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.
I have a teen who has recently gone vegan, so it is hard to find meals for all of us to eat (we are a meat and potato family!) together. I did this exactly as the recipe states but used vegan butter and didn’t add any extra salt. I thought it was really sweet and was afraid my kids wouldn’t eat it. But my vegan son actually loved it! I may try it with a white onion the next time to cut down on the sweetness, but that would be my preference. Also, my daughter didn’t like it. (So, for the 5 of us, 3 teens and 2 adults, we had 3 that loved it, and me who tolerated it and my daughter who wouldn’t finish her bowl.) Thanks for the unique recipe!
I’m happy it was a hit with everyone! I appreciate you taking the time to review, Amy.
Great recipe topped with blue d’auvernye yummy.
I don’t normally post comments on recipe pages but I am having to eat low histamine atm and, good grief, have I eaten some crappy meals these past few months… So, what an absolute delight to chance upon this recipe and actually eat something delicious – thank you Cookie and Kate!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mary!
Yum, I added roasted carrots, and I also sauteed celery and onion/garlic. Delicious….I didn’t add salt until the end (one reviewer said it was too salt). This way you can self regulate the amount. Loved it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jackie! I appreciate your review.
I am new to the dairy free life, could i use dairy free butter or full fat coconut milk?
Hi Tracie, see the vegan note below the ingredients.
This recipe is heaven!
I’m glad you loved it, Kathleen!
I was searching for a simple roasted cauliflower soup and so glad I found this one. Easy and delicious. I added extra garlic and used an immersion blender, otherwise followed exactly. I will definitely make again!
That’s great to hear, Jenn! Thank you for your review.
This has become my go to soup recipe, I adore cauliflower and this recipe is to die for, simple yet tastes so luxurious. Definitely a winner thankyou x
You’re welcome, Kerri!
Delicious and the perfect way to use a homegrown cauliflower ! The lemon juice takes this soup to the next level. I had some sweet limes on hand and used them instead. I recommend salt on the veggies while roasting and check again at the end if you need more.
Great to hear you used homegrown cauliflower! I appreciate your review, Judy.
Simple..and so tasty…definitely a keeper!
That’s great, Cynthia!
Today is a meatless day for hubby and me so I just made your Roasted Cauliflower Soup… Absolutely delicious!! I used frozen cauliflower heads with some garlic infused EVOO (roasted beautifully!) I sauteed my onions and garlic in a butter infused EVOO… Didn’t have any nutmeg in the house so I used 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice along with one tbsp bottled lemon juice…I will make this often and for guests!! I might even try this with roasted carrots instead of cauliflower for a meatless change of soups! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Mary! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I had no onion. So used leek and decided to roast that with the cauliflower and a whole garlic bulb. This worked well. However I took my eye off the ball and the cauliflower caught too much so I now have s sightly burnt flavour soup. I’m going to add some more lemon to what’s left in the hope it lifts it. It was still delicious. Recommend this recipe
Thank you for sharing how you made it! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it. If you try it again, let me know what you think!
10/10 – I followed the steps and the soup turned out great – I will definitely try it again! After it was done I’ve added handful of canned chickpeas to my bowl to increase protein intake – as they are rather neutral.
Thank you Kate for this recipe!
Hooray! I’m gla you loved it. Thanks for sharing, Nevena.
Yummmmmmm!
Definitely my new favorite cauliflower soup… a nice touch, lemon and nutmeg thankyou for the recipe…it is now circulating my neighborhood
Great to hear, Dorri!
This recipe turned out great!! I simmered the soup with the nutmeg and added a little paprika, parsley, and a lot of black pepper. It was so creamy and delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Sarah! I’ glad you loved it.
Has anyone tried using bone broth in this instead of vegetable broth? That’s all I have on hand right now but really wanting to try it!
I just finished making this and had to come back to tell you how delicious it came out! I ended up freezing small portions of the purée for my 9 month old but the rest of the blended I added little bits of leftover roasted cauliflower for myself. Honestly, I didn’t even want to share with him lol! I skipped out on the salt and I’m glad I did because it came out perfect for me. None of your soup recipes have ever disappointed!
Wonderful to hear, Christina! I appreciate your review.
What a lovely soup! Thanks so much for sharing. I loved the nutmeg!!! It’s exactly like you said, it adds a hint of flavour that you can’t quite put your finger on. Personally, I liked how it tasted more before I added the lemon, so next time I’ll leave that out, but otherwise so lovely. Thanks!!!
You’re welcome, Krisztina! I appreciate your review.
I’ve managed to live a few decades without learning to cook, like until very recently I would check the internet to boil an egg, seriously. The wife is an excellent cook, Mediterranean style, but she’s away. So I tried this. It’s great! Didn’t have any nutmeg, but will get some..
If I had this in restaurant, I’d be impressed.
Well done, gonna check out more of your recipes.
Thanks,
Jack
One of the best tasting soups I have ever made. PLUS….it was easy and is healthy! Will make it often.
Great to hear, D!
Kate … once again, you’ve “wowed” me! This soup is so delish! Love it! Everything about it was so flavourful! Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that, Kath! Thank you for your review.
I now aim to always have a few containers of this lovely soup on hand and in the freezer. Thanks again!
So good! I used a kitchen aid hand blender, since that’s all I had, and it worked just fine. My appetite was sated during the second serving which honestly never happens lol. I hope I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
Kate, this was a stunner of a recipe! Loved it! So delish!
