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.
This recipe is delicious! I used chicken stock as that was what I had, and I added some cashew milk instead of butter. It is so smooth and tastes amazing. Perfect for fall. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Julia! Thank you for your review.
Made this and it’s FANTASTIC. Nice flavor, texture and color. And it’s so easy to make. Used my own homemade chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock. Now eager to try other recipes here.
Well, I’m sorry to say is soup did not turn the way I expected. The roasted cauliflower gave the finished soup a light brown colour and I don’t think the red onion helped either. I did add cream and grated parmesan and ground pepper. I’m just not sure what it was but this isn’t the recipe for me.
I have used some of your other recipes with good results so not all is lost. I have made cauliflower soup many times so I will go back to my known creations
Sorry for the negative comment
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love the results. Depending on how done your cauliflower looks can impact the results.
I imagine not roasting the cauliflower as long so it doesn’t get too brown as the braising of the cauliflower will ensure doneness (maybe leave four of the flowerets to roast a little longer for presentation) and could you use white onion instead to avoid the off color?
Excellent! Great for a non-dairy option! Very flavourful and satisfying.
I made this for the second time yesterday because I loved it the first time. I only had a lime rather than a lemon and it worked just fine. And I didn’t have unsalted butter so went easy on the salt in the rest and adjusted to taste. This recipe is so easy yet so good.
Seriously the best soup I’ve ever made!! I only made half a batch but boy oh boy it was delicious
So good and simple!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jenna!
This is my favourite soup recipe. I look forward to making it whenever I can find a nice head of cauliflower. It is so tasty. We changed up the recipe slightly by roasting the garlic with the cauliflower but I don’t think you could screw up this recipe. It is so, so yummy!!
This soup was fantastic! I forgot to add the butter and did not miss it. Thanks for the recipe.Roasting the cauliflower makes a huge difference. Now I’m going to try the carrot soup too!
Love this recipe, Kate. Thank you!
I saved a step (and added even more flavour) by roasting the onion slices and garlic cloves together with the cauliflower. Yum…..
This came out great!! I used beef broth instead of vegetable broth and yellow onion instead of red onion and added a zucchini – my husband loved it and it’s delicious!! Thank you!!
Just made this. It is friggin’ amazing. Will make more to freeze for our RV trip South this winter. Thanks Kate!
Absolutely fabulous exactly as written! Thanks so much for this recipe. It will definitely be a regular menu item in our home ❤️
That’s great to hear, Mary!
My kids love this! When life gets busy, I prep ahead by roasting cauli earlier in the day (multitasking during work call) and then do the rest at 5pm at the end of the day. Love that this is vegan for mom and hearty enough for the kids. I toast some sourdough bread and make a spinach salad to round it out!
That’s great to hear, C!
Needed a new cauliflower soup recipe and I got exactly what I wanted! Followed it exactly; needs no changes. Adding it to my arsenal now, and can’t wait to share it with my family!
We love this
I’ve made it 3 times already
The house smells fabulous.
Thank you for your review, Elizabeth!
This was SOOO delicious!
Made it mostly as written (chicken stock bs veggie) and didn’t have nutmeg.
Sure to add it next time.
Thanks for a delicious addition to our hygge season pleasure.
I’ve made this soooo many times over the last year or so. I follow the recipe to the letter and it is perfect every time. Absolutely delicious and a firm favourite, thank you very much!
What a great recipe! Absolutely loved it and have added it to my favorite recipe list. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Mary!
I have not yet blended the soup and am eating away at it just like a kid in the cookie batter. This is awesome tasting soup!!!
My new way to eat cauliflower, I’m in love! My husband thought it was potato soup but lighter. Win, win!! Different toppings every time and I can’t get enough of this delicious cream without dairy. Thank you so much! Keep doing a mess in the kitchen!!!
I’m sorry but this soup has absolutely no
Flavour. I added more salt and more lemon juice but it has no flavour. No one likes it so I forced to throw it out. I love your recipes but this was not what I expected.
I’m sorry to hear that. I appreciate your feedback.
I burned the cauliflower but it still tastes good. Forgot to flip it.
This recipe was spot on!!! Delicious and love there was no cream added! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Joellen!
Yummy, didn’t have any nutmeg so added some mixed spice and lots of pepper.
I love this soup! I’ve made it many times with several variations to the broth used (chicken, veg and a vegan riff) and all worked well. I used cashews for the vegan version and loved that as well. My vegan friend liked it so much I sent her home with leftovers.
That’s great to hear, Gail! I appreciate your review.
Perfect seasonal soup, it’s October at the moment. You are perfectly correct adding additional salt, the soup went from a little flat to wow, and the lemon juice added freshness and a little sweetness.
