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.
Roasted cauliflower, who would have thought! This soup is absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I tried this soup for the first time today. I added 3 small carrots, 2 bell peppers and roasted all of the vegetables in the oven with the cauliflower for 25 minutes. Then, I simmered the vegetables in chicken broth as opposed to vegetable broth for 30 minutes. I also used vinegar since I did not have lemon juice and cinnamon since I did not have nutmeg. I reduced the cinnamon to half however.
My family loved this soup so much! Thank you for a healthier version without cream or cheese but still with so much flavour. It is now one of our family’s favourite soup.
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Lynn. I appreciate your review!
I’m sorry but this honestly tasted of nothing. The cauliflower tasted nicer fresh out of the oven than in the soup. Bit disappointed – needs more seasoning. Any ideas what I can add to it to give it some more flavour? I tried truffle oil and it was ok but still bland.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this. What did you decide to do?
My Mom and I love this recipe. And you are right, if you have the right amount of salt in the soup it is simply marvelous. Thank you cookieandkate.
Roy
You’re welcome, Roy! Thank you for your review.
This is my go to cauliflower soup recipe.
I add a potato and a carrot or two for more body or for making it more child friendly to fussy eaters. You can add red chilli flakes or roast chilis for more of a kick. You can swirl pesto in for a more herbal peppery taste. I fed this to someone who asked for more chicken soup?
Don’t scrimp on the butter or the salt, this soup needs good seasoning to sing.
Also, for any tiny bits of cauliflower (or broken mini florets) you don’t want to catch or burn in the pan-keep them and sweat them with the onion. No need to bin them, use it all.
Thanks for a great recipe!
This soup is utterly delicious made exactly as the recipe’s instructions. But eaten cold rivals any vichyssoise I’ve ever had. An absolute keeper.
Wow, I just made it and absolutely loved it! I ended up bending the fresh herbs as the last layer of flava and topped with homemade croutons and the roasted cauliflower. So delicious!
I made this for the first time and my two teens are wondering where this soup has been all their lives! It was a huge hit with the whole family. I didn’t have nutmeg, but it was great anyway.
Great to hear, Anne! I appreciate your review.
I made this soup for my family! I added ginger, garlic, along with some jalapeño for an added kick. It was luscious. I love the addition of lemon juice.
I scaled this down to one head as it’s all I had. I used 2 shallots and chicken stock. I also wasnt afraid of the lemon. It is fantastic!
I’m glad you loved it, Mel!
Late to comments, but this recipe is so yummy! Quick, easy, creamy without cream….a hit with the family. Made it several times now.
Going to try adding in roasted bumblebee tomatoes from the garden – should be a nice add for variety.
5*****
My husband liked the soup when cauliflower is not roasted. It turns out amazing. I also add some fresh asparagus with the cauliflower and shallots. I follow the recipe minus the preliminary roasting. It is my favorite soup
I made this soup recently. I made a couple changes. I used a yellow onion instead of red because I didn’t have red onions on hand. To make it creamier I added a cup of almond milk, next time I’ll add 2 cups. So that would be 2 cups of broth and 2 cups of almond milk. The soup was tasty. It sort of tasted like a cheesy mashed potato soup. Boyfriend loved it. Will definitely be making it again.
Thank you for sharing how you made it, Cristina!
Dear Kate,
I just made this Creamy Roasted Cauliflower soup recipe today and I was overjoyed with the results. It was the creamiest soup ever without the cream. Healthy and delicious. The kids loved it too which is always a bonus. I have used your recipes in the past and you are the best cook ever. You are also great at writing the recipes down which is an art. I love your tips.
Love to Cookie. Does Cookie like soups?
Regards
Ibha
This week I had a bunch of cauliflower. I’m not a huge cauliflower fan. It was a bit of an accident that I had so much. So I went on Google to figure out how to use it up and found this recipe. Gosh, what a surprise- I loved it!! I used my own homemade veggie broth which has a pretty robust flavor. The end result was a rich, creamy, flavorful soup with a hint of zing (thank you lemon!). And thank you, Katherine!
Just made this as I got a temporary crown done and am terrified of breaking it on accident. VERY GOOD! Mine was a little more soupy than the photo or some other comments I’ve seen but my cauliflower head was a bit small. Added extra lemon and garlic, as is my taste, i can think of a lot of ways to build this up in the future for regular dinners. Extreme carnivore bf also loved it (a surprise!) after I made him taste test.
I had just roasted some cauliflower and was going to just eat it like that, but I thought I’d take it to the next level. This recipe is so much better than it sounds. Really Easy, and everyone has these ingredients in their cupboards. What a pleasant surprise!
This soup was delicious the recipe was spot on
Great to hear, Denise! I appreciate your review.
I used roasted chicken broth, as it was all I usually have on hand. In addition, to the simmering pan, I add 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tsp smoked (or sweet) paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 2 tsp of Weber’s Chophouse Butter seasoning, and then salt and pepper to taste (and I omitted the nutmeg). IT WAS AMAZING!!
Great to hear, Jess!
Just made this soup tonight as I have an abundance of cauliflower and was looking for somethingdifferent. I must admit I wasn’t expecting it to turn out as good as it did. I love this recipe, I just added some cream at the end and didnt have veg stock, so I used a mix of chicken and green herb. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Karen!
Made this last night and loved it. I’m calorie counting and would like to know how many cups is a bowl serving, in the information
Hi Irene, roughly 1.5-2cups is a serving.
Made this a second time and so glad I did – the first time was a bust through no fault of this recipe’s – let’s just say be sure to measure your bullion and use a countertop blender instead of an immersion blender – the countertop blender made it MUCH creamier. I threw it 4 tbsp of Parmesan. AMAZING!!
