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Weight loss soup is the perfect recipe for a healthier you in 2024! If you are looking to drop a few pounds this low-calorie, nutrient-rich, high-fiber soup is healthy, flavorful, and fills you up!
Weight loss soup is a combination of a couple of weight loss soup recipes that have been around for years – Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup and the Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe. We added kidney beans for protein to help you feel fuller for a longer period of time. Feel free to add or subtract vegetables to your taste.
We call this soup “magic” because we have all incorporated it into our diets at one point in another with terrific results! It’s so much more than a bland cabbage soup or vegetable soup. It is a low-carb, hearty soup that is full of flavor and keeps you satisfied and on track with healthy eating.
Ingredients for Weight Loss Soup
- Chicken broth – Low-sodium chicken broth gives a flavorful base for the soup. It adds liquid and moisture to the soup.
- V-8 juice – This is a flavor enhancement filled with all the nutrients from eight ingredients everyone loves.
- Diced tomatoes – Italian diced tomatoes from a can are poured into the soup. Tomatoes have a rich flavor with a great source of vitamins.
- Onion – Slice and chop the onion into small pieces.
- Garlic – Minced garlic cloves have their own health benefits.
- Mushrooms – Slice the mushrooms into thin slices.
- Vegetables – Carrots, zucchini, and squash are peeled and sliced in uniform sizes to help them cook and soften at the same time.
- Green beans – Fresh or frozen green beans work well.
- Kidney beans – Drained and rinsed thoroughly in a strainer. Add more types of lentils for more protein.
- Cabbage – Shredded cabbage softens and adds flavor to the base of the soup.
- Italian seasoning – Adds flavor and seasoning to the weight-loss soup.
How to Benefit from Weight Loss Soup
You still need to get a healthy amount of calories (about 1,200 a day) to lose weight at a healthy rate. For best results follow this diet plan we have found to work!
- Breakfast – Eat a healthy breakfast in the morning, focusing on lean proteins.
- Lunch – Eat a bowl of Weight Loss Magic Soup for lunch.
- Snack – Have another bowl of the delicious vegetable soup for an afternoon snack.
- Dinner – Then, at dinnertime, eat a bowl of the weight loss soup along with a serving of lean protein and a serving of whole grain, for example, a 4-ounce chicken breast and ½ cup of brown rice.
- Water – Drink plenty of water during the day to stay hydrated.
- Work out – Exercise at least 30 minutes 5 or more days a week for maximum results.
Will I Gain All My Weight Back Afterwards?
It’s important to note that we don’t recommend following this strict diet for more than seven days. After a week, be sure to maintain a healthy diet, having this soup intermittently until you reach your desired weight. I like to think of this as a positive kick-off to my diet, a way to shed pounds and gain some confidence as I continue with my lifestyle change.
A great way to help with portion control is to eat a bowl of soup before you eat your regular meal. The soup will fill your stomach with healthy vegetables, and you will feel less hungry during your meal.
Substitutions for Weight Loss Soup
Vegetables – You can substitute any vegetable. Just try to avoid starch ones like potatoes, peas, or corn if you can. Kale, spinach, and celery are delicious and filling substitutions.
Chicken broth – Beef broth or vegetable broth can be used instead of chicken broth. Feel free to use low-sodium broth or make your own.
Protein – We use kidney beans in our recipe to add some protein to this soup. White beans, pinto beans, black beans, or red beans can also be used and the calorie count will stay the same. You can also use lean ground beef or ground turkey, but keep in mind that the calorie count will go up.
Instant Pot Weight Loss Soup
We received a comment from Samantha, who made this soup in her Instant Pot. Thank you for sharing this, Samantha! Read her review on how she made the weight-loss soup in the instant pot!
“I did it in the instant pot! I sauteed the onions, garlic, carrots, green beans, and mushrooms in olive oil. Then, I added broth and gave it a good stir to scrape up bits. I added Kale instead of cabbage and cooked it for 5 minutes. Quick release, add zucchini and stir. Add tomatoes last and don’t stir. Cook another 5 minutes and quickly release. I didn’t add beans or tomato juice. I sprinkled it with parmesan and it was wonderful!”
Spices and Herbs to Use for Seasoning
In addition to the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and the seasonings in the diced tomatoes and V-8 juice, you can add any of the following additional seasonings!