This is always one of the first soups I make when the weather starts getting cooler!! I make with chicken bone broth for extra protein, and do everything else exactly as written! SO yummy, cozy and healthy!!!
I made this recipe for the first time today. It is very good! I topped it with some toasted pine nuts, green onions, and shredded Parmesan. I did go a little wild with the lemon, so the soup is maybe a little too tart… which is totally my fault. I added some sour cream to try to chill it out. It’s still great though. Oh and I forgot to add the nutmeg. Ha… despite all the things I did accidentally, it’s still a delicious soup. =)
I am glad you enjoy it, Samantha!
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Very creamy flavor and texture without cream. Will definitely make again.
That’s great to hear, Bre!
I bought an enormous head of cauliflower for 99 cents and immediately searched for a soup recipe and found this one. My husband and I are already huge fans of your cauliflower and lentil tacos, and when I saw this soup recipe was both dairy-free and gluten-free, I knew I had to try it. I substituted some clarified butter for the regular butter but otherwise made no modifications and it was delicious!! My husband had three servings! Who knew cauliflower could be so versatile–or delicious? Another favorite for our household!
Bland even though I added more garlic, still bland. Won’t make again.
Delicious and easy soup! I made according to directions bit used an immersion blender so I had some texture to the soup, and I added some parmesan cheese instead of butter. Very good with some homemade garlic parmesan croutons.
Great to hear, Mary!
Most magnificent soup ever! My daughter goes nuts when I make this so I made sure I doubled the recipe this time. Definitely my go to recipe for cauliflower soup!
I just made this soup for the first time, used my new air fryer to roast the cauliflower, and it is absolutely delicious! It will definitely be one of my go to recipes!
That’s great, Barb!
Second time making this – I had a huge head of cauliflower and no red onion- substituted sweet onion and made vegetable stock from Better than Bouillon… didn’t require as much salt as a result. Turned out wonderful!
Thank you for sharing, Janice!
Made this soup last night. We loved it! I didn’t have red onion so I used a sweet onion which was fine. I also used my immersion blender. It was still very creamy with small pieces of califlower. Will definately make again. A new favorite!
Great to hear, Sue! Thank you for your review.
Super easy and delicious! Just wish I had doubled the recipe :). The fresh lemon juice is key to what sets this apart from others I’ve tried. A keeper for sure.
I was super excited about making this soup – but can’t even manage to read the recipe instructions due to the constant barrage of pop-up ads! Congrats on the support, but what a drag for the reader!
Excellent, even without the butter. Very creamy. I think using the entire onion really gave it extra flavor along with plenty of olive oil in the saute and roasting. Really ensuring all the soup is smooth and creamy with the emulsifier also made a difference.
Thank you for the delicious recipe
Turned out superb
Soups are my new thing..this as well as your roasted butternut squash..delicious! Thanks
Making it for about the 10th time – it’s my FAVORITE Fall soup!!! DELISH!!!
I love to hear that, Rachel! Thank you for your review.
This soup is unbelievably good. I am making it for the 3rd time. The second time I made it for my friend who hates cauliflower..she too loves it! So, I used chicken broth, I used sweet onions, and I chopped celery too. Other than that I followed directions exactly. I topped with shredded cheddar, chopped green onions and a bit of cauliflower I held back as suggested. I am considering throwing shrimp on top on a future batch. Thank you soooo much for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Melanie!
Great recipe! My husband asked what spices were in it. When I told him, he was surprised there were not more because it was so flavorful! I used vegan butter vegan bouillion stock cubes and it was perfect. Definitely a keeper. Thank you.
SO delicious! I used mire poix from Trader Joe’s instead of red onion; worked great! The creaminess is unbelievable!
This is a wonderful soup! I roasted the cauliflower on the grill in a grill basket. Roasting does bring out the flavor. I used a half head to 4 cups of stock and it was pretty thick. Used an immersion blender as they’re so easy and got a very creamy consistency. Thank you Kate and Cookie!!
This came out soooo good and was incredibly easy. I did opt for the immersion blender to make my life even easier and it worked perfectly. Served these bowls with a spoonful of Trader Joe’s crunchy chili onion oil drizzled on top and it was amazing!
I made this with a few changes. I left out the lemon and nutmeg (people I was eating with weren’t keen on the idea, but I plan to make it again with those things to try out the whole deal), but after blending, I added some small diced potatoes and some real bacon and peas and it was great! Thanks for helping recipe!
Really easy!
Really tasty!
Tastes high in calories and it isn’t!!
Will make this again and again! Thank you for this recipe
Thank you for your review, Fran!
Tasty but I had the same problem as another reviewer. The soup was an unsavory dark brown. If I make this again I’ll roast at a lower temperature so it gets just light golden