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.

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best cauliflower soup recipe

Behold! Lusciously creamy, yet cream-less, cauliflower soup. This cauliflower soup recipe will absolutely satisfy your craving for warm, creamy soupโ€”no cheese required.

I know โ€œcauliflower soupโ€ might not sound super appealing if youโ€™ve never had it before. Trust me, it can be so delicious! Today, Iโ€™m sharing my favorite cauliflower soup recipe, and I canโ€™t wait for you to make it at home.

cauliflower

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, Iโ€™ve had a hankering for warm, creamy soups. So, I thought Iโ€™d share a slightly simplified version of my cauliflower soup for everyone to enjoy. Letโ€™s make some!

how to roast cauliflower

Why Youโ€™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 youโ€™ll need.

This cauliflower soup is the perfect accompaniment to salads and sandwiches.ย 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. Itโ€™ll warm you up without weighing you down!

This soup freezes well for later. This recipe doesnโ€™t yield a ton (about 4 medium bowls), but if you have extra, just freeze it!

This creamy soup is special diet-friendly. Itโ€™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 cauliflower soup

How to Make the Best Cauliflower Soup

1) Roast Your Cauliflower

Behind that creamy beige exterior, youโ€™ll find loads of irresistible roasted cauliflower flavor. Roasted cauliflower is key hereโ€”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, youโ€™ll sautรฉ 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

Youโ€™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 youโ€™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

Weโ€™re using small, subtle amounts of nutmeg and lemon juice here. You probably wonโ€™t be able to pinpoint them while youโ€™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 couldnโ€™t pick a favorite, so use whichever you have on hand!

creamy cauliflower soup with nutmeg and lemon juice

Watch How to Make Cauliflower Soup

creamy roasted cauliflower soup recipe

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:

Craving more soups? Donโ€™t miss the other eight soup recipes in Love Real Food! Youโ€™ll also find quite a few more soups here on the blog.

ultra creamy roasted cauliflower soup recipe

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Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup

  • Author: Cookie and Kate
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 bowls

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 1423 reviews

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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 ยผ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • For garnish: 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives and/or green onions

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If desired, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
  2. 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.
  3. 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 ยผ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the broth.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!)
  7. 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 ยผ to ยพ teaspoon, depending on the broth). This soup tastes amazing once itโ€™s properly salted! You can also a little more lemon juice, if it needs more zing. Blend again.
  8. 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:ย Use cashews instead of butter. Soak ยผย 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).ย 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 nutritionistโ€™s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Kate and Cookie

HELLO, MY NAME IS

Kathryne Taylor

I'm a vegetable enthusiast, dog lover, mother and bestselling cookbook author. I've been sharing recipes here since 2010, and I'm always cooking something new in my Kansas City kitchen. Cook with me!

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Comments

  1. Emma

    Absolutely delicious! I used a yellow onion instead of red and added a chicken bouillon cube for extra flavor. Omitted the nutmeg. It came out perfect!

  2. peter brokaw

    Wonderful soup! I love how cauliflower makes a creamy soup without cream. I replaced the lemon with 1-2 tsp orange zest (finely grated) and maybe 1/4 cup of orange juice. I think the orange goes really well with the cauliflower.

  3. Sue

    Love , love this soup! After I made it a few times I began experimenting and instead of nutmeg I now add curry! It is a delightful variation!

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Sue, curry sounds very tasty.

    2. Lyn

      Made this today. Pretty easy to do. Substituted my own homemade stock, used a vidallia onion instead of a red, added an extra clove of garlic, and added lemon zest at the end; just because I waa short a bit on the lemon juiceโ€“snd it seemed a good idea at the time. The end result: scrumptious! Thanks for the recipe.

  4. Brittney Bradbury

    This turned out great! I used an immersion blender because I donโ€™t have a regular blender and it was still great. Obviously not as smooth as in the picture but tasted great! Love that it doesnโ€™t call for cream

    1. Lyn

      Made this today. Pretty easy to do. Substituted my own homemade stock, used a vidallia onion instead of a red, added an extra clove of garlic, and added lemon zest at the end; just because I short a bit on the lemon juice snd it seemed a good idea at the time. The end result: scrumptious! Thanks for the recipe.

    2. Lyn

      Made this today. Pretty easy to do. Substituted my own homemade stock, used a vidallia onion instead of a red, added an extra clove of garlic, and added lemon zest at the end; just because I waa short a bit on the lemon juiceโ€“snd it seemed a good idea at the time. The end result: scrumptious! Thanks for the recipe.

  5. Tiffany

    Absolutely delicious! Made as described, and I was blown away by how good it was.

  6. Nell

    Looking for a healthier cauliflower soup, I came across this recipe. Make this as written and we loved it. A definite keeper!
    Mahalo for sharing.

  7. Grace

    Friend who studied at the Culinary Institute said that this soup belongs on a quality restaurant menu โ€“ 5 stars. Thank you for recipe

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Grace, thanks for sharing your friendโ€™s endorsement! Iโ€™m glad you and your friend enjoyed it.

  8. Joan Mary Cocks

    Bit less salt

  9. Laura

    This is the BEST soup! I made it and took to work and my coworkers made of fun of me for eating cauliflower. I made them try it and now they canโ€™t stop talking about this soup. Itโ€™s mine and my husbands favorite. I used chicken broth and omitted the nutmeg. Iโ€™m sure the original recipe must be as good. I double this recipe because you must have leftovers!

  10. ashley

    Such an easy and delicious soup. Couldnt believe how thick and creamy it. A definite hit

  11. Heidi

    If I use dill as my fresh herb, do you think I should omit the nutmeg? Thanks in advance!

    1. Cookie and Kate

      Hi Heidi, yes, I would. Dill and nutmeg are contrasting flavors I donโ€™t think would work well together.

  12. Daneen

    Excellent soup! Iโ€™m not a fan of vegetable broth, so I used chicken. Also used salted butter, so no extra salt in the soup. And only had a yellow onion on hand, yet it was still a hit! Truly tastes like a soup at a high end restaurant! Thanks so much for sharing!

  13. Jill

    Absolutely delicious!!! I used a yellow onion because thatโ€™s what I had on hand. I also roasted 2 Serrano peppers from my garden, along with the cauliflower. It gave the soup a nice, but not overpowering, heat. I felt like it needed โ€œsomethingโ€, so I threw in about 5 roasted Roma tomatoes that I had in the freezer. I didnโ€™t add the nutmeg, but I did add extra lemon juice. Will definitely make again!!!

  14. Mari

    I made this soup multiple times, but itโ€™s always delicious. Thank you for the recipe! I used yellow onion and instead of blending it in batches, I used an immersion blender. It made the process much easier!