Creamy Vegetable Soup

This creamy vegetable soup is the perfect dinner for a cold winter night. It gives the satisfaction of a rich comfort food, without the heavy cream or extra calories.

I first made this soup on a freezing cold, snowy night when my husband, Michael and I were both feeling under the weather. We were craving some good comfort food but really didn’t want a heavy-sitting meal. Of course I starting looking through tons of recipes on Pinterest and in my cook books trying to figure out what to make. Nothing was sounding good though. I decided to use elements from different recipes I had found to create my own. This creamy vegetable soup is what I came up with.

It is packed with tons of veggies and lots of flavor. The low fat milk gives this soup the perfect creamy texture, without being too thick or heavy. This recipe totally reminds me of a broccoli cheddar soup that I used to have growing up- but this is way better, not to mention healthier as well.

This soup is already vegetarian but could easily be made vegan by making these substitutions:
– Replace butter with olive oil
– Make sure to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
– Use almond milk or coconut milk instead of regular milk
– Omit cheese or replace with a vegan cheese

You will see in notes under the recipe that I recommend eating this right away, especially if you are serving it to company. The purple potatoes will start to bleed after a few days. The soup will still taste absolutely delicious, it will just have a funny purple color.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

Print Recipe

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 T olive oil
• 5 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 5 celery stalks, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 lb petite purple potatoes, diced (petite gold or red work too)
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 large head of broccoli, diced
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 3 T butter
• 1/4 C. gluten free flour
• 3 C. low fat milk
• 1 C. shredded cheese of choice (I prefer cheddar or Colby jack)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1

Add olive oil, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to a large pot or dutch oven. Sauté for 5 minutes over medium/high heat to soften.

2

Add in purple potatoes, Italian seasoning, and broth. Simmer for 15 minutes- or until potatoes are tender.

3

In a separate pan, melt butter and then whisk in flour until combined and golden in color. Gradually whisk in milk, stirring until starting to thicken. Remove from heat.

4

Once the soup has finished simmering, remove from heat and pour in milk mixture, cheese, salt/pepper.

5

Stir until well combined and cheese is melted.

6

Serve immediately.

Notes

This soup is best when eaten immediately. If saved for left overs, the purple potatoes start to bleed and turn the whole soup purple. It still tastes great but just looks super funky being purple.