This Collection of Pureed Soups is perfect for those having difficulty chewing and swallowing.
Not only are Pureed Soups pure comfort food, but they’re also perfect for anyone on a liquid diet or a pureed/soft food diet. Whether you’re recovering from a cold, wisdom tooth extraction or dental surgery, or having trouble swallowing, pureed soups are the perfect medium for making sure you get a nutritious meal even when you’re not feeling at your best.
Recently, I made some pureed soups for a friend who is fighting cancer. She’s a true cancer warrior, holding down a job, while attending school and taking care of her family. I continue to be amazed by her ability to juggle so much while battling cancer. It makes me appreciate all that I have and helps put life in perspective. Often I find myself getting caught up in my own daily challenges, and when I witness the strength and determination of my friends and others who are battling cancer, I am humbled and realize that my daily challenges are nothing in comparison. One of the ways that helps me take the focus off of myself is by cooking for others.
My cancer warrior friend is currently on a liquid/pureed food diet which can be tricky day in and day out. Pureed foods can be bland and uninteresting after a few spoonfuls. Eating should be enjoyable, and even when you’re on a liquid/pureed food diet, it’s possible to prepare a meal to look forward to.
My goal was to make soups that contain anti-cancer ingredients and provide nutritious, satisfying, and comforting meals for my friend. I made a variety, each with a different twist – Curried Cauliflower Potato Soup, Creamy Cannellini Bean Soup, and Creamy Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk. The key to serving an otherwise bland looking soup is to add a touch of color on top. I made some Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Spinach Pesto to compliment the Curried Cauliflower Potato and Cannellini Bean Soups. The Creamy Carrot Soup was vibrant orange on its own, and the coconut milk and honey add sweetness and a luscious mouth feel without any additional toppings.
I hope my friend enjoys these soups and I pray for her complete healing.
Creamy Cannellini Bean (White Bean) Soup
Creamy Cannellini Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups or one 14-ounce can cooked cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon sage
- Spinach Basil Pesto for garnish
Instructions
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Put all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook on low, covered, for 20 minutes.
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Puree in blender.
Curried Cauliflower Potato Soup
Curried Cauliflower Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 head cauliflower cut up
- 1 russet potato cut into ½” pieces
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- Roasted Red Pepper Puree for garnish
Instructions
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Heat oil in a large stock pot. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder and turmeric. Saute for 3-4 minutes until onion is translucent and curry is fragrant. Add cauliflower potato, and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook covered, on low heat for 20-25 minutes until vegetables are soft.
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Blend in a blender or use a stick blender to puree soup.
Here are some broths and other pureed soups I’ve made:
Vegetable Broth
Vegetarian Dashi
Creamless Cream of Carrot Soup
Thai Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Creamless Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Creamless Cream of Mushroom Soup
Creamless Cream of Tomato Soup (leave out the pasta)
Creamy Kabocha Soup with Lemongrass
Cuban Black Bean Soup
Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
Thai Coconut Curry Lentil Soup (pureed)
Bella’s Carrot, Orange and Fennel Soup
White Bean with Cauliflower Soup
Smoothies are another great way to get nutrition on a liquid diet or pureed food diet:
A Healthy Healing Fruit Smoothie
Beginner Green Smoothie
Mango Coconut Smoothie
Mango Pineapple Smoothie
Yummy Fruit Smoothie
Anti-Cancer Ingredients: Cauliflower, Legumes, Carrots, Onion, Garlic, Turmeric
Mmm, that cannellini-pesto soup looks particularly tempting!
The Curried Cauliflower Soup is gorgeous! I think the flavors sound amazing. That is so sweet of you for being such a great friend.
Thanks Mary Anne and Marie, the pesto definitely makes this soup extra special!
Thanks Rochelle, this Curried Cauliflower Soup is really good, and cauliflower is so good for you. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to cook for people.
Great selection of soups. I am sure your friend will love them and even more so because you made them for her.
Thanks Heather! I am so glad that she did indeed enjoy them, and hope to make more of these pureed soups for her.
Jeanette, this is a great collection of pureed soups. We love them over here too and I make them often. They are so simple & satisfying. Because we are not on a liquid diet I add all kinds of protein to ours. xo
You are awesome to make these for your friend 🙂
Delicious Collection of Healthy Recipes.
Thanks Marla, I love pureed soups myself for the smooth silky consistency. For vegetarians, bean soups like the Creamy Cannellini Bean Soup, Cuban Black Bean Soup and Thai Coconut Curry Lentil Soup are a great source of protein. For non-vegetarians, adding a lean protein like chicken is a great way to add protein to pureed vegetable soups.
