For this easy cauliflower soup recipe We roast a whole head of cauliflower until golden brown, then mash it with onions, parmesan cheese and broth until silky smooth. This healthy soup is creamy, decadent, and delicious! Skip to Roasted Cauliflower Soup recipe
Here’s how to make our favorite cauliflower soup
Both Adam and I love this Roasted Cauliflower Soup. It’s surprisingly easy and tastes a lot richer and more decadent than you’d think since we don’t add any cream. If you’re looking for more ways to prepare cauliflower, take a look at our Garlic Herb Cauliflower Rice or these Roasted Cauliflower Tacos.
The soup starts with roasting a whole head of cauliflower. We don’t pay too much attention to how well we chop the cauliflower and aim for similarly sized pieces. Then we toss it with olive oil, thyme, and whole cloves of garlic—you can leave the skin on for now.
Roast the cauliflower in a hot oven until golden brown. It takes about 20 minutes, so pretty quick. We love roasting cauliflower, here’s our Roasted Cauliflower with Chili Lime.
When it’s almost done roasting, you can start preparing the rest of the ingredients. In a stockpot, cook the roughly chopped onion and celery in butter until soft. Then pour in the broth and add the roasted cauliflower.
The garlic will have become extremely soft. You can easily squeeze the softened garlic cloves so the roasted garlic flesh can be added to the pot. If you love roasted garlic, we roast whole garlic bulbs here.
Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, then puree into a smooth, decadent soup. I love adding some fresh lemon juice and Parmesan cheese, but you can adjust the seasoning with fresh herbs or another type of cheese, or leave it as is.
You can see from the photos that our Roasted Cauliflower Soup is super creamy. It’s so creamy without the addition of heavy cream! we love it so much
More delicious cauliflower recipes
Easy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- PREPARATION
For this easy cauliflower soup recipe, we roast a whole head of cauliflower until golden, then mash it with onions, parmesan cheese, and broth until silky smooth. This healthy soup is creamy, decadent, and delicious!
For 4 people (for 6 to 7 cups of soup)
you will need
1 large head cauliflower, about 2 pounds
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 ¼ cups
1 stalk celery, chopped, about 1/2 cup
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, optional for heat
4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth or chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more if needed
1/4 cup grated parmesan or cheddar cheese, plus more for serving, optional
directions
- Roasted cauliflower and garlic
- make soup
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet. We roast the cauliflower directly on the baking sheet, but for easy cleanup, line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Remove the larger leaves from the cauliflower, leaving the core intact. (You can save the leaves to mix into the soup later).
Halve the cauliflower and slice into 3/4-inch thick slices.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto the baking sheet, then arrange the cauliflower on top.
Add the unpeeled garlic cloves (they will roast in their skins), then drizzle over 2 more tablespoons of olive oil. Move the cauliflower slices back and forth so they can touch some of the oil.
Roast for 20 minutes or until the underside of each slice looks well browned. Turn each piece over and fry for another 5 minutes.
Melt two tablespoons of butter in a deep stockpot over medium-high heat. Then stir in the onions, celery, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender.
When cool enough, squeeze the garlic out of each clove and place in the stockpot. Discard the garlic peel.
Place the roasted cauliflower in the pot and then pour in the broth. If you saved cauliflower leaves from earlier, add them to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the cheese and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Blend the soup until smooth. A hand blender is easiest, or you can use a blender. If using a regular blender, it’s best to blend in batches and not fill the blender as full as you normally would since the soup will be so hot. We like to remove the center insert of the lid and cover it with a kitchen towel while blending. This will release some of the steam and keep the blender lid from popping off (which can be a big, hot mess).
If soup is too thick, add 1/4 cup to 1 cup of water. Add enough water to reach your preferred thickness. The water won’t dilute the flavor of your soup, but stock or broth can be used if you’re concerned or have more on hand.
Taste the soup, then add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper until flavor stands out — it should make you smile.
Serve with more cheese, some black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Advice from Adam and Joanne
- Vegetarian Adaptations: Use vegetable broth, a vegetarian-friendly cheese, or omit it altogether.
- Vegan Adaptations: Use vegan broth, vegan butter, and vegan cheese instead, or a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast (my preference).
- Nutritional Information: The nutritional information below is an estimate. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, take a picture and tag #inspiredtaste – we love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition per serving: serving size 1/4 of the recipe (1 of 4 servings) / calories 288 / total fat 23.2g / Saturated Fatty Acids 7.5g / cholesterol 23.4mg / sodium 686.7mg / carbohydrate 18.1g / fiber 5.2g / total sugar 7.5g / protein 6.8g