Clean Eats, Fast Feets

You are here: Home / Reflections / Recipe: Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup with Pesto

Recipe: Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup with Pesto

by 36 Comments

I’ve been slacking on my nutrition lately.

Creamy Potato Broccoli Pesto Soup

I know, I know. The cold hard truth is I’ve had a few too many fistfuls of sugary candy, decadent chocolate and gorgeous carbs, and I don’t mean the whole or multigrain variety either. I’m referring to those delicious white devils. Look, we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the path to type two diabetes is a slippery slope. It’s also possible I added my own little twist at the end there, which is par for the course with me.

To be clear, I am in no danger of becoming diabetic; certainly not from a few nights and weekends of excess. It takes more time and dedication than that, and I can be somewhat idle when I set my mind to it. Hello Pajama Day, you beautiful, beautiful thing. Plus, we all know my one true love is veggies and cheese and potatoes and  fruit and… crap, I get around. Oh well, at least I adore whole foods in all their shining glory. It’s easy to avoid diabetes when the healthy stuff gets your motor running.  

Creamy Potato Broccoli Pesto Soup

So you’re probably wondering why I’m revealing my less than savory ways, to which I’d respond, “Great inquiry, and my answer is three-fold.”

First, TMI (Too Much Information) is my new middle name. Case in point, I had a Fifty Shades of Hubby dream this weekend, and it still has me smiling.   

My second and more tactful reason is I’m a lot like YOU and sometimes I struggle with my food and fitness too. Shockingly enough, being a food blogger doesn’t automatically make me the perfect eater. In fact, it only means I can afford the monthly website fee.

The third and most important reason: it’s why I added broccoli to my classic potato soup. When I find myself getting a little lethargic with my eat all the whole foods mentality, I deliberately amp up my fruit and veggie intake. Saturday night’s popcorn for dinner doesn’t count, even if I did make it on the stove, the old-fashioned way.

Creamy Potato Broccoli Pesto Soup C

This Creamy Potato and Broccoli Soup combines one of my absolute favorites, the simple, yet underappreciated spud with two shades of green: broccoli and pesto. It’s an award-winning combination, minus the actual award because I haven’t brought it to any cooking contests…yet, that is.

It is a mouth-watering bowl of nourishment which is Hearty. Dense. Flavorful. And Filling. It will warm the cockles of your heart and tickle your toes. It will make you wish you’d tripled the batch. Honestly, this magical concoction is so incredible on its own, I didn’t even add any cheese, which says everything right there. In fact, depending on what pesto you use, this recipe could qualify as vegan.

The parsley, the pine nuts, and the added green onions are more for presentation purposes than anything. The simple truth is the Hubby and I inhaled this without any of the accoutrements seen here. Sage colored soup can be tricky to photograph though and sometimes you need a little help from your friends, in the form of garnishes that is. I don’t mean the illegal mother’s little helper kind. Then again, pine nuts are pretty racy.   

If you’re looking to warm up this winter, for something satisfying and gratifying or for a good time, you’ll want to make this soup. It fits the bill on all accounts.

Creamy Potato Broccoli Pesto Soup 

Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup with Pesto
Serves 6
A healthy, hearty, dense, flavorful and filling potato soup with a nutritional boost in the form of broccoli and pesto.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
50 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
50 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  2. 1 large Onion or roughly 1 cup, chopped
  3. 2 Tbsp. Dry White Wine or Sherry
  4. 6 large Russet Potatoes, roughly 6 cups, peeled and chopped into one inch pieces
  5. 2 bunches of Broccoli or roughly 3 cups, chopped
  6. 4 cups Vegetable Stock
  7. 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
  8. 3/4 tsp. Pepper
  9. 1 cup Milk of choice*
  10. 3 Tbsp. Pesto
  11. Toasted Pine Nuts (Optional Garnish)
  12. Diced Green Onion (Optional Garnish)
  13. Bunch of Parsley (Optional Garnish)
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for a few minutes until translucent, about five minutes.
  2. Add white wine or sherry and cook for thirty seconds until it evaporates, stirring the entire time. Add the diced potatoes, broccoli, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and let cook another twenty five minutes until potatoes and broccoli are tender.
  3. Remove from heat, add one cup of milk and cream the soup using an immersion blender or by adding it to a blender in batches. Stir in pesto.
  4. Enjoy.
Notes
  1. *I used Silk Original Almond Milk.
  2. **If the consistency of the soup is too thick for you, you can always thin it with more milk. I only needed one cup.
Clean Eats, Fast Feets https://cleaneatsfastfeets.com/
Once upon a time I mentioned most of my recipes happen on a whim, and this particular bowl of delight is no different. You know why I brought the broccoli to the party, although the rest came about because it was damn cold out and I was looking for something to feed me now and again, later in the week. Also, I had a twenty pound bag of potatoes from Costco hanging out in my basement, and the Hubby strongly encouraging me to work through my freezer supply of put up ingredients. Hello pesto from 2o13. The rest is history.

What’s your preferred soup flavor? Do you like your soup creamy or chunky?

Comments

  2. Kirsten says

    I think I need to pick up the costco potatoes. Did you get the massive baking kind, the many colored fingerling kind, or some random kind I’m unaware of?
    I’ve still got some squash in the basement but they are less motivating than a potato.
    More colorful, though, so there is that.

