This Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup recipe is hearty, warming and filling, and a good way to up your vegetable intake. It's budget friendly and if you aren't usually a fan of cauliflower, this soup is here to change your opinion. Roasting the cauliflower really brings out the flavour and makes for a delicious creamy soup.
A big bowl of this creamy and comforting soup is just 146 calories a bowl, but still really filling and it is easy to make vegan. Instead of using cream to make it creamy and indulgent, we have used some milk (plant based can be used) to intensify the natural creaminess of the cauliflower. This tastes far more indulgent than it actually is and it is actually very low in fat.
Looking for other ways to eat more cauliflower? Try our Easy Cauliflower Cheese, Cauliflower and Potato Curry, Roasted Cauliflower Salad, or Balsamic and Garlic Roasted Cauliflower.
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What you will need
- Cauliflower - Cauliflower heads should be firm to the touch with tightly closed florets. Make sure there are no brown patches. Soft heads are starting to spoil, so should be rejected.
- Garlic cloves - You can use ready crushed lazy garlic to save time.
- Olive oil
- Shallots - This can be swapped for onion if that is all you have on hand, but shallots are sweeter and add a nicer flavour in our opinion.
- Celery - This adds a real depth of flavour to soups.
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh thyme - You can use parsley or chives instead. Fresh herbs are always best when it comes to soups.
- Vegetable stock - Try to use a really good quality vegetable stock, as you will be able to taste the difference. Mushroom stock works well too. If you are making this for young kids, then use a low salt stock.
- Semi-skimmed milk - You can make this vegan by using almond milk instead.
Step by step
One: Cut the cauliflower in to chunks and put in a large baking pan with the garlic cloves (still in skin). Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Put in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 30-35 minutes until the cauliflower starts to get crispy.
Two: Once the cauliflower florets are cooked, add a little oil to a large saucepan and add the shallots and celery and gently cook for 3 minutes over a medium heat.
Three: Add the cauliflower and squeeze the garlic out of the skin into the pan. Pour in the vegetable stock and add the thyme.
Four: Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes.
Five: Add the milk to the pan and then using a stick blender, blend until smooth. If it is still a little thick, add a little more stock.
Why should you try it?
- A delicious way to eat cauliflower - If you aren't usually a fan of cauliflower, then this soup is going to change your mind. So creamy and indulgent, you will forget you are eating cauliflower.
- Easy - Although this isn't a particularly quick recipe to make, as you need to roast the cauliflower first, it is so simple to make.
- Healthy - This is such a hearty and nutritious soup and only 146 calories for a big filling bowl
- Vegan alternative - It's really simple to make a vegan version of this roasted cauliflower soup. Just swap the milk for a plant based version.
Health benefits of cauliflower
Cauliflower is low in calories, and also a good source of vitamins C, K and B6. It is also a good source of fibre, and there are 3 grams of fibre in one cup of cauliflower, which is important for digestive health and may reduce the risk of several chronic diseases. Cauliflower is also a good source of antioxidants, which protect your cells from harmful free radicals and inflammation.
Cauliflower is also high in choline, which is an essential nutrient that many people are deficient in. Choline is also involved in brain development and the production of neurotransmitters that are necessary for a healthy nervous system.
What to serve with Roasted Cauliflower Soup
This is a really light, and pretty low calorie, soup. You could serve it as a starter as it is, but if you are having it for lunch then it has to have something to dip in it to make it a more filling meal. Bread and soup are just the perfect match, right?
You can keep it simple with some slices of toasted french stick or a buttery tiger loaf. But even something like a toasted bagel will work. Why not try our Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia!
As for what to serve on top of it, there are a few ways to make it a little bit more special and presentable. Keep a few smaller bits of roasted cauliflower to the side before blending it up, as these are nice sprinkled on top of the soup, with a drizzle of olive oil. You could make this soup a little more indulgent by topping it with some cooked chopped bacon.
FAQs
Because cauliflower is naturally creamy, it is perfect to make a vegan soup with. You can use almond or oat milk to make the soup and then make it extra creamy with some oat creme fraiche or soya yogurt.
Once it is fully cooled you can transfer in to containers and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
This soup freezes really well, so we make a big batch of it and then freeze it in portions for an easy lunch or something quick when we get back in late in the evening.
