4 Ingredient Creamy Kale Cheddar Soup
This creamy kale soup recipe is a total lifesaver. It is only 4 ingredients and is ready in less than 30 minutes! Plus, it’s super healthy because it is just broth, kale, potatoes, and cheddar cheese! The texture is so velvety smooth that it’s hard to believe it’s just 4 ingredients, requires no sautéing, no making-of roux, and no fancy ingredients. It’s the perfect recipe for when your calendar is crazy busy!
Table of contents
Why We Love Creamy Kale Soup
Friends, I have the perfect healthy weeknight recipe for you for busy evenings! It’s easy, creamy, cheesy, filling, and your kids won’t even mind that there’s kale in it! This creamy kale and cheese soup paired with some crunchy garlic bread will make you the hero of weeknight dinners.
This soup only requires 4 ingredients, that’s right – f o u r. It’s naturally gluten-free and made of ingredients that you’ll feel thrilled to feed your family. Not to mention they joy you’ll feel when they scarf it down as quickly as mine did!
I’ve made kale soup recipes before like turkey sausage and kale soup and potato and kale soup with sausage, but this creamy potato kale soup take the cake because of how simple it is. In fact, it’s so easy to make that my 4th grader whipped this up for us one night! Don’t you love the idea of making something so yummy that your kids are inspired to make it?
Key Ingredients For This Pureed Kale Soup Recipe
Kale
Kale is a bitter plant, but its deep, earthy flavors is perfect for soup recipes! And don’t worry, the bitterness will dissipate as the kale cooks. Keep in mind that curly kale, especially those darker in color, is the most bitter variety of the plant. If you want to try to mellow out the bitterness before you even cook it, try soaking it in cold water with a pinch of salt before cooking.
Chicken Broth
Use whatever kind of chicken broth you like, but keep sodium in mind. If you choose low-sodium chicken broth, you will probably want to add a bit of salt to taste. That route would allow you to control the amount of sodium that goes into your soup.
While chicken stock will create a richer flavor, if you want to keep this recipe vegetarian you can feel free to use vegetable stock instead.
Potatoes
Yukon Gold is your best bet for this recipe because of it’s ultra-creamy texture after being boiled and pureed, but you can use any waxy, thin-skinned potato you like. As long as the potato is lower in starch and higher in moisture, it will react well to boiling.
Sharp Cheddar
Freshly shredded sharp cheddar is sublime in this soup! If you want a tangier taste, try using extra-sharp!
Step By Step Instructions To Make Creamy Kale and Cheese Soup
Step 1: Boil
Bring your broth and potatoes to a boil in a large saucepan, and then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, which should take about 12 to 15 minutes.
Step 2: Add Kale
Add the kale and stir to wilt. Cook, stirring occassionally, until the kale is bright green and tender. This should take about 5 minutes, and then you can remove the mixture from the heat.
Step 3: Puree
Carefully puree the mixture in two batches with either a blender or an immersion blender. We recommend two batches because the heat from the mixture can cause your blender to sort of…explode.
Step 4: Add Cheese
Finally, stir (or fold, if you’re a Schitt’s Creek fan) in your cheese to put the finishing touch on this creamy and cheesy soup!
FAQs and Expert Tips
This soup is good for 4-5 days kept in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Rewarm it on the stovetop on low-medium heat.
This soup is better when it is freshly made. If you do plan to freeze it, do not add the cheddar. Without the cheese it can be frozen for 3 months. Once you thaw it, reheat it, and then stir in the cheddar cheese.
Additional Recipes To Try
- This Sauteed Kale with Cider Vinegar recipe is such a simple and flavorful side dish!
- Creamy and hearty Healthy Vegetarian Kale Risotto is a delicious entree packed with extra veggies!
- Healthy Stovetop Mac and Cheese with Kale takes only 20 minutes and is the perfect happy-medium that blends a classic dish with more nutrition.
- Cheddar Potato Soup is another creamy pureed soup to try.
- Cheddar Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup has a smoky and tangy kick that makes it perfect for the autumnal season!
