Too often, my favorite creamy soups also happen to be super unhealthy. That’s because they use actual cream to achieve a rich flavor and silken texture. Since cream contains a whopping 400 calories per cup, it simply doesn’t work when you’re following a diet plan (even if you swap in half-and-half). Just when I thought I had resigned myself from eating the best, most comforting foods, I found out you can achieve the same results without adding any dairy at all. It’s true, and we’ll prove it with our Bacon Cauliflower Slow Cooker Soup. You’ll love that this healthy recipe contains less than 200 calories per serving but it tastes like you’re breaking your diet!
It gets better, too: What’s the only thing I love more than comfort food made healthy? A 5-ingredient recipe that’s made in the slow cooker. This recipe is almost completely hands-off, cooking away while you’re out running errands or working around the house. It only takes three hours on high (or, five hours on low) for the cauliflower to become super tender. Then, you give the soup a quick puree, top it with crispy turkey bacon, and you’re done!
Creamy Texture Without Adding Any Cream
You might be wondering how we get such a beautiful, silken texture without adding any cream. Superfood cauliflower is how! This incredible vegetable has become center-stage for anyone following a diet plan or is living with a restricted diet. That’s because it can mimic dairy, gluten, and so much more!
We love how Buffalo Cauliflower Bites taste just as good as chicken wings, or how you can go low-carb and still enjoy your favorite dishes like Cauliflower Fried Rice. You can even use it as a dough to create dishes like pizza or Cauliflower Nachos! All of this is possible because of the way that cauliflower transforms when you cook it.
In its raw form, cauliflower is super crunchy. When you steam it, boil it, or roast it, it begins to soften. But, unlike other vegetables that easily become mushy when they’re overcooked, cauliflower doesn’t seem to break down when it’s cooked for a long time. It still holds its form and creates the perfect, creamy texture when pureed. And, while potatoes become gummy when they’re over-worked, cauliflower seems to get better and better as you mash it.
In the end, the onion and garlic flavor the vegetable broth and the cauliflower provides body to the soup. The result is a perfectly creamy, rich, and flavorful soup that happens to be healthy!
A Quick Note on Vegetable Broth
Before we get to the recipe, let’s chat vegetable broth. We would definitely recommend making your own if you have the time. That’s because the homemade stuff is packed full of nutrients (not to mention flavor). The store-bought stuff often has a lot of added sodium to make it taste good. Your homemade broth won’t have any preservatives, either, but you can store it in the freezer for long periods of time.
We include an easy recipe in our article about pantry essentials for your plant-based kitchen. If you start saving your vegetable scraps and making a batch of broth when you have a spare minute, you’ll always have some on hand. It’ll make a huge difference in your vegetarian soup recipes. It even works for meaty recipes like this Bacon Cauliflower Slow Cooker Soup!
Yield: 4 servings | Serving Size: about 1 1/2 cups | Calories: 173 | Total Fat: 12 g | Saturated Fat: 4 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Carbohydrates: 11 g | Fiber 3 g | Sugar: 4 g | Protein: 7 g | Cholesterol: 19 mg | Sodium: 270 mg | SmartPoints (Freestyle): 4
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 strips of turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, except for the bacon. Cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 3 hours.
- Blend the soup in a blender in small batches and ladle into serving bowls. Top with the cooked bacon pieces.
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The post 5-Ingredient Bacon Cauliflower Slow Cooker Soup appeared first on Skinny Ms..
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