I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe with you today! I love soup season, and it’s either here or will be soon wherever you are. Cheesy broccoli soup has been one of my favorite soups since my childhood. However it’s pretty loaded with lots of cheese and fat. But get this – one serving of this recipe is 17 C 8 F 29 P, I’d say that’s pretty macro friendly!
I’ve lightened this classic up bit in the fat department- but don’t worry – it still packs flavor and comfort! I’ve also added some chicken because #protein! My secret in lightening this up is to use low fat cream cheese or (Neufchatel cheese) and fresh grated parmesan. Parmesan packs a strong flavor – so you don’t have to use as much cheese, but you still get a delicious result!
My whole family gobbled this up! It makes a big-ish batch – and is great for leftovers. Feel free to half the recipe if that suits you better! Enjoy!
Lite Cheesy Chicken & Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil, separated
- 2 lbs raw chicken breast, chopped into bite size pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped (250 g)
- 3 medium size carrots, peeled and chopped (200 g)
- 3 medium yukon gold potatoes (560 g)
- 3 cups chopped broccoli (275 g)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (~25 g)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (this is the kind I used)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (30 g)
- 2 cups fat-free milk
- ½ teaspoon salt (more to taste if desired)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1.5 oz fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz Neufchatel Cheese (⅓ less fat than cream cheese), softened to room temp
Instructions
In a large stock pot heat ½ tablespoon olive oil over medium heat; add chicken breast and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked (no longer pink and juices are clear). Remove chicken from the pot and set aside in a bowl or on a plate.
In the same stock pot over medium to medium high heat add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; add onion and carrots and saute for 3-5 minutes until onions are starting to soften; add garlic, cook 30 more seconds. Add broccoli, potatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until potatoes and other veggies are cooked to your liking.
In a 2 cup measuring cup or blender bottle, add milk and flour; whisk or shake until no lumps remain. Pour milk mixture into the soup. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Simmer until it starts to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper (adding more to taste as necessary).
If you haven’t let your Neufchatel cheese come to room temp, simply place it in a bowl and microwave on low power for 40 seconds at a time til it’s nice and soft and smooth.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Neufchatel cheese, stir until combined. Then stir in the Parmesan cheese until it’s combined. Serve warm & enjoy!
Notes
Recipe from Alycia R & adapted by Lindsay Grover.
MFP Reference:
“Biceps After Babies Lite Cheesy Chicken & Vegetable Soup”
Macros for one serving (1/12 of sauce recipe (~245 g))
Cal 245 P 30 gC 17.5 gF 7.8 g
PRO TIP: Serving size is 1/12 of the recipe. Since cook times vary and other factors can affect the weight of your food. You can weigh the cooked weight of the meal in grams and subtract the weight of the pan and divide that by 12 to see how many grams one serving is.
In case you want to create your own recipe from this with your personal adaptations/preferences in MyFitnessPal (Login to MFP >Recipes > Add Recipe Manually > Copy & Paste list of ingredients). Here is a list of ingredients that you can copy and paste into MFP and put in the quantity you desire (it works best to copy and paste on a web browser vs app).
raw chicken breast
olive oil
garlic
all-purpose flour
fat free milk
Carrots
yukon gold potatoes
broccoli
salt
ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese
Neufchatel Cheese
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1/12Serving Size:
1/12 of recipe (~245g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245Total Fat: 7.8gCarbohydrates: 17.5gProtein: 30g
This was delicious! I pureed the veggies to have a thicker consistency and added some fresh spinach. Huge hit!