What’s a little bit nutty, slightly sweet, and smooth as silk? Nope. Not your last Tinder match…I’m talking about Roasted Cauliflower Soup. Cozy and comforting, it’s creamy without cream, slightly sweet, and loaded with healthy vegetables. It’s the antidote to any bad day!
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Today is a great day for roasted cauliflower soup. Need a reason? Fine.
First and foremost, it’s absurdly delicious. Thyme, onion, and beautifully caramelized roasted garlic add bright notes to naturally buttery cauliflower in this silky smooth soup.
Silky smooth, huh? Tell me more. Is this cauliflower soup creamy? It sure is… but with no cream necessary. Healthier roasted cauliflower soup is pureed with potato to create a thick-but-never-heavy consistency.
No cream, eh? Sounds healthy. It sure is. Still chock full of healthy fats and each serving gives you over 100% of your daily Vitamin C. Take that cold season!
Seems complicated though… Not at all! This cauliflower soup achieves big, bold flavor with only around ten ingredients. Some of the components need more attention than others, but I would never steer you wrong. There may be a lot of steps, but they are anything but tricky. The recipe is easy to follow and worth every minute of prep time.
For a quick and easy “just the facts” post, click to view the web story for this recipe!
Key Ingredients for Roasted Cauliflower Soup
To get the most out of this cauliflower soup recipe, give these key ingredients extra love:
- Roasted Cauliflower: roast the florets for superior (and sweeter) flavor. As opposed to my loaded cauliflower soup, where the garnish is the main event, the cauliflower is the star of this soup and needs a little extra love.
- Roasted Garlic: another big, bold flavor boost from sweet roasted garlic. It roasts in the same amount of time as the florets, so basically no extra work!
- Potatoes: they thicken and add a creamy texture without adding actual cream. Yukon Gold is the gold standard for starch, and you’ll only need one large-ish potato to add the right texture.
- Garnish: can make or break a soup. Pine nuts add both texture and flavor and pair nearly perfected with the nutty flavor of roasted cauliflower.
How to Make Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Roasted Cauliflower Soup takes some time, but most of it is hands off. As the name suggests, you should absolutely roast the cauliflower (along with a whole head of garlic) instead of steaming or tossing it in raw. Trust – you’ll be rewarded with the creamiest, most flavorful cauliflower soup you can imagine.
- PREP CAULIFLOWER. Toss cauliflower florets with oil and spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- PREP GARLIC. Trim a whole head of garlic, drizzle with oil, wrap in foil, and place onto the baking sheet with the cauliflower.
- ROAST. Roast together at 400°F for 40-45 minutes until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender and the garlic is soft and squeezable. Reserve some cauliflower for garnish. Allow the garlic to cool, then squeeze the roasted cloves out of the shell.
- SAUTE ONION. Meanwhile, saute the onions in butter, ghee, or olive oil until soft.
- ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS. Add the cauliflower, garlic and diced potato to the pot. Season, then add enough broth to just barely cover the vegetables. Top with fresh thyme.
- SIMMER. Simmer 20 minutes, or until the potato is very soft.
- BLEND. Remove the thyme, then puree the soup (see below for options!).
- GARNISH AND SEVE. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Ladle into soup bowls, garnish, and serve warm.
Chef’s Tips for Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Roast the cauliflower until tender and caramelized for deep flavor. If you’re a new cook, read through out post on roasted cauliflower for even more details!
- Divide the cauliflower into smaller, bite-sized florets of 2 inches or smaller. The cauliflower will roast a bit more quickly and you’ll achieve more caramelization with more surface area. See our How to Cut Cauliflower tutorial for everything you need to know about dividing up a head of cauliflower!
- Keep it vegetarian and vegan by using good quality vegetable broth and vegan butter as needed. (This keeps your creamy cauliflower soup dairy free too!)
- Good quality chicken stock or homemade bone broth can be used.
Pureeing Creamy Soups
Immersion Blender: Pros – this handheld “stick” blender is easy, quick, and requires less clean-up since you puree right in the pot; Cons – it doesn’t always blend to the same super smooth consistency as a stand blender.