Mmmhmm! Homemade creamy soups rock – thank you for the yummy recipes!
Wow what gorgeous and delicious looking soups! Soup is one of my favorite meals ever. Thanks so much for all of the recipes. 🙂
Thanks Amie, there is something so soothing and comforting about creamy pureed soups.
Thanks Lindsey, hope you have a chance to try some of these recipes. The stir-ins make these soups more fun!
Hey Jeanette
Thank you for sharing your beautiful soup recipes and photos. Your friend is lucky to have you on hand….nutrition is so vital to repair the body. I’m writing from the UK, where the weather has turned cold, so am making a big batch of cauli/sweet potato/carrot soup, I like to add in some lentils/butter beans or similar at the end for extra protein – and will chuck in a big handful of spinach near the end too! Take care
I made the Thai red curry butternut squash soup & it was DELISH! Everyone loved it. I will keep this easy recipe on-hand for multiple cold nights this winter. Just a note about your website: When on this page for “A Collection of Pureed Soups”, if you try to click on one of the linked recipes toward the bottom, it opens it up briefly & then diverts you to another page. I actually had to google the name of the recipe to get to the actual recipe. I think you might have a glitch…. Just thought you should know!
Thanks for the recipes! Love them!
Thank you for your feedback – I always love to hear when people try my recipes and let me know how they came out. Thanks also for letting me know about the glitch – I’ve fixed it. I really appreciate you letting me know.
One of my favourites is Leek and Potato though I must admit that I normally leave it chunky when I make it.
Split Red Lentils with Tomato also make for a good soup
Can these soups be stored in the freezer? How long can we keep them in the freezer?
These soups should freeze fine – they should keep for several months in the freezer.
Thank you so much for posting these. I recently got braces put on & still have not been able to eat any solid foods. These look like wonderful options.
Rhonda – pureed soups are a great way to get nutrition and enjoy something tasty. My boys have all had braces and wisdom teeth removed, so we’ve made lots of soft foods and pureed soups in our house. Enjoy!
These look wonderful! How long will puree soup keep in the refridgerator?
Hi Dena, these soups should keep in the refrigerator for about a week. You can also freeze them and just blend them again after you defrost them.
I wish I had found this sooner! I have been scouring the web for recipes that my Dad can swallow. He had esophageal cancer that was removed and they created a new esophagus out of his stomach but that tissue just doesn’t want to stretch as the esophageal tissue did. So now he is on a liquid/puréed diet and can swallow small bites and nothing too frothy like smoothies tend to be. Hopefully this only lasts until his next operation but I am thrilled to have found your collection!! I can’t express how excellent your recipes look and how excited I am to find something he may find pleasure in again. Eating has become a chore and thinking about what to eat takes all the enjoyment out of it. Many thanks for your recipes shared here. My best wishes to your friend, she is lucky to have you!!
Hi Virginia, so glad you found this post helpful – after cooking for friends with cancer who had trouble eating, I realized how important it was to come up with foods they could enjoy that also tasted and looked appealing. I hope you find some recipes you can try on your Dad. I know how challenging it can be. He is lucky to have a daughter so willing to help cook for him!
I made the Creamy Cannellini Bean soup yesterday and the flavor was wonderful – but it was really a “liquid” soup after blending. Mine also was a dark brown – instead of the creamy white in the picture. I used a carton vegetable stock. Thought that might be it – but I don’t have experience cooking with vegetable stock! Should I add another can of beans? or do you know what I did wrong? I really think followed the recipe exactly. Help! My step-dad has pancreatic cancer and is able to eat – but very sensitive. I think a thicker soup may be okay for him. The soup was so runny the pesto just kinda floated on top and didn’t look very appetizing….
Hi Melanie, so sorry the color and consistency didn’t turn out the way you liked. Store-bought vegetables stocks vary in color, so some are pretty dark. I make my own (https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2010/09/magic-mineral-broth-for-vegetable-soup-recipes.html). You can also use chicken broth instead. If the broth is too thin, you can add more drained beans, or cooked cauliflower or peeled potatoes.
I have a recipe index with soft food recipes if you’re looking for more ideas: https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/category/soft-food-diet-2
I just started a Soft Food Diet Pinterest board that might give you more recipe ideas. I haven’t tried all these recipes – they’re recipes I’ve come across that look like they could work for someone on a soft food diet.
Hope this helps.