This is a recipe for a healthy soup broth that’s thick and creamy like everybody’s favourite Cream of Chicken Soup, but with a mere 45 calories per serving!! It’s super tasty, ultra easy, and there’s no weird ingredients in it.
So what’s the secret? PEELED ZUCCHINI. Neutral flavour that’s easily disguise-able with seasonings. Purees smooth – and white. This is life changing – imagine the possibilities! {Gluten free, low carb, nutrition dense}
45 calorie Creamy Healthy Soup broth
This recipe isn’t one of those healthy food hacks that calls for an enormous amount of effort, or weird ingredients, or where you sacrifice flavour for the sake of less calories.
It is, quite simply, my Creamy Zucchini Soup made using PEELED zucchini to make it white rather than keeping the skin on which makes the soup green.
So it’s not a desperate recipe creation designed to drastically strip calories from my life. That’s the side benefit. It is genuinely a creamy, silky white soup broth that’s extremely tasty that happens to be unbelievably low calorie, gluten free, low carb and packed with hidden nutrition!
What it tastes like
Like a savoury, creamy soup broth like Cream of Chicken Soup. It doesn’t taste like zucchinis. They’re pretty neutral in flavour anyway, easily overpowered by flavour additions! It doesn’t have that mouthfeel of richness that cream and butter provides in typical creamy soups. But it’s tasty in its own right!
Healthy Cream of Chicken Soup
For the sake of putting the broth into practice, I’m sharing the creamy white soup broth in the form of a healthy Cream of Chicken Soup today. So I’ve added little bits of chicken, carrot, celery, capsicum/bell peppers and peas. Not an enormous amount because it’s not supposed to be a chunky, fully loaded soup – though you absolutely could if you wanted to.
I’m making it just like Heinz canned soup – except with a fraction of the calories, preservative free, made from all natural ingredients! 🙌
The neutral flavour of zucchinis makes it ideal to use as a base for a super low cal savoury white soup broth!
Creamy healthy soup broth ingredients
Here’s what you need for this magical low cal creamy broth. See? No weird health food ingredients. That’s just not how I cook!
How to make the creamy healthy soup broth
I find that many “healthified” recipes tend to require an enormous amount of effort. Soaking, salting, squeezing out excess liquids, lots of pureeing.
Not this one.
The broth part is just a peel-chop-15 minute simmer-blitz job.
The soup part involves sautéing the veggies slowly to bring out the flavour, then adding our magic low cal creamy soup broth.
Isn’t it so nice to come across a healthy soup recipe that’s so incredibly simple??
Healthy Soup Add Ins – Cream of Chicken Soup
And here’s what you need to make the healthy version of Cream of Chicken Soup.
Yes, there’s a smidge of butter there. We need a bit – or oil – to sauté all those veggies slowly to bring out the sweetness and intensify the flavour. Little trick for getting the most flavour out of veggies, especially essential when you want to make healthy food using less oil and more vegetables!
Thick and creamy!
I really wanted to show you how thick and creamy the soup really is but found it hard to capture in photos. You will see it in the recipe video below – but as for photos, I found the best way was to use bread!! Which I realise contradicts the whole point of sharing a healthy recipe though I would totally understand / applaud if you chose to use your calorie credits on warm crusty bread slathered in butter to dunk into that creamy soup…..😂
The possibilities! Soups / stews / pasta bakes / casseroles
The neutral, savoury flavour of this creamy low calorie soup broth makes it ideal to use as a healthier, more nutrition dense option in place of richer creamy white soup broths that are typically made with butter and flour. Some examples include:
But why stop there? Use it to make rice casseroles. Make pasta bakes. Make white stews. Broccoli au gratin.
Oh the possibilities!! Tell me what you’re thinking! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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45 Cal Creamy HEALTHY Soup!
Ingredients
Healthy Creamy Soup Broth:
- 700g/ 1.2 lb zucchinis (4 largish), peeled and cut into 1.5cm / 3/5" slices
- 1/2 large onion , roughly chopped (brown, white, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves , whole
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth (or veg broth)
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder (or 1 tsp of one of them)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup (250 ml) 0% fat milk (or other milk of choice)
Soup Add Ins:
- 1 tbsp (15g) butter or olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 large onion , finely chopped
- 1.5 cups carrot , peeled and finely diced
- 1.5 cups celery , finely chopped
- 1 small red capsicum/bell pepper , finely chopped
- 1.5 cups cooked chicken breast , diced
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
Garnish:
- Fresh thyme (high recommended, or sub chives)
Instructions
Healthy Creamy Broth:
- Place all Broth ingredients EXCEPT milk into a pot, cover with lid and bring to energetic simmer over medium high heat.
