Healthy Soup Recipes

Soup is a great idea for supper whether there is a nip in the air or not.  Add some crackers or cornbread and dinner is served!

Is Soup a Supper?

Yes it is.  Soup can definitely be a filling meal.  Add beans and vegetables for a complete dietary meal that will stay with you.

What Soups are Best?

Try to stick with broth- or tomato-based soups.  Cream-based soups are high in both fats and calories. If you must have a cream soup, use whole milk in your recipes and avoid the extremely high fat and calories of heavy cream or half-and-half.

Here's a chart of the calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and fiber found in soup base ingredients so you can compare them for yourself: 

How to Make Low-Fat and Healthy Soups

If your soup recipe calls for meat, choose leaner cuts, like skinless chicken or turkey breast, pork tenderloin, or sirloin steak trimmed of visible fat. If it calls for sausage, use turkey sausage.

Add fresh herbs toward the end of cooking or stir them in right before serving. Some fresh herbs can be sprinkled on as a garnish. Add dried herbs at the beginning or in middle of cooking so that they can rehydrate and give off their flavor.

Supposed to add butter at the end of cooking?   Leave it off.  If butter is called for sautéing vegetables in the beginning, switch to a tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil. You can add a couple of tablespoons of water or broth if the vegetables need more before they are done.

Add fiber to your soups by adding beans or whole grains like barley, brown rice, wild rice, or whole wheat blend pastas instead of refined grains.

Healthy, Low-Fat Soup Recipes

Hearty Lentil Stew

1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
6 cups low-sodium chicken or beef broth (water can also be substituted)
1-1/2 cups red lentils, dried
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced, low-sodium tomatoes
1 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
1-1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
fat-free sour cream for garnish

Add oil to a large, non-stick saucepan over medium heat.  Once hot, add onion, garlic, and ginger to the oil, stirring often for about 6-7 minutes. Add the broth, lentils, garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cayenne pepper, and cumin.

Bring stew to a boil, then lower heat to simmer, cover the saucepan, and continue to cook until the lentils are soft (about 1 to 1-1/2 hours).

Transfer one-third to a half of the soup into a large food processor or blender and pulse to briefly puree. Pour pureed soup back into the pot and stir. Serve each bowl with a dollop of fat-free sour cream, if desired. 

Chicken & Barley Soup 

1 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1-1/2 cups chopped carrots
1-1/2 cups chopped, cooked skinless chicken breast
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 slivered almonds, toasted (see toasting instructions below)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Kosher salt

Add oil to a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onions, celery, mushrooms and garlic.  Sauté until mushrooms are lightly browned.

Stir in carrots, chicken, and broth and bring to boil. Stir in the barley, cover the saucepan, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for about an hour or until barley is just tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in parsley and almonds. Add pepper and salt. 

Toasting the Almonds

Use a small, non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Add almonds.  Cook until golden brown while stirring often.

Light New England Clam Chowder 

3 large red potatoes, skinned and cubed
3/4 cup chopped sliced celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
4 cups whole or low-fat milk
2 Tbsp whipped butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup chopped clams
12 drops Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Add potatoes, celery, and onion to a large, nonstick saucepan and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender.

While vegetables are boiling, add flour and 1/4 cup of milk to a 2-cup measuring cup and stir to make a paste. Stir in another 1/4 cup of milk to the measuring cup.

Melt butter in a medium, nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and milk mixture and slowly whisk in the remaining 3 1/2 cups milk. Stir in salt and sugar.  Continue cooking and stirring until the soup is nicely thickened (approximately 5 minutes).

Add the milk mixture to the potato mixture in the large saucepan.  Stir in the clams and Tabasco sauce. Cover saucepan and simmer for additional 15 minutes.

Stir in Parmesan and pepper.