This creamy cauliflower soup recipe has 2 easy steps: roast and blend! But its simplicity doesn't mean it skimps on flavor - it's rich, nutty & delicious.
One of the first recipes I made for Love and Lemons inspired this Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Waaaay back at the beginning of this blog, I posted this Cauliflower & Leek Soup that is still one of our most popular recipes. I used cashews to make it creamy without heavy cream, but since then, I’ve realized that blended cauliflower can become creamy and delicious all by itself. Sometimes less is more, and I love the rich flavor of this all-vegetable roasted cauliflower soup recipe.
How to Make Cauliflower Soup
I start by roasting the cauliflower. You’ll use a whole head here – florets, cores, greens, and all. Waste not, want not! For extra flavor, I also roast shallots and garlic. When the vegetables are tender, I blend them with a bit of miso, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and thyme to make this soup bright, tangy, and complex.
You won’t believe the wonderful creamy texture and robust flavor that come from such a simple recipe. A regular in our winter dinner rotation, it’s the perfect partner for a hearty salad, a sandwich, or crusty bread, but it’s also a satisfying meal on its own.
Happy Cauliflower Soup-ing!
Roasted Cauliflower Soup Recipe Tips
- Save a few florets for garnish. If you want to take this recipe over the top, save some small cauliflower florets for garnish. They add the perfect crunchy contrast to the smooth soup. For a fresh note, I also like to scatter a few thyme leaves on each bowl. Chopped parsley or toasted pine nuts would be excellent garnishes too.
- It gets thicker as it sits, so if you’re reheating leftovers, don’t hesitate to thin them to your desired consistency. Just add vegetable broth or water, a tablespoon at a time, until the soup has the consistency you want. And don’t worry – this soup tastes better on the second and third days, so adding a little water or stock won’t make it any less delicious.
- Freeze it! If have any leftovers, you can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days, but you can also freeze them for up to a few months. This soup reheats perfectly, so it’s a great recipe to keep in the freezer for busy nights. Find more freezer-friendly dinner ideas here!
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this soup, try one of these favorite soup recipes next:
- Best Lentil Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Easy Vegetarian Chili
Find more ideas in this list of my 25 Best Soup Recipes!
Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, about 2 lbs.
- 2 shallots, peeled and sliced into quarters
- 4 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- Leaves from 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- ½ tablespoon white miso paste
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Trim the cauliflower head into florets and cut the core into pieces. Spread the cauliflower and the shallots on the baking sheet and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic cloves, along with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, in a piece of aluminum foil and place it on the baking sheet with the vegetables.
- Roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cauliflower is browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Set aside 1½ cups of the smaller cauliflower florets for garnish.
- In a blender, combine the roasted cauliflower, shallots, peeled garlic, vegetable broth, thyme leaves, miso paste and Dijon mustard and blend until smooth. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper and blend. Taste and adjust seasonings adding more lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick, add water, a few tablespoons at a time and blend to desired consistency.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and the reserved cauliflower florets.
Cauliflower is such an amazing vegetable… I love how it can be used in so many ways! 🙂 Cheers, Jeanine!
This soup looks so simple and lovely. Just the thing to cut through the winter chill.
I have always wanted to try making a cauliflower soup. It looks so delicious!
Kari
http://sweetteasweetie.com/antioxidant-smoothie-post-raisin-bran/
wow. this is the most delicious cauliflower soup I have ever made/had!! so incredibly savory and so rich, yet nothing in it to make it “fattening” or over the top. The flavors are balanced perfectly. this one will be my “go to” from now on. YUM!! sprinkled of red pepper flakes on top of my bowl before I devoured it, moaning the whole time. so embarrassing, right?
suzi, nice idea about the pepper flakes.
Hi Suzi, I’m so glad you loved it!!
Fantastic for a chilly night! Store didn’t have thyme, didn’t miss it. I confess I did add a touch of cashew cream! So flavorful and super easy. Thank you, made my day! 😊 Sorry, for some reason computer would not let me leave 5 stars.
Yay, I’m so glad you loved it!
This looks delicious! I’m stockpiling healthy soup recipes to keep us going through the coldest months here in Boston and I’m adding this one immediately. The last (and only) time I made a cauliflower soup, it somehow ended up being pretty…dare I say…chunky. I didn’t have the best blender, and I’ve got a better one now – so hopefully that doesn’t happen again!
Oh yum, this sounds fantastic!
Mouthwatering soup! I just love the color 🙂
Such a great recipe and was such a hit for dinner last night with my husband. I added a little cayenne. We really enjoyed how it was a guilt-free creamy soup. A quick question – is the mustard flavor supposed to be pronounced? I feel like maybe I put too much in but I balanced it out by adjusting the other spices. Also, I felt like I didn’t have as much reserve cauliflower (1.5 cups) to set aside or it’d have been less for blending so I didn’t put too much to the side for garnish.
Is the miso necessary? I can’t find it locally. Should I put in something else ?
You can skip it but miso is very salty so you might want to season more aggressively with salt and pepper. Coriander, cumin and/or smoked paprika all go well with cauliflower if you are looking to add more flavor after you taste it. Hope that helps!
This sounds delicious–and healthy! 🙂
Taste wise, i’m in haven !
Trying to replicate the creaminess, but falling short, even after minutes of blending i get mushy, fibrousy texture, not even close to creamy …
Any ideas ?
Hi Peter, you can try adding a bit more broth (or water) if the consistency is too thick.
Oh, and a bit more olive oil to help it become less fibrous…
Jeaninethanks for the suggestions
forgot to mention that, the color wasn’t as dark as in pictures,
so 2nd batch I tried to bake further, then I boiled in the broth ….
