Cauliflower Soup
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Last updated on Jan 20, 2025
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This easy cauliflower soup is thick, creamy and packed full of flavor. It’s vegan, dairy-free and comes together in under 30 minutes with less than 10 ingredients.
These chilly winter days have me craving all the warm and comforting recipes… cue this cozy cauliflower soup! It’s so creamy and definitely hits the spot on a comfort level. Plus, it’s packed full of flavor and leaves me so satisfied after each bite.
Table of Contents
Why You Need to Make This Soup
- Budget-friendly – Just a handful of simple, affordable ingredients come together to make this flavorful soup.
- One-pot wonder – Minimal dishes mean less cleanup and more time to relax!
- Creamy and comforting – Blended cauliflower gives this soup a velvety texture without needing heavy cream, but you can add a drizzle for extra richness if you’d like.
- Versatile – Perfect as-is, or customize it with your favorite toppings and herbs to suit your taste.
- Great for meal prep – Whip up a batch and enjoy nourishing soup all week long!
Ingredients Needed
- cauliflower – the star of the show! You can use pre-chopped cauliflower florets to save time or 1 medium to large cauliflower head.
- olive oil – to sauté the vegetables in your pot.
- yellow onion and garlic – the main source of flavor in this soup!
- vegetable broth or chicken broth – the liquid base of the soup. I like to use low-sodium broth for flavor and so I can control how salty the soup is at the end.
- seasonings and spices – sea salt and pepper to bring all the flavors together!
- optional toppings – fresh parsley, chives and/or heavy cream or coconut milk.
Substitutions
- Cauliflower: Frozen cauliflower works in a pinch! Just reduce the cooking time slightly since frozen cauliflower softens faster.
- Olive oil: You can swap olive oil for avocado oil, butter, or ghee if you prefer.
- Broth: Use vegetable stock to keep it vegan, or swap for chicken broth for a richer flavor. Water also works, but the soup may be less flavorful.
- Heavy cream: Coconut milk is a great dairy-free alternative that adds creaminess with a hint of sweetness. You can also skip the cream entirely for a lighter soup.
- Herbs: Try swapping parsley or chives with fresh thyme, dill, or cilantro for a fun flavor twist.
How to Make Cauliflower Soup
This cauliflower soup is simple, cozy, and oh-so-creamy. It comes together in just a few steps—here’s how to make it:
Step 1: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onions and minced garlic, cooking for 5-7 minutes until soft and fragrant.
Step 2: Stir in salt, pepper, cauliflower, and water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
Step 3: Use an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender (in batches) to puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Step 4: Ladle into bowls and top with parsley, chives, and a drizzle of heavy cream or coconut milk if desired. Enjoy warm!
Pro tip!
- When chopping your cauliflower, chop the florets into small pieces all about the same size. They’ll be easier to eat and cook faster.
How to Serve
Here’s where it gets fun! Get creative with your toppings, or serve with your favorite sides. Here are some ideas:
- Salads: Pair with a light, refreshing salad like my easy spinach salad or garlicky kale salad to balance the richness of the soup.
- Bread: This soup is perfect for dipping! Serve with vegan cornbread, crusty sourdough bread, or even a slice of whole wheat honey brown bread.
- Crackers: For a crunchy side, try my almond flour crackers or your favorite store-bought option.
- Toppings: Parmesan cheese (try my hemp parmesan for a vegan option), fresh parsley, croutons, roasted chickpeas, coconut bacon, or crumbled tempeh bacon.
How to Store Leftovers
As I mentioned earlier, this soup is a great meal prep recipe. I like to make a batch at the beginning of the week and enjoy it for easy lunches or dinners throughout the week. Allow the soup to cool slightly and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want more flavor in your soup, you can easily add in some spices like paprika, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, etc. A splash of fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs like chives, green onions or thyme will also add great flavor to your soup!
If you’d like to thicken your cauliflower soup you can add some arrowroot powder, corn starch or flour. To do this, you can make a roux with 1 part thickening agent to 2 parts liquid. I don’t recommend adding the thickener straight to the soup because it will clump up.
One serving of cauliflower soup has 4 grams of protein.
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not! This soup should freeze well if stored in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
If you don’t have an immersion blender, don’t worry—you have other options! For a chunkier texture, use a potato masher to mash the cauliflower once it’s fork-tender until you reach your desired consistency. If you prefer a smooth soup, transfer it to a blender in batches, being careful not to overfill since the soup will be hot. You can also blend just half the soup for a mix of smooth and chunky textures.
Popular Soup Recipes to Try
More Recipes With Cauliflower
- Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Curry Roasted Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
Be sure to check out all of the soup recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into large chunks
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups water, vegetable, or chicken stock (plus more, as needed)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, divided
- ¼ cup fresh parsley and or chives chopped, for garnish
- Heavy cream or coconut milk , for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to the pot and saute about 5-7 minutes, until onions begin to soften and become translucent.
- Add salt, pepper, cauliflower and water or broth to pot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until cauliflower is very soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- Once cauliflower is soft, use an immersion blender to puree soup to a smooth consistency. If you do not have an immersion blender you can transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend until smooth. Add more water or broth as needed to reach your desired consistency. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with freshly ground black pepper, parsley and/or chives, and a drizzle of heavy cream (use 1-2 Tablespoons per serving) if desired.
Notes
- Vegan option: If you’re looking to make this soup vegan just be sure to use vegetable broth or water and skip the heavy cream or use coconut milk as a substitution.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yes , looks delicious <3
Thank you!
The soup is quite good, but somewhat uneventful. I added dried thyme for flavor. Then, decided it needed a little girth, so added grilled chicken chunks and lima beans. After eating it, I decided it really is a “healthy” option to potato soup. So, next time I make it I will add bacon, cheese and chives instead. Glad I tried it and will make it again.
Hi, Keri! Thanks so much for your review, dried thyme sounds like a great addition. It’s definitely similar to healthy potato soup, I bet bacon, cheese and chives would be a perfect topping. Let me know how it turns out for you when you try it again!
This was very good! The addition of cream at the end tasted very nice.
Yay! I’m so glad this recipe worked out for you, M. Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review and star rating, I really appreciate it.
Do you leave the garlic whole in this recipe? Not super important, but I’m wondering.
Hi, Maria. You’ll mince the garlic. I’m sorry that wasn’t clear, I’ve updated the post!
This soup is amazing! I made it as written and added 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The resulting soup was not spicy but definitely had a spice taste that I loved! I didn’t add cream or coconut milk, but I’m sure they would be awesome additions as well! Will make again!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you loved this recipe, Cheryl. The cayenne pepper sounds like a delicious addition, thanks for sharing and thanks for leaving a review! 🙂
excellent post thank you for sharing
Could your recommend something I could use for seasoning besides the onion and garlic, as I’m allergic to both. Its hard to flavor soups without. This sounds yummy.
Hi, Kathy. A mix of carrot and celery could be a good sub for the onions and garlic. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
I made this for the first time today and it’s a hit with my whole family! My 9 year old said it tastes similar to Panera potato soup! We added bacon bits too
Woo! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit for you, Katie! Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it.
Had a cauliflower head in the fridge that I needed to use and this recipe hit my inbox in the am and made the dish for lunch…. Amazing!!! So simple so comforting so delicious!!!
Yay! I am so glad to hear that, Elaine! Thanks for trying this recipe and coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it so much!