Skip to main content

5 insanely delicious (and low-calorie) soups for a healthier 2022

We’ve all been there — when trying to eat healthily, we quickly run out of ways to make those nutritious meals more interesting. Well, if cutting down on calories while satisfying your tastebuds is your goal, try a new soup recipe.

Yes, soup. And not just the broth — all the food groups. Soup with noodles? Sure. Veggies? Of course. Meatballs and tortilla chips? Go for it. What about cheese? Cheese, too. There is a soup for every palate on this list of five insanely delicious soups. Plus, they’re all 360 calories or less.

Recommended Videos

These recipes are chef-tested, home cook-approved, and easy to whip up on a dime. There’s no reason not to dive right in and make one tonight because you deserve the best of both worlds: heartwarming meals that are as delicious as they are nutritious.

Easy Chicken Pho

For the days you don’t want to spend a fortune at the local Vietnamese restaurant, making your pho at home is a great option. 

This low-cal meal calls for Progresso’s unsalted chicken broth, which you add after cooking the noodles, chicken, and mixture of sauces, including soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and Sriacha. Once combined, the recipe calls for garnish with green onions, cilantro, mint, and jalapeño chile slices. This explosion of flavors is complex and spicy, making for a much more luxurious chicken noodle soup.

Betty Crocker’s Easy Chicken Pho is 360 calories per serving and yields four servings.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Garden Vegetable Soup

Vegetarians will love this garden vegetable soup recipe, as it’s hearty, bright, and perfect for a chilly night in.

The variety — and pairing —  of veggies is simple enough: chopped leeks, chopped carrot rounds, fresh green bean pieces, chopped tomatoes, and corn, plus garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and black pepper for more taste. The recipe gives you the option of vegetable or chicken broth. For vegetarians, the choice is obvious, but if you like having that savory meat flavor in your soups, then opt for chicken broth to balance out the starchiness of the veggies.

Food Network’s Garden Vegetable Soup recipe is 255 calories per serving and yields 6 to 8 servings. 

Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

Sometimes the simple soups are the ones we need most. They’re there for comfort, and comfort food doesn’t always have to be high in cholesterol or fat.

This recipe takes much less time to make compared to some of the others because lentils are fast-cooking. It also gives the option of chicken or vegetable broth, but we recommend using vegetable broth to bind the flavors of the tomatoes and lentils. And don’t worry if the lentils fall apart and get mushy — that’s just how they work in soup!

Serious Eats’ Red Lentil and Tomato Soup recipe serves four. One serving is approximately 250 calories or less, but check the nutrition facts of your ingredients for a more accurate number.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hearty Minestrone

“Hearty” isn’t always synonymous with “low-calorie” but this hunger-banishing meal is only 299 calories per serving.

This meal mixes pasta with leeks, potatoes, beans, zucchini, spinach, and orzo, then tops it off with Parmesan cheese (the recipe recommends freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano) for so much Italian flavor all in one bowl. To make it vegetarian, just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. 

Eating Well’s Hearty Minestrone recipe serves four and delivers a punch of fiber and protein to keep you fuller for longer.

Mexican Meatball Soup

Eating healthy can feel all too easy — until the cravings hit. Next time you start craving that burrito, consider an alternative. This meatball soup recipe has you covered, so you can close out of the Taco Bell to-go app.

Make your broth by pureeing your favorite salsa in a blender, then heating it on the stove until it reaches that soupy consistency. Avocado, ground cumin, and cilantro give the ground beef meatballs an extra kick, but make sure not to overcook them or you’ll be left with dry, flavorless meat.

As long as you don’t go overboard with the addition of crushed-up tortilla chips, Real Simple’s Mexican Meatball Soup is only about 339 calories. 

Soup is such a versatile dish, so feel free to tweak any of these recipes to better suit your taste. Plus, there are so many ways to personalize these dishes without piling on the calories, so experiment with different veggies, meats, and low-calorie sauces to create a meal that’s uniquely you. Calorie counting can be hard, especially when your diet consists of bland, starchy vegetables and flavorless broths. However, by adding these flavorful and easy-to-make soups to your cookbook, you can eat healthier and keep your taste buds happy too.

10 delicious, healthy chicken recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less
Sick of the same old chicken dishes? Check out these healthy and exciting alternatives
Raw chicken and other ingredients on a cutting board

Chicken is a dinnertime staple for a reason — it's healthy, it's delicious, and there are so many ways you can prepare it. It can also be used in so many dishes and can take on a wide range of flavors, from Indian and Chinese to Italian and more. While we love having a whole roasted chicken fresh from the oven, paired with a side of veggies and warm, crusty dinner rolls, some weeknights we don’t have time to devote to that kind of meal.

Luckily, there are plenty of healthy chicken recipes that have a super quick turnaround time. In less than half an hour, you can have these 10 healthy chicken recipes on the table and ready to serve. Who doesn't want something delicious in under 30 minutes that the whole family can enjoy any night of the week? If you're stuck in a chicken recipe rut and need some inspiration for meals, check out these ideas and see what you think!

Read more
Costco shoppers absolutely hate these 5 things about its stores
Shopping at Costco would be better with these 5 changes, according to customers
Person grocery shopping with a Costco membership

Don’t lie — your weekend errands probably include a trip to your local Costco. And whether you love the Costco samples or get aggravated by the annoying hordes of scavengers, you plan to take advantage of the Costco food court hot dog deal, or you’re just looking for some healthier options for your weekly meals, you probably agree that, on the whole, shopping at Costco is pretty great.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Redditor AGreatMystery recently posed this question on the r/Costco subreddit, which has more than 200,000 members (all Costco enthusiasts): “We all love Costco…But if there was one thing you could change about it, what would that be and why?”

Read more
This delicious 3-ingredient gluten-free pancake recipe is ridiculously simple
Gluten-free pancakes are delicious and easy to make with this recipe
best gluten free pancake recipe pancakes with strawberries

Whether you’re planning a festive brunch with friends and family or breakfast for one, pancakes are the perfect way to start the day: they're quick and easy to make, versatile, and totally delicious. You can also add ingredients like fruits, quinoa, and gluten-free oats to make them even more filling and loaded with goodness.

If you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance, you may have thought your pancake-eating days were over… but you’d be wrong. This ridiculously simple gluten-free pancake recipe — with only a handful of ingredients — can be cooked in minutes. You won't even miss the gluten because these pancakes are packed full of flavor.

Read more