Traditional Blender: Pros – a very smooth and creamy soup that often doesn’t need to be further thinned; Cons – pureeing must be done in batches, and you’ll have slightly more clean-up.
Pro Tip: A high-powered stand blender, like a Vitamix, will yield the creamiest soup.
Garnish, Baby
Pine Nuts: toast ’em first! See instructions in the recipe card. Slivered or sliced almonds work nicely too.
Roasted Cauliflower Florets: reserve the smallest roasted florets from your batch to use as a garnish.
Fresh Thyme: sprinkle some leaves on top for an added burst of herby flavor.
Drizzle: use a splash of heavy cream, coconut cream, or full-fat coconut milk; extra virgin olive oil also makes a great finishing touch.
Is Cauliflower Soup Healthy?
It sure is! Plenty of healthy fat and fiber to go around, plus each serving has 100% of your daily Vitamin C needs. It’s also grain and gluten free with vegan and lactose free options.
While not keto, it is lower in carbohydrates than other creamy soups that rely on added thickeners. And the easy, healthy options to make this cauliflower soup paleo, Whole30, vegan or vegetarian won’t compromise the flavor at all.
Freezing and Storing
In the Fridge: store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days; reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in-between, or simmer in a pot on the stove over medium heat.
In the Freezer: roasted cauliflower soup freezes exceptionally well since it doesn’t contain heavy cream! Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost using your preferred method (we like to defrost by placing in the fridge the night before) then reheat as directed above.
More Creamy Soups that Won’t Bring You Down
- Curried Cauliflower Soup
- Loaded Cauliflower Soup
- Ginger Carrot Soup
- Nourishing Potato Onion Soup
- Creamy Broccoli Potato Soup
Did you make this Roasted Cauliflower Soup? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Description
Ingredients
- 2½ tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 head cauliflower, divided into florets (about 6 cups)
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon butter, or ghee, olive oil, or avocado oil
- 1 large vidalia onion, diced to ½″
- 1 large yukon gold potato, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 c vegetable broth, or chicken broth or stock
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
- ¼ c. toasted pine nuts, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoon olive oil, then spread on the prepared baking sheet. Slice off the top of the head of garlic and rub ½ tablespoon of remaining oil into the exposed garlic cloves. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and add it to the baking sheet.
- Transfer to the oven and roast the cauliflower and garlic until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender and the garlic is soft and squeezable, 40-45 minutes. The cauliflower may finish roasting before the garlic, so check it every 5 minutes after the 40-minute mark.
- Reserve ½ cup of the smallest cauliflower florets for garnish. Allow the garlic to cool for a few moments, then squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the papery shells.
- Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee and heat until it melts. Add the onions to the pot, stir to coat in the fat, and then cover and sweat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, 15-20 minutes.
- Add the roasted cauliflower florets, roasted garlic, and diced potato to the onions. Season with salt and pepper, then add enough broth to just barely cover the vegetables (I used about 4 cups). Give everything a quick stir and then add the fresh thyme.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the pine nuts to the pan and toast, stirring continuously, until the pine nuts are lightly golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the potatoes are soft, remove the thyme sprig. Blend the soup with an immersion blender (or in a traditional blender in batches, see notes) until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a bit of extra stock or water, 2 tablespoon at a time. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cauliflower florets, pine nuts, and fresh thyme leaves. Serve immediately. This soup keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months.
Recipe Notes
- Fridge: leftovers will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a soup pot over medium heat until warmed through.
- Freezer: store in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- Vegan: use vegan butter or substitute butter for olive oil.
- Whole30 and Paleo: use ghee in place of butter.
Nana Carrillo
Wow.. really delicious and easy to make. It is really quite elegant. I use Kerrygold butter and it makes it yummy. Love the garnish ideas. Thanks for a superb early Fall recipe!
Danielle
So glad you loved it! And I love the suggestion of using Kerrygold – a great one!
Joe
Any chance I could use rutabaga instead of potatoe?
Danielle
I haven’t made this sub myself, but it should work well! I’d love to know how it turns out if you give it a try.