- Basil
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Parsley
- Sage
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning
“Wow!! Just made this! I’ve never made soup before and it tastes AMAZING!! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!”
-Kristen
Frequently Asked Questions
This weight-loss soup recipe makes about 20 cups of soup, so you will have plenty to eat all week long. It stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to seven days and freezes beautifully. Make a double or triple batch and store it in the freezer for up to three months.
It is always good to have a variety of meals each day. This is a great way to start a healthy new year and diet but is also good to have variations of meals for more nutritional value.
The amount of weight loss varies for each person. There are several variables to consider when using this weight-loss soup. Some examples are exercise, hydration, and body structure or type. These can all have an effect on the amount of weight you can lose and how quickly you lose it.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
Weight Loss Soup
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 32 ounces chicken broth you may use low-sodium
- 3 cups V-8 juice *see recipe notes
- 28 ounces Italian diced tomatoes
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 3 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 yellow squash diced
- 2 cups green beans fresh or frozen
- 14 ounces kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 3 to 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large frying pan sprayed with cooking spray, saute garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes.
- In a large crockpot, combine sauteed garlic and vegetables with the remaining ingredients.
- Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are fork-tender.
- FREEZING INSTRUCTIONSThis makes a large batch of soup. If you would like to freeze portions of it to use later, undercook the vegetables just a little. Pour the soup into freezer Ziplock bags and let as much air out as you can. Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the soup is frozen flat, it is easy to layer in your freezer and won't take up much room. To thaw, place the bag in the fridge for 24 hours and then reheat.
I am wanting to calculate the new WW SmartPoints. What is the grams of sugar?
We haven’t calculated the grams of sugar. You could probably use a nutrition calculator to find it! Hope this helps!
Amazed at the dozens of “same”questions asked about a very clear and detailed recipe and procedure. It sounds really good and am going to try soon,and my two questions were answered,by scrolling through! Thanks for it,even if I don’t lose weight ,will enjoy.
This soup is delicious! I wasn’t too fond of it until I pureed it to make it “creamy” and now I love it! I added spinach and celery along with the ingredients in the recipe. Yum!
I even put it on pasta as the sauce for my kids dinner and they loved it!
Thank you!
Great idea putting it on pasta for the kiddos! Personally, I like it pureed, too 😉 -Erica
How many ounces/cups of soup equal “one serving?”
This is not the 1st time I ran across your many great recipes, but I just had to say This Soup Looks Delicious, & I sure hope it will help me loose a few Pounds off of my Menopause Belly !
I can’t wait to give this a try. I need a little jump start on Losing some weight. But I could find where it said the serving size per meal?
Thank you
Here is the nutritional information per 1 cup of soup:
57 calories
11 carbs
0 fat
3 protein
398 sodium
Thank you!
I have this cooking right now and it smells amazing. I tried in my crock pot and I guess it was not big enough. Had to transfer over to a stock pot on the stove top. I thank you for this I have been looking for something with more vegetables. Need to add more to my diet. Not vegetarian, just want to add more veggies. I will have some before I go to work and take some for later. I don’t like texture of mushrooms so I substituted celery. I think this is the only change I made. Did use low sodium V8 and low sodium canned tomatoes as well as organic low sodium chicken broth. Thank you again. Will let you know how it comes out.
Update: I just had my first bowl of this soup. Absolutely my totally favorite from now on. I cannot see myself always having some of this on hand. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I feel empowered on this journey of getting more healthy. Cooked it on the stove only for about 1 1/2 hours. So flavorful and the veggies still had a little crunch to them. Thanks again.
Thank you for sharing this Kathleen! All the best to you on your journey to getting healthy!
I made this soup, however, I did not use the mushrooms, but diced up a sweet potato. I ate a bowl for lunch only. I usually eat a low cal dinner such as fish, that is why I only ate the soup for lunch. I will say this. It was very tasty and satisfying. I felt full most of the afternoon. After five days of eating this I felt good, and know I at least lost a pound or two. The next week I did not eat it. Didn’t feel as good as I did when I was eating it, so, with that said; I’m going back to eating the soup everyday for lunch.
Thank you for sharing your experience. You just can’t go wrong with eating a lot of vegetables and this soup is a great way to get them in each day. I really appreciate your feedback!
It doesn’t say how big of cans for the broth, this would be helpful information to have and I would appreciate it. Please email and let me know, thank you.