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
Print4 Ingredient Creamy Kale Cheddar Soup
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 1/2 cups, 4 servings 1x
Description
This creamy kale soup recipe is a total lifesaver. It is only 4 ingredients and is ready in less than 30 minutes! Plus, it’s super healthy because it is just broth, kale, potatoes, and cheddar cheese! The texture is so velvety smooth that it’s hard to believe it’s just 4 ingredients, requires no sautéing, no making-of roux, and no fancy ingredients. It’s the perfect recipe for when your calendar is crazy busy!
Ingredients
- 1 32-ounce box chicken broth
- 4 cups, peeled 1-inch dice potatoes (20 ounces) *See note
- 4 packed cups chopped kale leaves
- 6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Bring broth and potatoes to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Add kale, and stir to wilt the kale. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is bright green and just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Carefully puree in two batches in a blender or with an immersion blender.
- Stir in cheddar.
Notes
Freezing Instructions
This soup is better when it is freshly made. If you do plan to freeze it, do not add the cheddar. Without the cheese it can be frozen for 3 months. Once you thaw it, reheat it, and then stir in the cheddar cheese.
Which Potatoes To Use
I recommend using Yukon Gold potatoes, but any thin-skinned and waxy potato variety will work fine.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 1 3/4 cups
- Calories: 186.49 cal
- Sugar: 2.58 g
- Sodium: 306.38 mg
- Fat: 8.69 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.51 g
- Trans Fat: 0.25 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.54 g
- Fiber: 1.85 g
- Protein: 9.79 g
- Cholesterol: 24.45 mg
I made this last night and both of my kids (ages 10 and 8) ate it and liked it. This was the first time they’ve eaten a soup I’ve made! Thanks for the very easy and delicious recipe!
That is so awesome! My kiddos loved it too. For the win! Thank you so much for coming back to let us know that you/they liked it Beth. I really appreciate it. Have a great day. 🙂
This sounds so good! And I love that your daughter is making dinner one night a week! Awesome.
Thank you Ann. Hope you try this recipe!
Wow, this is almost too good to be true! Can’t get much easier — will be trying soon. 🙂
So glad to hear it Janice! Have a wonderful week!
So nice that you’re daughter is able to cook dinner one night a week!This soup rocks! Only 4 ingredients – quick and easy!! I have to give this a try!
It is going really well so far. Though trying to keep out of the kitchen on Wednesdays has been a bit harder for me than I thought it would be.
OMG looks so good! Pinned!
Thanks so much Nancy and for pinning. I appreciate it. Have a fantastic week.
Aww, so sweet that she’s such a big kitchen helper, and a healthy one at that! Love how easy this soup is – sounds delicious!
How cool to have you 10 year old so into cooking! This soup looks so easy and yummy – a perfect transition from Summer to Fall 🙂
I love how simple this recipe is and how pretty and bright the soup turns out. Kale for the win!
I love everything about this recipe! Looks so healthy and delicious…and your photos are gorgeous!!!
Thank you so much Laura, and for coming by to say hello.
Love this recipe (and the duct tape parenting thing – I have to start that with the 9 year old) I have a cheesy broccoli and greens soup that’s similar but your version is so much easier and digging the addition of potatoes 🙂
I bet broccoli would be great with this same technique. I’ve gotta try it!
What a fun project! When I have kids I am totally doing this, so fantastic! Way to go daughter!! 🙂
Thank you Elizabeth! Glad to hear it!
Wow, your 10 yr old has much more interest and ability in cooking than mine! Salad and portioning out dessert are her limits (and attention span) so far. Looking forward to giving this a try when the fall CSA box starts to explode with kale. Thanks!
I am pretty amazed how well she has done with it. To be fair though, she has known that she would be taking this on since last spring, so she has had some time to wrap her head around the concept. Glad to hear you’re doing a fall CSA. That’s music to my ears!
This sounds really yummy! I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Marye! And I hope you do. Let me know if you do try it.
I’m seriously in love with how simple this is! Definitely a perfect weeknight meal!
Totally Rachel. And thank you!
this is pure genius. cheddar + kale and only 4 ingredients. yes!
I am still in awe of how well it came out! I will be riffing on it again soon. My guess is that the potato/ cheddar thing can really work with a ton of different vegetables. Thank you Regan.