Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
This cauliflower soup recipe is the BEST! Roasted cauliflower makes it taste amazing, and a little butter (instead of cream) makes it luxuriously creamy.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 1, 2024
Behold! Lusciously creamy, yet cream-less, cauliflower soup. This cauliflower soup recipe will absolutely satisfy your craving for warm, creamy soup—no cheese required.
I know “cauliflower soup” might not sound super appealing if you’ve never had it before. Trust me, it can be so delicious! Today, I’m sharing my favorite cauliflower soup recipe, and I can’t wait for you to make it at home.
My friend Tessa introduced me to cauliflower soup a few years ago. I loved it so much that I developed my own recipe for my cookbook, Love Real Food.
As the temps and leaves have dropped this fall, I’ve had a hankering for warm, creamy soups. So, I thought I’d share a slightly simplified version of my cauliflower soup for everyone to enjoy. Let’s make some!
Why You’ll Love This Cauliflower Soup
This soup calls for basic ingredients but yields amazing flavor. If you have a head of cauliflower in the fridge, you probably have everything else you’ll need.
This cauliflower soup is the perfect accompaniment to salads and sandwiches. This traditional cauliflower soup will go with just about any other fall or winter flavors, including butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and greens like arugula and kale. It’ll warm you up without weighing you down!
This soup freezes well for later. This recipe doesn’t yield a ton (about 4 medium bowls), but if you have extra, just freeze it!
This creamy soup is special diet-friendly. It’s gluten free as written. Check my recipe notes to learn how to make this soup vegan/dairy free by using cashews instead of butter.
How to Make the Best Cauliflower Soup
1) Roast Your Cauliflower
Behind that creamy beige exterior, you’ll find loads of irresistible roasted cauliflower flavor. Roasted cauliflower is key here—cauliflower develops caramelized notes with a greater depth of flavor as it roasts in the oven.
2) Build Flavor
Once your roasted cauliflower is almost done, you’ll sauté onions in a soup pot until tender, then add garlic and vegetable broth. Then, add your roasted cauliflower and simmer the mixture on the stove for about 20 minutes to meld the flavors.
3) Add Butter for Creaminess
You’ll transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and add butter. Butter is an easy way to add mega creamy, luxurious flavor and texture without any cream (I borrowed this technique from my butternut squash soup). If you’re like me, you always have butter in the fridge, but rarely heavy cream!
4) Blend Until Completely Smooth
I recommend blending this soup in a stand blender, rather than an immersion blender, because stand blenders yield the creamiest results. Fortunately, the ingredients used here are fairly soft, so even an inexpensive stand blender should work well (I used my fancy Vitamix, affiliate link). The final texture, in my opinion, is absolutely worth dirtying the blender bowl for.
5) Season with Nutmeg and Lemon Juice
We’re using small, subtle amounts of nutmeg and lemon juice here. You probably won’t be able to pinpoint them while you’re sipping your soup, but they offer a certain je ne sais quoi factor. They take this soup from great to fantastic!
6) Sprinkle Something Fresh on Top
I tried garnishing my soup with fresh parsley, green onion and chives. I loved them all and couldn’t pick a favorite, so use whichever you have on hand!
Watch How to Make Cauliflower Soup
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! I really love hearing from you.
Having a moment with cauliflower? Here are some more of my favorite cauliflower recipes on Cookie and Kate:
- Roasted Cauliflower (Four Ways!)
- Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice
- Lemony Roasted Cauliflower Risotto
- Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower Steaks with Marinara
- Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad with Feta and Avocado
Craving more soups? Don’t miss the other eight soup recipes in Love Real Food! You’ll also find quite a few more soups here on the blog.
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
This cauliflower soup recipe is the best! Roasted cauliflower makes it taste amazing, and a little butter (instead of cream) makes it luxuriously creamy. Recipe yields 4 bowls of soup.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Fine sea salt
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more if needed
- Scant ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- For garnish: 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives and/or green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If desired, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- On the baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until lightly and evenly coated in oil. Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake until the cauliflower is tender and caramelized on the edges, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway.
- Once the cauliflower is almost done, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the broth.
- Reserve 4 of the prettiest roasted cauliflower florets for garnish. Then transfer the remaining cauliflower to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
- Once the soup is done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!)