Oh my goodness! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this soup! I don’t have a blender so I used my immersion blender and it turned out very creamy. I did not change a thing. Only complaint I have is that I didn’t double the batch. I should have because I have 2 heads of cauliflower in my fridge. Thank you for sharing!!!!
This was delicious. I roasted the cauliflower in an air fryer at 400 degrees for about 4 min? Gave the cauliflower a beautiful color and lots of flavor. Can’t believe such a simple recipe could be so flavorful, but the roasting makes all the difference in the world. It also brings out the sweetness of the cauliflower.
Absolutely loved this rich and delicious soup. Recommended — Yummy!
Thank you, Linda!
I witnessed a miracle, both my 4 yr old and 7 yr old ate this soup, and my 7 yr old asked for a second helping! Everyone loved the flavor, we will definitely make this again.
That’s amazing, Melissa! Thank you for your review.
This is absolutely fabulous!! I didn’t add the butter to save some calories, and I absolutely loved it! Thank you for posting this recipe!
After roasting a head of cauliflower, I made this in my soup maker and it was excellent. I would definitely serve it at a dinner party, summer or winter. It had a hearty, nutty flavour. I tried it with and without nutmeg and lemon juice and it was perfect either way, though a little lighter with them.
i have now made this soup several times. It is amazing. Today I added shredded carrots and more lemon, coriander and cumin. OMG love, love, love this soup. I have also made several of your other recipes and just am crazy about what you do.
Thank you thank you thank you for an amazing dish.
Wendy
Saving this recipe!
I was looking for low carb recipes as I am adjusting my diet because of my gestational diabetes.
At first, I didn’t like the extra steps of baking the cauliflower and having to use the blender at the end. But seeing and tasting the results made it all worth it. I love the creaminess of it without having to use heavy cream.
I was very cautious of using salt so I lightly sprinkled some prior to baking and during simmering, skipping the extra salt when blending as you can always add it if needed when actually eating it. But it turned out really good and just about right. The lemon juice added some kick into it.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m glad you ended up enjoying it, Jessica! I appreciate your review.
Can I use regular white onion?
Sure, the flavor will be different. But, it will work ok. Let me know what you think!
Just made the roast cauli soup…sooooo so good. Easy to make & beautifully creamy.
Great for winter nights.
That’s great to hear, Lyn! Thank you for your review.
We’ll definitely make this again!! It’s so good! It was so easy and tasty.
Great to hear, Julie! I appreciate your review.
This was a wonderful recipe! I went all in and added cashews sauteed in a bit of butter, some cumin seeds too, lime zest and lime juice. Superb! Very creamy and tasty. Used water instead of broth, no onions or garlic and it turned out perfect! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Ambal! Thank you for your review.
Made this as written today, except used chicken broth. I don’t have a blender, so used my immersion blender, and it came out great! Put some into small containers to freeze for future meals. Thank you!
I’m happy it still turned out well, CJ!
The lemon juice in this soup is magic! The best I’ve had!
Made this recipe tonight for my wife’s cafe. Sprinkled cumin seeds over the florets before roasting. Chose to go the vegan route and used cashews instead of butter. Also used the greenery and offcuts from the cauliflower along with bits of veg and lots of fresh herbs from the garden to make the stock.
Delicious thanks for the inspiration. Andy
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Andy! I appreciate your review.
Love this soup! I’m a terrible cook and was able to nail this. My husband doesn’t even like cauliflower and he likes it too.
Thank you for your review, Nellie!
I made it, normal onion because that’s what I had.. didn’t matter. I had cream to use up.. didn’t need it but left the butter out.
Highly recommended.
I’ve made this soup 3x, so far! It’s sooooooooooo good! Thank you for sharing!
I have shared it with others, too!
I’m glad you like it, KJ! Thank you for sharing.
I was really pleasantly surprised by this soup – cauliflower soup does not sound all that appealing but I had a few spare caulis so thought I’d give it a go. I substituted the nutmeg for smoked paprika and it’s amazing. Also very easy to make. Thanks, I’ll be making this again!
I’m sorry to report that I will not be trying this soup again. It just had no flavour. I added and added and honestly, I think it was the lemon that was bothering me. I’ve done some of your other recipes and they’ve been awesome :-)
I’m sorry you didn’t love it, Angela! I appreciate your review.
Making it for the third time now! We all love this recipe!
That’s great to hear, Shevta! I appreciate your review.
This soup sounds delicious. And the comments are amazing
One question..is this a kidney friendly recipe..
Hi Cindy, I’m sorry I don’t know the needs there. I hope you are able to try it!
This is an awesome soup recipe.- made it today for the second time. I doubled the quantity – however squeezed a little more lemon than I should have – so became a little tangy. Any suggestions on how to reduce the tangy flavor?
Hi! You can reduce the amount of lemon next time or try adding a little more butter to it and salt. Let me know!
I’m sure the soup is amazing, iv been using this recipe to make non dairy Alfredo. roasting about 2 bulbs of garlic with the cauliflower, and using a little less stock for a slightly thicker sauce. Has been really good.
Thank you for your review, Kiel!
Absolutely love this soup, it is just perfect
Wow. The flavor of this soup is outstanding! Thank you for the recipe.
Omg, this soup is amazing! I spent years working in the restaurant industry and this is up there. With “cream” textured soups we often topped it with dry sherry, I did it and puts it over the top with a little extra salt when serving. So glad you posted this recipe, it’s a keeper for life