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:
Life of Dozer
Just a little peek into Dozer’s rough life…
Cooked this the day before and reheated it in the pot the next day.
Delicious and Creamy. Can’t taste the zucchinis (not that it would have been an issue). Just tastes like a creamy vegetable and chicken soup.
Added one chopped long red chilli and served with a spoon of cream cheese.
Healthy and will do again.
Hi Nagi (and Dozer),
made this soup last night and it was delicious. We don’t really like courgettes as they are pretty tasteless but just as you said they add a lovely creaminess. Great way to lower the calories. I didn’t have chicken so I substituted gammon stock that I had in the freezer and threw in a piece of gammon. Will definately make again.
Domo Nagi !! I just made this. My hubby(from Singapore) and myself were feeling quite tired today so I made him chicken congee and this soup for myself. It turned out so good! Do you have a version of chicken congee? Ja ne 🙂
Hi Nagi! I try to have soup with my lunch and usually I make butternut squash soup in the cooler months and gazpacho when tomatoes are in season. I have to admit I get soooo tired of butternut squash soup. This is a great way for me to change up the lunch routine. Besides using up some leftover chicken, I threw in some sliced mushrooms I had in the fridge, and some frozen corn (it was fresh corn last summer, I cut it off the cob and froze it). Turned out great! Thank you for the great recipes!
This is fabulous! I made it with all the add ins. I did 3 cups broth and one cup water. Also thickened it at the end, before add in, with a little cornstarch and water paste. I recommend kosher salt to wake it up. Poached boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the chicken add in. So so good! I will be using the broth for lots of things! Thanks so much, Nagi!
I was a little hesitant about the sauce but it turned out to be an amazing recipe. The lack of a calorie load was a pleasant surprise.
I made the Cream of Chicken version, soooo good! Love visiting your site! Thanks for sharing Nagi 🙂
I’m so glad you loved it Tracey, thanks so much! N x
I come to this website EVERY week to plan my family’s meals. It’s so hard to find things that fit my calorie budget and please my husband’s taste buds. This soup is always a hit with both of us. It’s just so darn good!
This looks so good! I’m starting it right now but using a whole chicken and boiling it to make my own broth. It may be a little higher in calories though.
Hi Allison – but it will still be healthy and ultra delicious!! N x
Amazing video of Dozer jumping into your pool. Love it!
Nagi, I love your website ( and Dozer :). Do you think I can use yellow squash in place of zucchini in the soup recipe?
Hi Janette, I haven’t tried to be honest but I imagine it would have the same result! Love to know how you go! N x
Hello Naji,
You website is become if my reference when I check for recipes….
how do you feel that actually most of what people is thanking you for this lovely recipes, that actually works… I have hardly miss one.
🙏 thank you
This is amazing Nagi!!! Thank you so much. Cooking is my favorite hobby and you are always inspiring me with your amazing recipes. In this recipe the only issue I had was that the veggies (mainly the celery) were really crunchy when I cooked it according to the directions. Do you like your veggies to have crunch in soup, I’m curious! I’m letting it simmer for another 20 min hoping the milk won’t curdle. Be well and take care!
Hi Julianne, not crunchy, but only just firm to the bite. If your veggies are cut larger they may take a little longer in the soup – N x
Hi Nagi.. I’ve made and loved this recipe before.. and wondered how fennel bulb would affect the taste of this broth? I have one floating in my veggie crisper..
Loved it… made a 1/2 batch In my Thermomix and cooked 3 drumsticks carrots and beans in the basket to add after blending. Added the milk last.
Absolutely delicious!
This soup is really good. Great weight watchers recipe, hardly any points. I made the chicken variety. Very clever and thanks, Nagi, I have become a regular visitor to your website and have fallen in love with Dozer..