And sure enough, what it all needed was more time cooking
I’m so glad to hear that it worked out for you!
I am looking forward to trying this one! Thanks for sharing x
Just made this soup. Delicious and so easy!
yay, so happy to hear that!
Delicious! Added the suggested red pepper flakes and the four garlic cloves used were extra large. Great flavor and very creamy.
Any recipe for making the vegetable broth? I really struggle to buy that where I life so a basic recipe would be great!
Some people save vegfies scraps in a 1 gallon freezer zip bag- ends of celery onions mushroom stems carrot peels and when the bag is full, simmer in water with bay leaf and some herbs/garlic for an hour. Strain. Freeze again if not using it all up.
really have to commend you on the creativity here with cauliflower, really interesting balance of flavors too with miso paste, dijon, garlic, etc., thank you for this recipe!
Can’t have oil. Has anyone made it without oil? Otherwise, sounds delicious.
Check out Better than Bouillon. I am also oil free so I saute’ with broth and use it all the time.
Wow, I just made this and it tastes perfectly like cauliflower, but also rich and creamy. Can’t wait to serve it for dinner!
I’m so glad to hear that!! I hope you enjoyed it for dinner 🙂
Made this today, and it was delicious! The creamy taste, without cream, was a nice treat. Thanks for another tasty recipe.
I just made this and plan to serve it tonight for a friend’s birthday dinner. It’s delicious. Thank you for not using cream! I love the miso and mustard additions! Question: do you have a recommendation for a good commercial broth or do you just make your own? Today I used a mix of water, aquafaba, a tsp of Better Than Bouillon along with the miso and it turned out well.
Hi Andrea, I’m so glad you like the soup! I like Whole Foods’ 365 vegetable broth best – the regular kind, not low sodium.
Oh great. Haven’t tried it but I will! Thanks again for the luscious recipe.
Ok, my soup is fiberous too and more chunky then creamy. Your recipe called to roast the stem and leaves, I was supposed that to add to soup correct? Not sure where I went wrong, it’s for a dinner party tomorrow and getting worried I can’t serve it if I can’t fix it
Ok, I fixed it with time, and more blending with water and oil, as you suggested in another post. Added a swirl of truffle oil and pine nuts for garnish, and a dash of crushed red pepper on top which were nice compliments. Some suggested adding cayenne, I wouln’t, it takes away from the flavor of thyme.
Hi Holly, I’m so glad you were able to get it to work. Apologies for not seeing your previous comment earlier!
Did you blend the core with the florets? Thanks!
Hi! I dont have shallots, could I substitute with onions?thank you!
Loved the unusual combination of flavours. Skipped the onions, added fresh rosemary which I added to the cauliflowers at the last 5 minutes of roasting. Instead of broth, I added almond milk. The whole pan was finished in no time.
Definitely a keeper.
Hi there, I’d love to make this soup but trying to plan/prep ahead for the week – do you think it would work if I pre roasted the cauliflower, then froze it or alternatively, made up the whole recipe and freeze the soup? I know adding cream or anything diary and freezing it would change the consistency on reheating.
Hi Jennifer – I’m pretty sure this will freeze well since there is no dairy (or dairy alternatives like cashews which also don’t freeze well). I’ve always had great success freezing all-vegetable soups.
Alternatively, this will keep well in the fridge for up to about 4 days, so it’s a great thing to make in advance and eat all week.
hope this helps!
Jeanine, Thanks for the recipe, it’s delicious!
I’ve used this recipe at least a half a dozen times and it never fails to be a hit. I usually just add my roasted veggies straight to a soup pot and blend everything up with my immersion blender before I bring it to a simmer to warm it back up. It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner on a chilly day.
Made this soup for supper today.. It was fantastic! Thank you so much.
This is delicious! Bringing it to a friend’s for shabbat dinner tonight! Thanks!
Wow, another winner of a soup recipe! So good. Could not find miso paste for the life of me, but it still tastes good with just salt!! I made some breadcrumbs as a garnish for the top.
This is the best cauliflower soup ever! It reminds me of a soup I ate in Iceland and haven’t been able to replicate . I think it’s the miso that adds a special touch.
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you loved it!!
I added a potato, omitted the garlic and shallots and thyme (had none in the house) and drank the soup before I remembered the lemon. Still so delicious!! I also boiled the cauliflower for a few minutes after roasting to make it easier to blend. Thank you for this recipe.
Ooh that sounds so yummy!
I also want to try it, the color is like a pumpkin soup!
This soup is delicious and amazing!! I love it!
Love it! I replaced the thyme with basil because I don’t like thyme. Kept everything else the same and it is amazing! Thank you for sharing 🙂
So yummy!! I recommend splitting it in regards to putting it in the blender. Maybe my blender was smaller but it was too much to blend it all together and correctly. I also lessened the lemon juice and enjoyed that 🙂
I will make again!
So delicious! I’ve made this several times and love it each time. Great way to use that had a cauliflower you forgot about in the fridge.
Really loving this soup! Another commenter mentioned theirs came out a bit fibrous also – I should have cooked down the veggies longer than 35 min, or maybe just have cut them into much smaller pieces. Either way, delicious flavors, the weird texture doesn’t bother me too much but next time I will definitely roast ’em for at least 45. It’s great that there’s nothing bad for you in this soup…pure veg bliss!
Hi-
I made this recipe twice and both times it came out with a slightly sour taste. I cook all the time so my ingredients are fresh. Both times we ate the soup the next day. I am wondering if the miso contributed to the sour flavor. Curious to hear from you. I have tried several of your other recipes and they have been terrific.
Thanks so much.