- Lower to medium and simmer for 15 minutes until zucchinis is very soft.
- Remove from heat, add milk. Use a handheld blender to blitz until smooth. Add salt to taste. Marvel at creamy broth with so few calories!
Healthy Cream of Chicken Soup:
- Melt butter in a pot or large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Cook for 3 minutes, then add capsicum. Cook for another 2 minutes until onion is translucent and sweet.
- Add Broth, chicken and peas. Bring to gentle simmer for just 2 to 3 minutes or until peas are cooked.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with a pinch of fresh thyme leaves. Devour, and marvel at how such a creamy, totally delicious bowl of soup has so few calories!!
Recipe Notes:
3. Nutrition per serving for broth only (about 1.5 cups per serving).Nutrition Information:
More soups to soothe the soul
Life of Dozer
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I was skeptical that this would be filling enough for my work lunches, but it really is! I usually love bell peppers, but for some reason I’m not big on it in this soup, so I might leave it out next time. Either way, I think this will be a common lunch for me 🙂
This soup very delicious! We could not pick out the zucchini squash taste…. And although the garlic is heavy it wasn’t so strong! 45 calories!!! Add a biscuit or two and perfect dinner that fits our program and our lifestyle! Can you provide the protein? Please?
I always have a freezer stash of this to grab for lunch on my way to work.
Nagi you’ve done it again! This is unbelievably tasty and you wouldn’t even know it is low calorie because it tastes such a treat! Thanks 🙂
I must say I was VERY skeptical before I added the milk. It didn’t taste like much at all. But wow, did it ever transform into the best healthy creamy soup ever! A winner for sure!
Looks good! Can you cook your chicken breast in the broth from raw?
This soup turned out quite well but the vegetable soup on this site is 100 times better, in my opinion. It is incredible and just as healthy! I think the cauliflower in that soup makes all the difference.
Nagi, you are a genius! I have been making green zucchini soup with essentially the same ingredients for years, but it never occurred to me to make it white and use it as a cream base. Cream of chicken soup for lunch today and it was delish. Already planning many variations. This will become a freezer staple. Thank you!
This is such a great recipe! I have been trying various different recipes whilst my husband is trying to lose some weight, and this just proves that you don’t have to sacrifice taste/flavour/yumminess when you’re watching calories! This has become his favourite “diet” recipe so far. Thank you!
Absolutely sublime. This is the tastiest chicken soup I have ever made and my husband agrees.
Thank you for this recipe! I’m already heading to the market to get the ingredients!
Magi, I have made many of your recipes and they always turn out beautifully. This soup was outstanding! I used 4 cups of chicken broth instead of 2 cups each of broth and water.
Love it! Yum! And so darn healthy! I made mine with unsweetened almond milk and for those following Weight Watchers this is a one point delight! Thanks Nagi
I adore this!! I made it with a mix of zucchini and cauliflower because I didn’t have enough zucchini, but I can’t wait to make it properly, I think it will be even creamier. I made it with just chicken, carrots, and peas. The perfect healthy version of my favorite: chicken pot pie!
Followed the recipe exactly, I always do the first time. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Thank you!
Yum!!! Mine was green because I’m sick and I couldn’t bring myself to peel the zucchini’s but beautiful flavour. Will be eating lots of this while I have this cold.
I just made this soup ( first step, without the added sauted veg) and it was still good like that with toasted buttered ciabatta and a fresh thyme sprinkle.
In the interest of no waste, I then made a dish with the courgette peelings called ‘kashkarikas’.
Gonna try the other portions with the added veg, but maybe include a recipe for the peelings on this site! Thanks Nagi x
Yum. I made some croutons from ciabatta. Very filling
This soup is absolutely delicious!! I originally found it to help with a 500 calorie fast day but now I just love it regardless. I cook my chicken breast in the soup broth and take it out before blitzing. Then I add in a bunch of veggies that I have to hand… who would have thought zucchini?!
I’ve made this before. It was amazing. My husband hates veggies and had no idea. So I’m making it again tomorrow. Thank you.