Quick and Healthy Broccoli Soup Lunch – in Just 15 Minutes
Quick and healthy broccoli soup lunch in just 15 minutes. And don’t worry, if a big bowl of steaming broccoli isn’t necessarily your idea of comfort food, wait till you try this soup. And because the soup cooks for only 15 minutes, you’ll have lunch on the table in no time. Or, add some toasted bread with cheese and a small salad, and you have dinner!
A big head of broccoli, a large shallot, some garlic, thyme leaves, and a few red pepper flakes for some heat are all you need for a small pot of comfort food that’s also healthy. And after the holidays, who’s not trying to be at least a little bit healthy?
The ingredients for a quick and healthy broccoli soup
For the soup:
- Broccoli
- Celery
- Shallot (or onion)
- Garlic
- Vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
For the bread:
- Baguette
- Cheese (we used gruyère but you could also use a sharp cheddar cheese if you prefer)
The kitchen tools you’ll need
- Small Dutch oven
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Food processor (or immersion blender)
Some health benefits of broccoli
Broccoli is full of Vitamin C, calcium, fiber, and only a few healthy carbohydrates. So you don’t even need to feel guilty when enjoying this lunch. Here’s a link to an article outlining some of the benefits of eating broccoli.
PrintQuick and Healthy Broccoli Soup Lunch – in Just 15 Minutes
If a big bowl of steaming broccoli isn’t necessarily your idea of comfort food, wait till you try this soup.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 large head of broccoli
- 2–3 Stalks Celery
-
1 large shallot
-
1 clove garlic
-
2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
-
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
-
Salt to taste
-
Pepper to taste
-
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (and some for drizzling on top of the soup)
For the bread:
-
Baguette
-
Cheese (we used gruyére but you could also use sharp cheddar cheese if you prefer)
Instructions
For the soup:
- Thinly slice the shallots.
- Mince the garlic clove.
- Trim off the broccoli stems, break the broccoli florets apart.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Cook until shallots are soft and starting to brown.
- Add the broccoli florets to the Dutch oven, pour in the vegetable stock, stir, and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the broccoli is fork tender.
- When done, pour the contents from the Dutch oven into a food processor and blend. All the flavors will come together.
- Pour the blended soup back into the Dutch oven, taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed. You’ll have a creamy texture without adding any butter, cream, cheese, or sour cream.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive on top.
For the bread:
- Slice the baguette on the diagonal into thin pieces.
- Grate the cheese and top each slice of bread with it.
- Place under the broiler until the cheese has melted and the edges of the baguette begin to brown.
- Serve the soup in small bowls on a plate and add a few slices of baguette to each plate and enjoy a healthy, heart-warming winter lunch!
If you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate. Or, you could store it in the freezer and save for a few weeks.
Notes
If you don’t have a food processor, you could use an immersion blender but you would need to chop broccoli into very small pieces.
The accompanying picture has celery in it, but it’s not mentioned in the recipe?