Less-Loaded Potato Soup: Recipe Makeover

The Irresistible Trifecta of starchy, creamy, and comforting pleasures found in loaded potato soup makes this warming bowl a restaurant and home-cooked favorite, especially on chilly, wintry days. The challenge with lightening is obtaining that luscious, creamy texture without any cream. Potatoes are a tricky starch. Cauliflower, however, has a smooth flavor and a skinnier, less starchy profile. When roasted, it develops a creamy interior (and nutty flavor) that becomes delightfully smooth when blended with reduced-fat milk; this is the light, earthy base for our chunky potato soup.

Classic
525 Calories per bowl
16g Saturated Fat
1,143 mg Sodium

Makeover
223 Calories per bowl
2.7g Saturated Fat
478mg Sodim

 

Roasting the cauliflower deepens the flavor and softens the texture. We blend it smooth with reduced-fat milk for a supercreamy base, saving 5g sat fat per bowl over heavy cream.

Lightly pulse the potato mixture; do not blend. Overworked potatoes make for a gluey, gummy soup. For a fiber (and flavor!) booster, leave the skins on half the potatoes.

Fromage blanc (a creamy, tart fat-free cheese) saves 42 calories and 3g sat fat per ounce over full-fat sour cream. You can sub fat-free sour cream if you can't find fromage blanc.