Thank you for asking! The cans are 14.5 ounces.
Hello! I made this soup before and LOVED it! But I noticed the second time I bought the ingrediants that the italian diced tomatoes has sugar listed in the ingrediants. Is there any way to do it without sugar and was this taken into consideration for the nutritional content? I haven’t been able to find any italian diced tomatoes without sugar. I use wegmans organic italian diced tomatoes. Thank you so much!
The sugar content of the diced tomatoes was taken into consideration when calculating the nutritional content. If you don’t want to add canned tomatoes, you can add fresh diced tomatoes and some Italian seasoning to the soup instead. Fresh tomatoes are delicious in soups, it just adds a little more preparation time. Hope this helps! Thank you!
hi, this sounds really good but, I aondering could meat be added to the soup.
Yes, you can add meat to this soup. It will, of course, change the calorie content, so adjust your diet plan accordingly. Thanks for asking!
Hi all, I’ve recently been making this soup and it’s really tasty. I haven’t tried the full diet with it yet, but I’m thinking about doing so. Do you know how many calories it is and what is the serving size? My problem is that one bowl does not fill me up, and I’m usually hungry within a half hour or so. I fill the bowl to the top too, so I’m assuming it’s about two cups of soup. I will measure it next time.
Any ideas on what healthy sides I could eat with it so it’s a little more filling? I’ve mainly been eating lettuce with fat free dressing and then snacking on almonds or something later.
Thanks for your help and great recipe!
You can check our “light and tasty” category on the blog for ideas or we have a bunch of ideas in the Weight Loss Magic Soup E-Book!
i am diabetic (type2) and need to lose weight. Would love to try this to get me started in the weight loss. Do you think this would be a problem in helping me get started?
You would need to ask your doctor or nutritionist that question. This soup is full of healthy ingredients, but I’m not familiar enough with diabetes to know how it would be best to incorporate it into your diet.
Chris, I am type 2 diabetic also and I gave my Doctor a copy of this recipe and he said he let the Nutritionist look it over and it is fine. In fact he said that they use the same recipe for heart patients who need to drop some weight to have heart surgery. I am using this diet plan and Magic Soup recipe to help me lose the weight I need to lose. My Doctor seems to think that if I can lose 10% of my weight my diabetes will be controlled and I won’t have to take those pills for it just watch my diet. This is the best solution I have come across and I am taking advantage of it. Thanks Echo for keeping this site updated and answering all those repeat questions. Have a nice day as I will when my soup gets ready!
Thank you for sharing the approval of your doctor and nutritionist! It is helpful to know. You just can’t go wrong with vegetables. I wish you all the best as you start your journey to control diabetes. I know you can do it!
The soup sounds great, I think it would be better with a healthy splash of red wine and whole bunch of high fat content beef chunks, a cup and a half of bacon grease, and two hundred potatoes. A great side dish would include french fries, onion rings, cheese sticks and deep fried butter. I realize the weight would probably not come flying off at the rate you would expect by using the original recipe, but, my way tastes a whole lot better!
Would this soup work for the 5:2 diet? Thank you
Hmmmm. I have no idea what the 5:2 diet is so I don’t know how to best advise you :/
I just made it,it is delisious!
I left out the cabbage and added some cayenne pepper.
This sounds super delicious. I wouldn’t mind losing weight with this. And to do it again on and off when I am just trying to maintain the weight off. Thanks for your recipe. 🙂
it just 2 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth or is it more?
yes!
wow made this tonight it was soooo good. I used spinach instead of cabbage and grande Marsala instead of the Italian seasonings. Love it!! thanks so much.
Hi there-stopping in to let you know I made this last night. I have two little girls 10 and 7-they LOVED IT. I won’t have to worry about leftovers at my house 🙂 Hubs ate it also but he said add hamburger cause we you know how guys are. I said nope…we love it as is.
I subbed mushrooms for fresh broccoli and cauliflower and I also added two zucchini as I couldn’t find any yellow squash.
I thank you for sharing this-I needed a pick me up and something to get my veggie intake back up.
Even if I don’t shed a pound-I enjoyed this tremendously! 🙂
YAY!!! I am so happy you and your entire family liked it! It is always a WIN when the family can agree on something! Great substitution ideas, too. Thanks for commenting! 😀