- Add the butter and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and nutmeg and blend again. Add additional salt, to taste (I usually add another ¼ to ¾ teaspoon, depending on the broth). This soup tastes amazing once it’s properly salted! You can also a little more lemon juice, if it needs more zing. Blend again.
- Top individual bowls of soup with 1 roasted cauliflower floret and a sprinkle of chopped parsley, green onion and/or chives. This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my cookbook, Love Real Food.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Use cashews instead of butter. Soak ¼ cup cashews for 4 hours, then drain and rinse them (if you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, you can skip this). Add the cashews when you would add the butter.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Going to try this recipe tomorrow (Christmas lunch), it sound lovely. Thanks.
This didn’t sound super appealing but I found it to be a great recipe! Definitely needs the lemon, and I used quite a bit more than a tablespoon. Didn’t have to use extra salt though. Very filling!!
I love your recipes. I made this soup for friends. While the flavour was delicious, the consistency was way too thick. How many cups of cauliflower are you using in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Debbie, 2 pounds should be about 4-5 cups of cauliflower florets, if you’re using most of the stem. You can adjust the amount of broth and cauliflower for your desired consistency. I hope this helps.
This soup was absolutely delicious and so easy, simple and cheap to make. We had it for Christmas Day starter, super impressed it tasted very expensive. Followed the recipe, although forgot the lemon and garnish.
Will be my ‘go to’ soup.
I made the soup but substituted 2 shallots and extra garlic cloves which I roasted along with the cauliflower. I added 1/2 cup heavy cream and a handful of cheddar/gruyere cheese. It was amazing.
Thank you for sharing. Delicious! I just changed a few things. I had chicken broth so I used it instead of veggie broth. I omitted the nutmeg and added thyme. Thanks again!
Made this soup today with 2 left over caulis from Christmas. Didn’t have an onion so used the cauli leaves instead, just added a little brown sugar to take away the tartness, and added a little nutritional yeast with vegan butter at the end. Apart from that, I followed the recipe exactly. My husband refuses to eat cauliflowers but absolutely loved this soup, I’m blown away by how rich and creamy this is. It made lots too! Thank you!
DELICIOUS! I think roasting the cauliflower was the key, I did add some sharp cheddar at the request of my kids but otherwise it was perfect!
I don’t think I’ve ever had cauliflower soup, so I wasn’t sure what I was in for. Loved it! I will definitely be adding it into the rotation.
I was skeptical but this was truly delicious. I added a parmesean rind, a small peeled potato, yellow onion in place of red and homemade stock (5 cups). Highly recommend this recipe!
I am going to try to soup which looks so delicious. Could you add cannelli beans (for creaminess and health benefits, instead of butter?)
Hi Danielle, you could add beans, but I would also add a bit more water or broth unless you want a thicker stew. I think the butter is important for richness but feel free to omit.
It was just ok. I found the roasted cauliflower overwhelming in the soup and the sweetness of the red onion was off.
I have not found a substitute for the Cooks Illustrated cauliflower soup. It also has no cream but is amazing.
This soup is incredible! So healthy and so delicious. I am glad that I made a double batch so that I will have leftovers to enjoy at lunch. My kids claim that they don’t like cauliflower but they both happily eat this soup and even ask for seconds.
Amazing recipe. Soup turned out delicious!
I made the soup! Even weeknight meal, fast and easy. Tasty!!! Added grilled cheese sandwich. Thank you.
This is delicious! I will be making it again!!
This cauliflower soup is delicious! My husband really loved it too!
I did add more salt at end as suggested. I used 1/2 teaspoon which was perfect and made the flavors sing. I followed the exact recipe and it’s been perfect on repeat. I noticed today the substitution of cashews for butter and I think I will try that for fun to see how it turns out. I love cashew cream. Thanks for so many really great recipes!!! I use your recipes constantly!!!!!!!
I posted previously and forgot to rate. 5 stars for sure!
I loved everything about this soup. It takes no time to make, has a short ingredient list, is velvety smooth, and the flavour doesn’t disappoint. I used yellow onions and roasted them with the cauliflower along with whole garlic cloves. The cauliflower I used was a bit bland so in addition to the nutmeg and lemon juice, I also added curry powder and Worcestershire sauce for a flavour boost. Excellent recipe. Thanks for posting.
The soup was okay. But I realized I forgot the lemon juice. I added 1 tablespoon and it tastes like sour lemon soup. I don’t like it. I added some baking soda and sugar it made it better and less sour. But I’m not happy with it.