I made this soup last night. It is delicious and my family loved it. I did put extra garlic, and a few finely chopped peppers for a bit of spice.
It was awesome!!
Great to hear, Carol!
The sodium content seems very high. Where is all that coming from? The broth?
Hi Nadia, more on my Nutrition Disclaimer.
Made this for dinner tonight because I had a cauliflower that needed to be used up. Enjoying it with a piece of garlic toast. I roasted my cauliflower in the air fryer…next time I would use avocado oil as I find the olive oil flavor too strong for me.
Just made this for the first time; used yellow onions but otherwise basically followed directions and it is dynamite!!
I’m excited you enjoyed it, Teri! I appreciate your review.
Yum! This soup is outstanding. This will be added to my favourite soup recipes
Great to hear, Camilla!
Delicious soup – thank you for the great recipe and concise, clear instructions!!!
Made this soup twice. My family loves it!
Easy to prepare and simply delicious. Made a large batch tonight so plenty for tomorrow and a couple of serves for the freezer. The lemon juice gave it an added level. And I put a dollop of natural yogurt to mine.
Fantastic
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. My husband doesnt like cauliflower so I added 2 potatoes to maybe mellow the cauliflower. It was flavorful, creamy and delicious. We both enjoyed it.
That’s great to hear, Jan!
I made this tonight and it turned out very nice. Less creamy/smooth looking than yours… I used a ninja but maybe didn’t blend long enough? Anyway it tasted great so no complaints.
That could have been or blenders can vary.
I love this recipe! Has anyone tried to double it? Just curious if everything doubles nicely… I haven’t had the best of luck doubling some recipes, but I have a large family!
This should work if you double everything. Thank you for your review, Linsday!
Great recipe! I’ve made it several times.
Is there a reason you don’t recommend an immersion blender though?
Hi Sabe, I find it doesn’t get to the same texture. You can use that if that’s what you have.
I made this soup last week for the first time and I’ll certainly be making this again. I followed the recipe exactly and loved it. The next day I made cashew cream (I soak black peppered cashews in hot water –the water is about an inch higher than cashews—then I blend with the water) and I added it to the left overs and it was great too. I’ve been happy with all the recipes I’ve tried from Cookie and Kate!
Thank you for this. Would an immersion blender still work? That’s all I have
Hi Mandy, it will work, but may not be quite as creamy.
I don’t normally comment on recipes but WOW! This one really knocked my socks off in the best way! So simple and so FREAKING delicious. I can’t remember eating a better cauliflower soup – this is restaurant quality! I subbed a very good quality chicken stock and it was thank you for making my day!
So delicious and surprisingly simple to make! I added a can of cannelini beans to make this a heartier, more complete meal and it worked really well. (Add the beans when the cauliflower is added to the pot, plus another 2 cups of broth.) Then I blended everything, including beans, using the immersion blender at the end.
This must be one of the most popular soups I’ve ever seen. I always make it exactly according to the recipe because it is perfection!
Sorry, but did not care for this at all. Most of your recipes that I have tried have been great, but this one was disappointing. Lots of good reviews, so must just be my taste. Still a big fan!
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this one, Linda. I appreciate your feedback.
Hi. Just made this soup added some spices while roasting in oven – bit of cumin, tumeric, paprika and a touch of cayenne. Was feeling lazy so I also chucked the onion in the oven too.
Was very delicious!!
Can I ask how much you consider a serving? (mls) as I’m trying to track my calories at the moment as would love to get accurate.
Cheers,
Suseela
Hi! I’m happy you enjoyed it. Roughly 1.5-2 cups is a serving.
Absolutely love this soup – so delicious and so easy to make. Making this every week – Thank you.
You’re welcome, Sue!
Entire family absolutely loves this recipe! Best soup recipe around, and super easy to make. Basic fresh ingredients makes for a lovely soup! I have tried it with roasted garlic. This recipe is bookmarked and we make it all the time.
This soup is a staple in my household very easy to make.
Great to hear, Sidney!
If I wanted to add some white beans for protein, do you have a suggestion for when/how to add them to the recipe? Thanks.
You could try to add them when you blend? May be interesting. Let me know if you try it and what you think!
I had to make a few substitutions because I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house. I started with a cauliflower fresh from the farmers’ market. It was much looser and easier to work with than a store-bought cauliflower. I didn’t have a red onion, so I used a yellow onion. I had no vegetable broth, so I added water with some soy sauce. Instead of using a blender, I used my food processor. I also had no lemon, so I added lemon pepper, and nutmeg to each bowl. I topped them with green onions. It came out very well even with the substitutions. I’d definitely make this recipe again.
This was delicious!!! I love the flavour of the roasted cauliflower. Do not skip the lemon juice. I was a little skeptical but it finished the soup nicely.
I will be making this again!
Great to hear, Erin! I appreciate your review.
I used your recipe for Dipping for my Homemade Chicken bites (nuggets)I dropped in a little Instant Potatoes to thicken it up and I splashed in some Ranch Dressing seasonings. Air Fried Chicken and FLAVORFUL Low Calorie Dip = WIN
I made the creamy roasted cauliflower soup and it is absolutely delicious!
That’s great to hear, Maggy!
Love this soup! So does all three kids and my wife. I usually pan fry thinly sliced bacon , really crispy, and add as garnish. Simply delicious!
Oh my, this was amazing! I roasted the onion and 3 cloves garlic with the cauliflower (bag from Costco). Added that, two small diced red potatoes (to use up), the broth, salt and pepper to the instant pot and cooked for 8 mins. Quick released and added the butter and nutmeg. Blended and served with added diced ham. SO good! Thanks for the great go to recipe.
You’re welcome, Laura!