This Loaded Low Calorie Potato Soup Recipe is low calorie, high nutrition, and can be made on the stovetop, in the slow cooker, or even an Instant Pot! At just 252 calories for 2 cups (before toppings) this healthy baked potato soup is perfect for healthy dinners or lunches. But what I really love, is that you can add lots of toppings and still enjoy this yummy soup for under 500 calories… I will show you how below.
Everything You’ll Need
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- 2 tablespoons butter – salted or unsalted work, and for vegan soup get vegan butter
- 1 yellow onion – yellow onions are the best in this recipe, but white will also work
- 3 garlic cloves – adds a ton of flavor and round out this yummy soup
- 2 tablespoons flour – helps thicken the soup, use all-purpose or gluten-free
- 2.5 lbs gold potatoes – these creamy potatoes make the best soup, but russet will work in a pinch
- 4 cups broth – vegetable or chicken broth/stock choose veggie for vegan or vegetarian soup
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk – extra low calorie, but any milk will work as long is it’s unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper – you can skip the salt if your diet requires it, and use fresh ground pepper if you have it for best flavor.
- ½ teaspoon chili powder – adds a ton of flavor and complexity, but if you don’t like spice you can skip it or cut the quantity in half
Low Calorie Potato Soup Recipe
Skip Ahead:
Healthy Potato Soup Recipe Variations
- Vegan – swap butter for vegan butter and choose vegetable broth for the stock
- Vegetarian – the soup is already vegetarian (use vegetable broth) just skip the optional bacon topping
- Gluten-Free – use gluten free 1 to 1 flour in place of all-purpose flour to make the roux
Healthy Potato Soup Toppings
If you’re new to Lose Weight By Eating, I have a disclaimer, I like real bacon! And I use real bacon in recipes, and if you prefer turkey bacon that’s fine, feel free to swap it. I believe that eating healthy and low calorie is easier when you add in the ingredients you really love, just in a smaller quantity. Bacon adds so much flavor, and getting my kiddo (and myself) to eat healthy sometimes means using a tiny bit of something that most diets prohibit. So have that bacon, but instead of having a full plate of it, crumble just one slice over your soup. Or just skip it/swap for turkey bacon, whatever you like. Because life is too short to give up bacon completely!
Calorie Toppings Guide:
- Cheddar cheese: 2 tablespoons = 57 calories
- Bacon: 1 slice = 103 calories
- Chives: 1 tablespoon = 1 calorie
- Green onions: 1 tablespoon = 2 calories
- 0% Greek Yogurt: 1 tablespoon = 20 calories
- You could have all the toppings, over 2 cups of potato soup for just 435 calories all in!
Healthy Potato Soup Meal Prep and Storage
This soup does thicken as it sits, so it’s not quite as easy as adding it to a container and popping it in the freezer. Here’s how to get the most out of your leftovers.
Meal Prep Tips:
- Cool the soup completely, then scoop into gallon freezer bags.
- Lay flat on a baking sheet or plate and freeze flat. This will make storage easier, and help them defrost faster.
- Once frozen, you can stack them or slice them into slots in your freezer for easy storage.
- Gather all the toppings and place in separate containers or bags. Freeze individually (yes you can freeze cooked bacon and cheese) or add the individual containers/bags to a gallon freezer bag and keep all together.
Reheating Directions:
- Stovetop: add the defrosted soup to a large pot or dutch oven. For every 1 cup you are reheating, add 1/8 vegetable or chicken stock (it will have thickened). Bring to a simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes before serving hot with toppings (or alone).
- Slow Cooker: add the soup to the slow cooker and heat on low heat. For every 1 cup you are reheating, add 1/8 vegetable or chicken stock (it will have thickened). For frozen soup– cook on low heat for 2 hours. For defrosted soup – cook on low heat for 1 hour.
Low Calorie Potato Soup Recipe
This easy potato soup can be made in the instant pot, slow cooker, or on the stovetop. It can also be made vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free. I’ve covered all the health bases with this yummy recipe. If you want to find the calories for the toppings, I included those above in the Calorie Toppings Guide above!
More Low Calorie Soup Recipes:
Low Calorie Potato Soup (Loaded with Toppings!)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons flour all-purpose or gluten-free
- 2 ½ lbs gold potatoes peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cups broth vegetable or chicken
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
Optional Toppings:
- Cooked and crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Chopped chives
- Sliced green onions
- Sour cream or greek yogurt
Instructions
Stovetop Directions:
- To a large pot add the butter and chopped onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until onions are soft.
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir together. Cook for 3 minutes until slightly browned.
- To the pot, add the diced potatoes, broth, milk, salt, pepper, and chili powder.
- Bring to a boil and cook 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Reduce heat to simmer and carefully (it’s very hot) scoop 1/2 of the soup out of the pot, and add to a blender.
- Vent, and puree the removed soup until smooth, then return the pureed soup to the pot and mix well.
- Simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Slow Cooker Directions:
- To a slow cooker, combine the onion, garlic, potatoes, broth, salt, pepper and chili powder.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.
- About 30 minutes before serving, add the butter and flour to a medium sauce pot over medium heart. Stir together until you have a paste (this is a roux).
- Slowly whisk in the almond milk, being sure to whisk out any lumps.
- Cook for 15 minutes until thickened. Then add to a blender, along with 1/2 of the soup (be careful, it will be hot).
- Vent, and puree the removed soup until smooth, then return the pureed soup to the slow cooker and mix well.
- Simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Preheat the instant pot to sauté medium heat.
- Add the butter and chopped onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until onions are soft.
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir together. Cook for 3 minutes until slightly browned. Turn off the Instant pot.
- Add 1 cup of the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot very well to removed any browned bits (this will help avoid the “Burn” reading).
- Add the remaining broth, diced potatoes, milk, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Do not mix.
- Cover and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Then do a natural release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the remaining pressure.
- Carefully (it’s very hot) scoop 1/2 of the soup out of the instant pot, and add to a blender.
- Vent, and puree the removed soup until smooth, then return the pureed soup to the instant pot and mix well.
- Sauté on low for an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Nutrition
About the Author
Hi, my name is Audrey Johns and I am a 4 time best selling cookbook author! All 4 of my low calorie cookbooks are published by HarperCollins (the oldest publishing house in the US!) and have been featured on prominent TV shows like The Today Show, Rachael Ray and The Doctors. I am a low calorie and healthy recipe authority and my delicious recipes are tried and loved by thousands of readers.
After a one year 150 pound weight loss (and I’ve kept it off for 13 years!) I started sharing all of my low calorie recipes with the world. They are always all-natural and geared around weight loss and weight management. I have even made some of these recipes with my Biggest Loser pal Bob Harper! Check out my weight loss story, my best selling cookbooks, and my numerous TV appearances by clicking here.
Nutrition and Calories in Potato Soup
The nutrition below is based off 1 serving (2 cups) of homemade potato soup without the toppings. If you want to find the individual nutrition for each topping, I have included them in the Toppings Guide Section above.
More Weight Loss Recipes:
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Article History:
- Originally written and published October 12, 2022 by Audrey Johns
- Updated on September 11, 2023 by Audrey Johns
- Updated on November 8, 2023 by Audrey Johns
