High-Protein Green Pea Soup
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High-Protein Green Pea Soup blends sweet peas, roasted onion and garlic, spinach, cottage cheese, and bone broth with fresh mint and a squeeze of lemon. Roasting the onion gives it a mellow, slightly sweet depth, and the cottage cheese makes it creamy without adding any cream.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Most creamy soups get their texture from heavy cream or a flour-thickened base. This one gets it from blended peas and cottage cheese, so it's rich and smooth while staying light, with a good amount of protein and fiber in every bowl. The hands-on work is short: cut an onion, toss it on a pan, simmer the peas, and blend. The oven does most of the job while you do something else. Frozen peas are frozen soon after picking, so you get bright color and sweet flavor any time of year, not just in spring. It makes four generous bowls, reheats well for lunches through the week, and works just as well as a light dinner with a slice of toast on the side.
Texture and Flavor Notes
Blended long enough, the soup turns silky and thick, closer to a velvety purée than a brothy soup. The peas bring a natural sweetness, and the roasted onion adds a deeper, slightly caramelized flavor that keeps it from tasting one-note. Roasted garlic is much milder than raw garlic, so it adds a soft, nutty background rather than any bite. The cottage cheese disappears completely once blended, leaving just creaminess and a gentle tang. Fresh mint and lemon are what make it taste bright and fresh, so don't skip them. A small swirl of cream adds richness on top, while a little chili oil brings warmth and color that contrasts nicely with the cool mint. Spinach deepens the green color but barely changes the flavor.
Serving Ideas
For lunch, serve a bowl with a slice of whole-grain toast, a piece of crusty bread, or a few whole-grain crackers for dipping. To make it a bigger meal, add a side of sliced chicken breast, a hard-boiled egg or two, or a simple salad with chickpeas. A spoonful of plain Greek yogurt on top adds a little more protein and tang. If you're cooking for the week, portion the soup into containers within 2 hours of cooking, then reheat each one gently on the stove or in the microwave. For a fresh contrast, top each bowl with a few toasted pumpkin seeds or a sprinkle of crumbled feta just before serving. It's also good with a squeeze of extra lemon on a warm day.
Ingredient Notes & Easy Swaps
Bone broth: Chicken bone broth is what makes the protein work. Beef bone broth also works but gives a stronger flavor. Look for low-sodium so you can control the salt. Check the label for gluten if that matters to you.
Frozen peas: No need to thaw. Regular green peas or petite peas both work. Petite peas are a little sweeter and blend a bit smoother.
Cottage cheese: Low-fat (2%) keeps it light; full-fat makes it richer. Small-curd and large-curd both blend completely smooth.
Spinach: Baby spinach blends easiest. Kale works too, but remove the tough stems first, and it will taste slightly more earthy.
Fresh mint: Fresh basil or a little fresh dill are good swaps. Dried mint doesn't work well here.
Lemon juice: Fresh lemon is best. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more at the end until it tastes bright.
High-Protein Green Pea Soup
Description
High-Protein Green Pea Soup blends sweet peas, roasted onion and garlic, spinach, cottage cheese, and bone broth with fresh mint and a squeeze of lemon. Roasting the onion gives it a mellow, slightly sweet depth, and the cottage cheese makes it creamy without adding any cream.
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
- 6 to 8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken bone broth (about 9 to 10g protein per cup)
- 1 bag (16 oz) frozen peas
- 2 packed cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup low-fat (2%) cottage cheese
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, plus more for topping
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), plus more to taste
- Optional toppings: a drizzle of cream or plain Greek yogurt, a little chili oil, chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- 1Equipment: Oven, rimmed sheet pan, parchment paper, medium pot, large heatproof bowl, ladle, blender or immersion blender
- 21. Heat the oven to 400°F and line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
- 32. Put the onion quarters and unpeeled garlic cloves on the pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper, and toss to coat.
- 43. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, turning the onion once halfway through, until it's soft all the way through and browned at the edges. If the garlic cloves get very dark before the onion is done, take them off the pan early.
- 54. About 10 minutes before the onion is ready, bring the bone broth to a simmer in a medium pot. Add the frozen peas and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until they're tender and hot. Turn off the heat.
- 65. Squeeze the soft roasted garlic out of its skins. Let the broth and peas cool for about 5 minutes before blending.
- 76. Blend in 2 to 3 batches. Use a countertop blender only if its manual says it can handle hot liquids, and follow its temperature, fill and venting limits. Don't use a sealed personal blender cup for hot soup. For each batch, fill the blender no more than halfway with some of the peas and broth, onion, garlic, spinach, cottage cheese, mint, and lemon juice, dividing them roughly evenly between batches. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to the first batch. Vent the lid as your blender's manual directs; if it allows removing the center cap, remove it and cover the opening with a folded kitchen towel. Hold the lid down firmly and start on low before turning it up.
- 87. Blend each batch until completely smooth, about 1 minute, and pour it into a large heatproof bowl. When all the batches are done, pour the soup back into the pot and stir. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice, or mint if needed. If it's too thick, stir in a splash of broth or water. If the soup has cooled, warm it over low heat, stirring, without letting it boil.
- 98. Ladle into bowls and add any toppings you like: a swirl of cream or yogurt, a little chili oil, and some chopped mint.
Tips and Tricks
- 1
The bone broth is where much of the protein comes from. Regular broth or stock has only about 1 to 2g of protein per cup, which would bring the soup down to roughly 14 to 15g per serving. Check the label for about 9g or more per cup.
- 2
An immersion blender is the easiest and safest way to make this, with no batches. Add the roasted onion, garlic, spinach, cottage cheese, mint, lemon juice, and salt to the pot of peas and broth, turn off the heat, and blend right in the pot, keeping the blade fully under the surface to avoid splatters.
- 3
Don't boil the soup after the cottage cheese goes in. High heat can make it slightly grainy. Warm it gently instead.
- 4
Roasting the garlic in its skins keeps it soft and sweet and stops it from burning. Let it cool a minute before squeezing it out.
- 5
Want a thinner soup? Add more broth a little at a time. For a thicker soup, use 3 1/2 cups of broth to start.
- 6
Bone broth can be salty, so taste before adding extra salt.
Nutrition
Per serving — Calories: 235kcal, Protein: 22g, Carbs: 25g, Fat: 6g, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 10g, Sodium: 770mg.
Nutrition information is an estimate and may vary based on ingredient brands, product sizes, preparation methods, and substitutions. It is not intended as medical or dietary advice.
