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 soup is wonderful!
I definitely agree with everyone else who has said “make double!”
I love it! Thank you for your comment, Maclean.
Made the cauliflower soup, added carrots and some celery, afraid to add the lemon juice! Will try it in a small bowl first.
How did you like it, Phil?
I also chopped up 3 pieces of bacon into it. I liked it a lot! The butter and cauliflower go well together. Sorry to say my wife was not a fan, she only likes clear broth soups. It’s in my repertoire now,thanks.
Thanks for a great tip, Phil. Added bacon into my soup today with a bit of chilli flakes and paprika – absolutely delicious
This soup is amazing! I added a bay leaf while it was simmering and some black pepper for serving. I didn’t add lemon juice as I didn’t have any and it turned out great.
Added a touch of curry, as well. You’re becoming one of my go-to recipe sources, Kate!
This was amazing! Truly an incredible flavour, the hit of lemon was perfection!
WOW! This was fabulous! I just shared it with my daughter. My only recommendation is to double or even triple it!!!
Thank you for your review, Cathyin! I’m happy you loved it.
Dear Kate, u juist made the soup. I’m not a fan of cauliflower but this soup is so amazing! I made it dairy and nut free. I garmished my bowl soup with bean sprouts.
I’m happy you tried it even though you don’t love cauliflower, Naazama. I appreciate you taking the time to review!
So surprisingly delicious. I’ve shared this recipe with everyone!
Hello all, tried for first time, added 1 Portugese hot pepper and sprinkles fried lentles on top with the nutmeg. Also used orange zest sparingly.
This soup is outstanding!! .The lemon and nut meg just make this amazing!! I kicked it up with a dash of curry powder. Highly recommend!!
Thank you for reporting back, Janet!
Scrumptious! This is going on my winter meal rotation
This is a keeper. So delicious and comforting. I used chicken broth because that’s what I had on hand. All other ingredients were as written. Instead of blending I used an immersion blender so mine is more rustic in texture
Wow! You’d think there was cream in this. I absolutely love the lemon! I did not have nutmeg so I omitted it and it turned out absolutely fabulous. Will be adding to my repertoire.
Wonderful to hear, Shelby!
I love this recipe and have made it a few times. This time, I added a sprig of fresh rosemary and a bay leaf while it was simmering and I think it was a great addition. Sometimes it comes out a little more watery, so I suggest simmering in about 3.5 cups liquid and add more if needed while blending
I have a few litres of chicken broth I want to use up. Can I sub or too salty? 50/50?
Hi Cory, I’m not sure about chicken broth as I’m a vegetarian. But, you can adjust the salt at the end by omitting some during the process if you are worried about the broth being too salty.
So good! So so yum! Followed the recipe to a “T” and it turned out wonderful! I used an immersion hand blender and it worked well!
Hooray! I’m happy to hear that.
Wonderfully delicious soup. And I don’t even like cauliflowers that much :-). Will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe.
Amazing soup! First time making cauliflower soup and this was delicious, really creamy. Only changes I made was to add an extra clove of garlic (personal taste)
Thank you for sharing, Claire!
WOW ! I think I struckgold here; nightshade free, daiy free, a vegetarian’s dream. Returning to plant based diet after straying for about 20 years. My main, ” sins,” were nightshades and chicken; no effort prep. Paavo Aerola wrote, ” Choose to take care of your health or it eventually force you to.”
I have this simmering in the crock pot right now, I used chicken base as I dont have vegetable..I just realized, this recipe calls for a blender, which I dont have! :(
Hi Andrea! I hope you can still enjoy it. You may be able to try and immersion blender.
This was the best cauliflower soup I’ve made! So garlicky, creamy and comforting.
I’m glad you loved it, Bec! Thank you for your review.
I loved this soup, it is delicious easy to make and as a bonus really good for us. Many Thanks – Bessie
do you have to use red onion ? I don’t want to go out for the 3rd time today
Hi Amy, you can substitute if you need to. I hope you love it!
I was looking for a recipe different than the others I found ont he Web.
This one was WOW! it is really good. Nice flavor, the touch of roasting the cauliflower makes it delicious. I made it vegan recipe, I added the vegan margarine instead. Thank you for sharing!
