Vegetable Cheese Soup

Vegetable Cheese Soup is a hearty, home-style bowl that leans on a short list of pantry staples to deliver real comfort on a cold day. The base is built from a generous amount of mixed vegetables — frozen or fresh, your choice — simmered in water with onion, salt, and a whisper of curry powder, which adds warmth without turning the pot into a spicy curry. The magic happens when a slurry of non-fat dry milk and cornstarch is stirred into the partly cooked vegetables: it thickens into a creamy, velvety broth with no cream required, then Swiss cheese is melted in at the end for a gentle, nutty finish. A scattering of green onions on top is optional, but it does brighten the bowl nicely.

This is a soup that makes sense for anyone keeping an eye on portions and ingredients, because the recipe is transparent about exactly what goes in — water, vegetables, onion, salt, curry powder, dry milk, cornstarch, and cheese. The vegetables carry the bulk of the volume, which means you get a substantial, fiber-rich bowl without relying on heavy cream or a roux of butter and flour. The non-fat dry milk is the clever workhorse here: it adds protein and a creamy mouthfeel while keeping the fat content low, and the cornstarch is what actually gives the soup its body. The Swiss cheese is used in a modest amount — just half a cup — so it reads as a flavor accent rather than the main event. For a calorie-tracking app, this is a dish you can log with confidence, because the ingredient list is short and each component is doing a clear job.

A few practical notes from the method are worth passing along. The recipe calls for bringing 2 cups of water to a boil before adding the vegetables — that jump-start means the vegetables keep more of their texture and color than if they were slowly brought up from cold water. When you mix the remaining cup of water with the dry milk and cornstarch, make sure it is fully smooth before pouring it in; a lumpy slurry will leave you with pockets of raw starch in the finished soup. And because the soup thickens as it sits, the instruction to add a little more water if it becomes too thick is not just a suggestion — it is the difference between a silky bowl and a gluey one. If you want to make it ahead, it reheats well over low heat with an extra splash of water or milk, but keep in mind that the cheese will re-melt more smoothly if you do not boil it hard. Serve it with whole wheat toast for dipping, and you have a complete, satisfying lunch.