    “In fact, it only means I can afford the monthly website fee.” <3 this, even if I pay in 2 yr chunks (must be a WP thing?)
    Kirsten recently posted…Savory French Toast with Avocado and EggMy Profile

    Reply

  3. Amanda @ .running with spoons. says

    I think soup has got to be my favourite way to get the veggies in… even though I can sometimes be a little lazy making it because of all the chopping and waiting involved. I do love a good tomato soup, though. And anything that involves potatoes <3 That being said… I -really- need to hit up the grocery store today because my fresh veggie supply is basically non-existent at the moment. It's a #truestory that even food and health bloggers don't follow their own advice sometimes… Oops.
    Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. an important healthy habit you might be overlooking .My Profile

    Reply

  4. Suzy says

    About 15 years ago I bought a bulk bag of pine nuts for a pesto recipe and when I got up to the cash register she rang it in as like, something crazy like $30. I couldn’t believe how expensive they are! I love love love pine nuts though and it would be reasonable to use it as a garnish like you do here. I can’t wait until tomorrow night when I can eat food again. So excited.
    Suzy recently posted…Shades of Brown: DarkMy Profile

    Reply

  5. danielle says

    you had me at pine nuts!!! oh how i love those buttery little nuggets of toasty flavor. toasted of course, otherwise raw pine nuts taste of mild butt hole to me. truth.
    this soup is totally in my wheelhouse! girl, you know i love anything i can throw in a blender or pot and transform. for real. and as far as consistency, here’s the thing: i like a pureed base, BUT then i like to hit it with a handful of greens on top! boom. the heat will wilt said greens and make me happy. i love science. i hate rules so i refuse to limit myself to only pureed soups or chunky. i want BOTH. yes please.
    i love that you keep it real. seriously if you just posted about salads, broccoli and bananas all day i don’t think i could love you *as much* as i do. i love real. real is good. real is messy, funny, awesome, brilliant, genius – that’s you babe.
    and of course i’m all about TMI.. i come from a line of TMI masters. true story: this past sunday at our family dinner in chinatown, my mom asks us how our colons are doing? then she babbles about the awesomeness of colonics. which led to condoms – she pointed out that the soft rolls look like they are wrapped in condoms. she pointed out she’d rather have a hard condom roll versus a soft one.. ? then she talked about how her friend Ada was locked out of her house again by the abusive guy but rolled her eyes and says it’s just too damn dramatic. finally she said she wonders if my 18 year old brother is still a virgin. good times, i love my family dinners. would you be totally freaked out if you came? you’re always invited!

    Reply

    • Meghan says

      A pureed base with a handful of greens on top is spectacular and totally scientific I’m sure. I almost tossed a fistful of spinach in this post too, and I’m almost wishing I had. Oh well, there’s always next time.

      I like the sound of your family get togethers. I definitely want in on the next one.
      Meghan recently posted…Recipe: Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup with PestoMy Profile

      Reply

  7. Liz says

    The flavors sound great! And perf for winter! I feel your pain on the photography front. I made a zucchini and walnut soup a couple of weeks ago that was delicious and I wanted to instagram it but it was gray, absolutely gray (and not in the naughty but nice 50 shades kind of way).
    I am a soup-aholic. Love, love, love me some soup; it may be my favorite part of winter (because let’s face it summer is just not hot soup season). I have been on a real kick with carrot ginger orange soup. I’ve made three batches so far and don’t plan on stopping. It is creamy but thin and so delicious. MY favorite soup of all time though is probably lentil soup. In fact, while carrot soup is warming for lunch I already have my sights set on a dinner of lentil soup. There are a host of others that we keep the freezer stocked with (butternut minestrone, green pea, no chicken noodle, quinoa chili…. to name a few) but the carrot and lentil soups have been heavy in rotation lately.

    Reply

  11. Sarah Pie says

    Popcorn for dinner used to be my thing in college, way more frequently than I would like to admit. That being said I’m pretty sure I’d give my left foot for a bowl of this right now, I’m pretty sure the toes have frozen off of it anyways.

    That was a weird comment but I’ve got nothing better so I’m leaving it 🙂

    Reply

  12. Khushboo says

    Love that you always keep it real here- as much we love whole foods, it is sometimes a struggle to stay committed to sound nutrition and workouts! The addition of pesto to this soup is genius- definitely something to try out :)! I’m not fussed with my soup textures although if it’s eaten as the main part of my meal, I rather it be on the chunky side so it feels like I’m eating something. As for favourite flavour, it’s a toss up between butternut squash soup & the classic tomato & basil combination!
    Khushboo recently posted…Weeks 5-8 of Kayla Itsines Bikini Body ProgramMy Profile

    Reply

  17. Brittany says

    Thanks to the birthday and love day celebrations in my world the last week, I too have had one too many (though I regret NOTHING) sugary treats and my midsection is showing it. It’s alllll about that realization though, and I am so glad I notice these things. This soup looks warm and pillow-y like a bed. A hubby filled 50 shades bed perhaps. FOR YOU NOT ME AAHH. Awkward.
    Brittany recently posted…Music for the SoulMy Profile

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.