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I had artichoke soup for the first time at a dive in Encino, California in 1987. It was rich and creamy with a hint of lemon, garlic and parmesan cheese. It was a simple lunch that evokes wonderful memories to this day.

This recipe is easy to prepare. It is packed with canned artichoke hearts, onion, celery, seasonings and a touch of romano cheese. Instead of heavy cream, I used dehydrated potato flakes to thicken it and give it a creamy texture.

If you want a silky smooth soup, give it a whirl in small batches in a Vitamix or similar blender. The hubby and I prefer out soup to have some texture so I ran the artichoke hearts through a food processor before cooking them and used a stick immersion blender on the pot of soup when it was done.

Serve a bowl of this soup with some croutons or a chunk of crusty bread for a satisfying lunch or light dinner.

Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.

Ingredient Round Up

  • Carton of salt free chicken broth – I used Swanson brand.
  • Canned artichoke quarters – I used Cento brand.
  • Onion
  • Celery
  • Garlic cloves
  • Lemon juice
  • Nutmeg
  • Dried parsley
  • Grated romano cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Olive oil
  • Dehydrated potato flakes
  • Fat free half and half or dairy of your choice

Making the Soup

  • Chop the onion and celery and mince the garlic.

  • Saute the chopped onion and celery in the olive oil until they are translucent and tender.

  • Add the minced garlic and saute it until it becomes aromatic. Immediately add the chicken broth to the pan.
  • Drain the canned artichoke hearts and place them in a food processor. Pulse until they are finely chopped.

  • Add the finely chopped artichoke hearts to the broth with the rest of the vegetables. Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice and nutmeg to the soup.
  • Use your fingers to crush the dried parsley and add it to the soup and stir. Taste the soup and adjust the salt. You want a very light taste of garlic. You can add a bit of garlic powder if you think it is needed. Let the soup simmer.
  • Add the dehydrated potato flakes to the soup and stir to thoroughly incorporate them.
  • Use a hand immersion blender to blend the soup. It will do a decent job of breaking down the onion and celery. We like some texture to our artichoke soup so I stop here. If you prefer a smooth soup, run it through a blender in small batches.

  • Add the fat free half and half and romano cheese and stir until it is blended in. Reheat if necessary.
  • Serve up a bowl of soup and garnish it with croutons if you wish.
  • Refrigerate any leftovers.

Serving Ideas

  • You can garnish the soup with croutons or some shaved romano cheese.
  • A bowl of artichoke soup with a serving of fruit makes a nice lunch.
  • For dinner you can serve a bowl of this soup with a slice of crusty bread or a side salad.
  • Artichoke soup and a grilled mozzarella and tomato sandwich always its the spot.

WW 2 pt per bowl; 3 pt with croutons

Artichoke Soup

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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 126.7kcal

Equipment

  • Chef knife
  • Cutting board
  • food processor
  • immersion blender
  • smidgen measuring spoons

Ingredients  

  • 1 32 oz carton Swanson unsalted chicken broth
  • 2 14 oz cans Cento quarter artichoke hearts (16.5 oz dried weight)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 large stalk celery
  • 1-2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt to taste
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 3 smidgens nutmeg (about ⅛ tsp)
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tbsp grated Romano cheese
  • ⅓ c dehydrated potato flakes, Hungry Jacks
  • ¼ c fat free half & half

Instructions

  • Chop the onion and stalk of celery. Finely mince the garlic cloves.
  • Put the olive oil into the dutch oven. When the oil is hot, saute the onion and celery until they are translucent and tender.
  • Add the minced garlic and saute an additional 30 sec until it becomes aromatic. Immediately add the unsalted chicken broth to the pan.
  • Open the cans of artichoke hearts and drain off the liquid. Place the artichoke hearts into a food processor and pulse until they are very finely chopped just short of being pureed. If you want to lower salt, rinse the artichoke hearts under cold water and squeeze out excess water (Note, I did not do this.)
  • Add the finely chopped artichoke hearts to the soup base and stir.
  • Add the pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice to the soup base. Add salt to taste.
  • Use your fingers to finely crush the dried parsley and add it to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 min.
  • Add the dehydrated potato flakes and stir to thoroughly incorporate them into the soup.
  • Remove the soup from the heat. Use a hand immersion blender and run it through the soup to puree the cooked onion and celery. It will further breakdown the artichoke heart bits but it will not puree it to smoothness. I like some texture to my soup so I stop here. If you want your soup to be smooth, run it through a Vitamix blender or equivalent in small batches until it's the desired smoothness.
  • Lastly stir in grated romano cheese and fat free half & half. Reheat the soup if necessary.
  • Ladle up the soup, garnish with croutons and serve.
  • Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

Nutritional info is for 1 serving of soup (excludes croutons).
A serving of soup is 2 pt. It jumps to 3 pt with garnish of 2 tbsp of croutons.
If you add croutons or shaved romano, add the extra points.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 126.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.1g | Protein: 6.6g | Fat: 3.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 422mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 3.7g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

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