When you have reheated it, just jazz it up with a drizzle of olive oil and a swirl of creme fraiche. Of course some nice chunks of warm bread and butter are a must to eat with this soup.
You can either reheat this in the microwave or heat it through on the hob.
Cauliflower really is the star of this soup, so if you took it out it obviously wouldn't be cauliflower soup. If you don't like cauliflower, just give this a try as even cauliflower haters have loved this soup.
But, if you really can't bring yourself to try it with cauliflower then you can swap it for broccoli. Still roast the broccoli, to really bring out the flavour and follow the same directions. Why not try our Creamy Broccoli Soup?
You could even use this recipe as a base and swap out the cauliflower for any other roasted vegetable you like. Carrots, sweet potato, parsnips, courgette and even beetroot for a vibrant red soup.
What makes this cauliflower soup SO good is the fact that the cauliflower is roasted first. Roasted cauliflower is the best kind of cauliflower. I nearly didn't manage to make this soup to photograph, as I was snacking on all the cauliflower as soon as it came out of the oven. There are definitely worse things to snack on though!
Roasting the cauliflower really changes the flavour, but also intensifies it as well. It gets nice and crispy and is the best way to make cauliflower soup in our opinion.
You can make this even creamier by adding some creme fraiche/yoghurt or even adding a bit of cheese to this creamy cauliflower soup. Parmesan will add a lot of flavour to this.
As long as you make sure the stock you are using is gluten free, this is a delicious gluten free soup.
This will depend on the heat that you cook it at. If you find your soup is too runny, then you can add a cornflour slurry to it.
Extra tips
- Thyme goes really nicely with the cauliflower to make a fragrant autumn soup, but you could use parsley, rosemary or chives.
- Make this creamy cauliflower soup vegan by using almond milk and making it extra creamy with some oat creme fraiche.
- Really don't like cauliflower? Use this recipe as a base and then swap the cauliflower for broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, parsnips or even beetroot.
- Want to add a different flavour to this cauliflower soup? Add a spoon of curry power or paste for a curried version.
- Don't waste the leaves of the cauliflower! Save them to add so a stir fry.
- This soup can be made even creamier by stirring in some grated parmesan just before serving.
- Reserve some of the roasted cauliflower before blending, to add on top of the soup for serving.
- Make sure that the cauliflower is cut evenly so it all cooks at the same rate.
- If you are using a jug blender to blend this soup, wait until the soup has fully cooled so the jug doesn't crack. We use an immersion blender.
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Recipe
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Head of cauliflower
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 3 Shallots peeled and diced
- 2 Celery ribs chopped
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoon Fresh thyme chopped
- 750 ml Vegetable stock
- 375 ml Milk (any milk, but we used skimmed in this)
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower in to chunks and put in a large baking pan with the garlic cloves (still in skin). Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Put in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 30-35 minutes until the cauliflower starts to get crispy.1 Head of cauliflower, 3 Garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- Once the cauliflower florets are cooked, add a little oil to a large saucepan and add the shallots and celery and gently cook for 3 minutes over a medium heat.2 Celery ribs, 3 Shallots
- Add the cauliflower and squeeze the garlic out of the skin into the pan. Pour in the vegetable stock and add the thyme.750 ml Vegetable stock, 2 tablespoon Fresh thyme
- Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the milk to the pan and then using a stick blender, blend until smooth. If it is still a little thick, add a little more stock.375 ml Milk
Notes
- Thyme goes really nicely with the cauliflower to make a fragrant autumn soup, but you could use parsley, rosemary or chives.
- Make this creamy cauliflower soup vegan by using almond milk and making it extra creamy with some oat creme fraiche.
- Really don't like cauliflower? Use this recipe as a base and then swap the cauliflower for broccoli, carrots, parsnips or even beetroot.
- This soup can be made even creamier by stirring in some grated parmesan just before serving.
Lesley
Hi I made this last week and loved it so put servings in the freezer to last all week. Craving it tonight so had to go out to buy cauliflower! I added thyme but when serving I add parsley too. I'm not a fan of milk (taste no other reason) so didn't add it but it was still delicious. Thanks very much!