Creamy Tomato Soup: a healthy version

This thick and creamy tomato soup recipe uses no cream and no milk. The trick to its creaminess is something you probably already have on hand.

How to make a healthy creamy tomato soup

Pureeing the typical ingredients with a of bit bread transforms this tomato soup into something rich and creamy. And the bread adds a mere 30 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate per serving – a boon to dieters and to people with diabetes.

I am a soup lover. Not just because of the taste and the warmth, but because soups can be nutrient dense and because they can actually help us to manage our weight. And that means that they can help us prevent diabetes, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, shield us from some cancers and more. January is National Soup Month, so I offer you my newest favorite soup recipe.

How soups help you lose weight

Any eating plan that leaves you hungry will be short lived. Soups, fortunately, fill the belly with satisfying volume. In one study, when researchers gave men and women soup before their lunch, the subjects consumed 20% fewer calories overall compared to when they ate nothing prior to their meal.  Interesting that eating more (soup + lunch) led to eating fewer calories.

Low-calorie salads also do the trick. They key is to keep the first course low in calories but high in volume, so skip cream-based soups and salads with lots of cheese and dressing. This concept of getting more volume of food for few calories is known as Volumetrics. Nutrition scientist Barbara Rolls, PhD coined this term and has several wonderful Volumetrics books.

"Creamy" Tomato Soup

Pureeing the typical ingredients with a bit bread transforms this tomato soup into something rich and creamy.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 28 minutes minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 142kcal

Author: Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, FAND

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 (26.46-ounce) box of chopped or crushed Italian tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups vegetables broth
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese
• 2 ounces bread (no seeds or nuts), torn into about 4 pieces
• 5 fresh basil leaves

Instructions

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and tomato paste. Stir.
• Add the tomatoes, black pepper and vegetable broth. Raise heat to high, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the Parmesan cheese and bread. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat. Add the basil leaves and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Using an immersion blender (or a stand blender, with extra caution), puree the soup until smooth.

Notes

Feel free to substitute canned tomatoes for the boxed variety specified. Choose tomatoes without added salt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1.5g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 397mg

Enjoy this “creamy” healthy tomato soup during National Soup Month.

Try it, and let me know what you think of this healthy tomato soup recipe, great for people with diabetes and others.