Low Calorie Beetroot Soup – UnBEETable!

This beetroot soup is a very easy vegetarian soup recipe that is sure to warm you up on a chilly winter’s day.

It is loosely inspired by traditional Polish beetroot soup recipes, but much simplified and creamier.

Celery, onions and garlic create a sweet, fragrant base, upon which are layered pre-cooked beetroot, a sweet and sour apple and flavours like thyme and nutmeg.

The apple lends a tartness to the soup which is typical of traditional Polish/Eastern European Borscht recipes. Milk makes the soup thick and creamy.

As vegetarian soups tend to be low in protein, we have added a topping of fried chickpeas and a dollop of sour cream to our beetroot soup.

These additions up the protein levels and turn this into one of our best ever healthy soup recipes for weight loss – joining the ranks of classics such as our lentil vegetable soup and our broccoli and cheddar soup.

How to make beetroot soup

Easy peasy: cook all your veggies in a pan with milk and broth, until everything is soft and all the flavours are infused, then blend!

For the toppings, you fry some chickpeas and pumpkin seeds in butter until they are all crispy crunchy, then sprinkle on top of your beautiful purple beetroot soup.

To make this a vegan beetroot soup, simply swap out the milk for a non-dairy alternative, like soy, oat or a nut milk (or check out our delicious high protein vegan soups for more soup inspo!)

You could use tinned coconut milk, but be prepared for this to impact the flavour – positively or negatively depending on your opinions on coconut milk!

As for the sour cream, you can use a vegan alternative or an unsweetened vegan yoghurt. If you can’t arrange either of those, don’t be afraid to skip it, you’ll have a bit less protein, but there’s plenty in the chickpeas already!

We wouldn’t recommend skipping the milk, as this is what makes this a deliciously creamy vegetarian soup.

Why soups are good for weight loss!

We would say that soups are overall a great weight loss food, particularly high protein soup recipes like this one.

This is because they tend to be bulky and high in fibre which makes them very filling. The bulk and fibre come mainly from vegetables and liquid, meaning they also tend to be low in calories.

While we don’t promote excessively low calories as a measure of how good a food is for weight loss – you NEED calories, they’re just a measure of energy- we recognise that filling, relatively low calorie soups make for a great healthy lunch (the same goes for these low-calorie lunch ideas).

As long as they contain ENOUGH calories to keep you going and a balance of the important macronutrients!

The most important thing – whether you’re trying to lose weight or not – is that your food is HEALTHY! Which essentially boils down to containing a whole range of good stuff, to support your body’s proper functioning.

Why THIS beetroot soup is good for weight loss!

As with all our recipes, we have made sure that our beetroot soup is a good weight loss recipe as well as just a generally healthy and tasty all-rounder. One serving contains 322 calories, 13g protein and 9g fibre.

That 26% of your daily protein intake and 38% of your daily fibre intake.

Try incorporating it into one of our vegetarian weight loss meal plans. We usually recommend around 1500 calories per day, so this is the perfect amount for lunch or dinner.

We also have a compilation of the best healthy vegetarian soups for weight loss – check it out now!

But for now, enjoy tucking into a warm and comforting bowl of our delicious beetroot soup – your new favourite vegetarian soup recipe (and if you want more like this, check out our filling low calorie soup recipes now!)!

Low Calorie Beetroot Soup

Add to CollectionGo to Collections Print Pin

5 from 4 votes

Looking for a light but filling soup to warm your belly this winter? Try our beetroot soup, topped with crunchy chickpeas!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Cuisine:Eastern European, Polish, Russian

Diet: egg-free, gluten-free

Prep Time:10 minutes minutes

Cook Time:25 minutes minutes

Total Time:35 minutes minutes

Servings:3 servings

Calories:413kcal

Author: Abril Macías

Ingredients

Soup

• 1 tsp butter
• ½ white onion (minced)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1 celery stalk (chopped)
• 3 cups beetroot (diced, pre-cooked)
• 1 apple (ideally sweet & sour)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp thyme, dried

Topping

• 1 tsp butter
• 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 ½ cup chickpeas, cooked (~1 can, 15oz/425g)
• ½ tsp paprika powder
• ½ cup low fat Greek Yogurt
• 1 sprig parsley, fresh
• Salt and pepper to taste

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

Soup

• In a soup pot melt butter. Add the minced white onion, crushed garlic cloves, chopped celery stalk and a pinch of salt. Cook at medium low heat for 8 minutes, until veggies are soft.
  1 tsp butter, ½ white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 celery stalk, Salt and pepper to taste
• Add diced pre-cooked beetroot, diced apple, milk, vegetable broth, nutmeg, thyme, black pepper and salt to taste. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, until beet pieces are very soft.
  3 cups beetroot, 1 apple, 1 cup milk, 1 cup vegetable broth, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp thyme, dried

Topping

• Meanwhile, in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt remaining butter and add chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, paprika and salt to taste. Cook, mixing often, until chickpeas and seeds are crunchy and have a deep golden brown color. Rest until needed.
  3 tbsp pumpkin seeds, 1 ½ cup chickpeas, cooked, ½ tsp paprika powder, 1 tsp butter
• Process soup with a blender until you have a nice and creamy consistency.
  
• Serve soup topped with Greek yogurt, chickpeas and pumpkin seeds, and parsley leaves.
  ½ cup low fat Greek Yogurt, 1 sprig parsley, fresh

NOTES

Make-ahead? Yes, prep the night before. Re-heat gently, because it contains milk products that could curdle up otherwise.

Freezable? Yes, absolutely.

This recipe uses 1 standard tin of chickpeas, which usually weighs around 230 grams when drained

After more super soup recipes?

• Easy Cheesy Tuscan Kale White Bean Soup
• Smooth & Creamy Pumpkin Carrot Soup
• Warm & Spicy Coconut Curry Soup
• Something Different – Pear Soup
• Green Machine Rocket Soup

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Low Calorie Beetroot Soup

Amount per Serving

Calories

413

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

15

g

23

%

Saturated Fat

 

4

g

25

%

Trans Fat

 

0.1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

5

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

4

g

Cholesterol

 

9

mg

3

%

Sodium

 

351

mg

15

%

Potassium

 

1026

mg

29

%

Carbohydrates

 

54

g

18

%

Fiber

 

13

g

54

%

Sugar

 

24

g

27

%

Protein

 

21

g

42

%

Vitamin A

 

805

IU

16

%

Vitamin C

 

19

mg

23

%

Calcium

 

242

mg

24

%

Iron

 

6

mg

33

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @HurryTheFoodUp on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece!