Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1
Points® value
Total Time
52 min
Prep
9 min
Cook
43 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
Enrich this soup with a little light cream cheese and American cheese, making it a creamy, delicately flavored appetizer soup or a light lunch.

Ingredients

Olive oil

2 tsp

Uncooked leeks

1 medium, (about 6 ounces), cleaned and sliced (white and light green parts only)

Carrots

1 medium, finely chopped

Celery

1 rib(s), medium, finely chopped

Reduced sodium chicken broth

5 cup(s)

Cauliflower

4 cup(s), chopped, florets

Low fat American cheese

¾ oz, slice

Low fat cream cheese

2 Tbsp, (Neufchâtel), at room temperature

Chives

2 Tbsp, Fresh, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are very tender, but not browned, about 8 minutes.
  2. Add the broth and cauliflower; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the cheeses until melted.
  3. Remove the soup from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender, or in a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat. Stir in the chives. Yields 1 1/3 cups per serving.

Notes

A hand-held immersion blender comes in handy in this recipe since it allows you to puree the soup right in the pan, rather than having to transfer it to a food processor or blender.