup, but I didn’t puree anything; left the garlic, onions, and broccoli chopped up, and threw in the beans after rinsing. It was delicious this way too! We’ll be having it again soon, for sure! Anyone know the other nutritional info such as carbs and fiber content?
Hi Lori! I am SO thrilled you enjoyed the soup. I love that you threw everything in whole. I am going to try this next time.
I used frozen broccoli and an immersion blender and it didn’t take much longer to make than heating a can of instant soup! Thanks for the recipe. It is also 4 points for Weight Watchers. I put the ingredients into their Recipe Builder.
Thanks Ellen! That is a great suggestion. Thanks for calculating the WW points that I so helpful.
This soup was amazing! So filling and flavorful. I didn’t have 4 cups of broccoli so I substituted with 2 cups of zucchini and 2 cups broccoli and it turned out perfect. I bet you could sub carrots too. The beans make for a perfect base. My husband is very picky and he love it! Thanks!!!
Hello Samantha! Thanks for the feedback. Zucchini sounds like a delicious addition.
I really enjoyed this soup. I followed the recipe but added 1/2 tsp of mustard powder and served with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt gave it a bit of tang and it was delicious.
Greek yogurt is an awesome idea! Thanks for the tip.
Just made this. Very yummy!
Any idea of the carb counts? Soup is my and my family’s weakness. LOVE!
Yummy! It’s a keeper!