Creamy Vegetable Soup

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 medium sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and diced

1 yellow squash or zucchini, diced

1 small head of cauliflower, diced

1 medium white onion, diced

*Added: about 1/2 cup baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 to 3 cups vegetable broth *or chicken stock (used 4 cups - made the soup smoother and silkier)

*2 cups nonfat plain Greek yogurt (original: 1 15 ounce can coconut milk)

1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Added: 1 tsp turmeric

Added: 1 tsp dried mustard

Added: liberal amount of ground black pepper

Directions

Prep the oven

Heat the oven to 425°F.

Roast the veggies

Add the bell pepper, sweet potato, yellow squash, cauliflower and white onion to a large sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, then toss until evenly coated. Spread the veggies out in an even layer and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until softened and lightly charred.

Simmer

About 20 minutes after the veggies have been baking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, tomatoes, white beans, cumin, smoked paprika, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a low simmer. (Then, if the veggies are not done, cover and reduce the heat to low. Otherwise, proceed.)

Purée

Add the roasted veggies to the soup and stir to combine. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth.

Season

Taste and season the soup with additional salt and pepper if needed. If you prefer a thinner soup, you’re also welcome to add more vegetable broth.

Serve warm, garnished with a swirl of extra coconut milk and a twist of black pepper if desired, and enjoy!

Notes

Cheri's Notes:

Oct 2024: This was very simple to make, and the flavor is very good. It's almost too rich and the smooth texture was not a hit. Steve was not a fan at all. I like it, but not for a large bowl and missed having some kind of chunks. BUT - I'm going to freeze this into cubes and add it to other soups and pasta sauces and I think it will be a very nice addition for some extra depth of flavor and nutrients. Would definitly use this technique in the future (roasting and blending veggies), but as a base for a soup that still has other veggies and meat pieces. It's a great way to get the flavors and nutrients of things we don't normally like individually (tomatoes, mushroooms for me, sweet potatoes for Steve).

Nutrition

• Calories: 282
• Total Fat: 5
• Total Carbohydrate: 43
• Dietary Fiber: 8
• Total Sugars: 10
• Protein: 16