I’m excited you loved it, Rosa! Thank you for your review.
Best tasting soup I’ve ever made. Yummo!
We’ve been trying to find a good cauliflower soup recipe for a few years and none has been more than mediocre until we made this earlier this week. So very good and easy, a keeper. We garnished with microgreens we had on hand. Will be adding this to our repertoire.
Great recipe, loved this hearty soup. As I tend to do, I added a few things, roasted carrot for some color and roasted garlic because I have to have garlic in everything! Roasting it doesn’t overwhelm the soup but adds a very nice flavor. Thank you.
This was so good and pretty easy. Will 100 percent make again
That’s wonderful, Ashley! Thank you for your review.
I’ve made another recipe for this soup before, but it had cream so I wanted to try a different one. This was simple and delicious!
Thank you for your review, Lacey!
This was really amazing! So glad I tried it! I had fresh lemons from my local produce co-op, and lots of cauliflower I needed to use – perfect combo on a chilly fall day!
This soup is so good!
This soup was very easy to make and delicious, just what I needed! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thank you for leaving a review.
This was tagged by a friend, so we made it for her. Everyone in the family loved it! Definitely a keeper.
Any chance that I can reduce the sodium in this recipe by using low sodium vegetable broth and substituting no-salt seasoning? Kidney diets include cauliflower but NOT salt. I may try it anyway and will let you know how it turns out.
Hi! Yes, that would be a great way to reduce it.
This was such a good soup. And easy! I made it exactly as the recipe is written except for the garlic. I really can’t do garlic. We garnished with a bit of shredded cheese and a bit of chopped bacon. Next time I may add some cream cheese during the blending phase just to see what that might add to it. Thanks!
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing, Jean.
This soup is such a hit, and one of my go-to comfort foods! I’ve made it several times, and each time my family just loves it. Defrosted some from the freezer last night and created a spiderweb pattern atop with some thinned out sour cream for a delish Halloween dinner starter. Thank you for this recipe, Kate!
I made this using thawed frozen cauliflower, broiled on a salt block (omitting salt due to this). I made the broth using “better than bouillon”, a product line I highly recommend. Did not pre cook the onion, as I was cooking and blending in my Instant Ace cooking blender and didn’t want to dirty another pot or add another step. It turned out great. I will be adding this my regular rotation. For reference, I don’t like cauliflower normally, but I love this soup.
I’m glad you loved this one, Patricia! I appreciate your review.
Lovely recipe tried it last night. I’m always heavy handed with the garlic, but on the next try I can see possibly adding a parsnip or some parsley root. Over all great texture, nice flavour and a satisfying soup for the cooler months. Appreciate the vegan suggestion as well!
I’m sorry you didn’t love all the garlic, but appreciate your feedback! Thank you for your review, Joey.
Kate. Girl. My kids liked this better than cream of broccoli soup, which is a big deal.
Delicious; could probably serve as a leftover over pasta like an alfredo sauce.
I’d also double the recipe.
This soup is stunningly good! I’m so grateful for the recipe because it’s easy but has an instant “wow factor” for everyone who tries it. I made it with beautiful (and more nutritious) purple cauliflower and added a couple of small purple potatoes to get a velvety texture. — and I wouldn’t even think of using butter after tasting how rich and creamy it was with cashews.
Absolutely loved this soup. It was so flavorful. I would have added a picture to the Pinterest post but I ate it too fast. I will definitely make this again. Loved the lemon.
Love that, Lisa! Thank you for sharing.
Made this soup for my daughter who has recently become vegetarian.
I’m constantly looking for new meal/lunch ideas to do for her, and this one is definitely a keeper.
I did add a little more garlic (by mistake) but it still it tasted lovely, the lemon is a must!
I’m happy you still loved it, Julie! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Delicious soup, enhanced flavor with one bay leaf and 1/2 tsp thyme while simmering
Thank you for this recipe, I made it and I love it !!
It turned out the best cauliflower soup I have eaten! Thank you! Although I have no oven at the moment, I used nonstick pan and roasted the cauliflower and onions with some butter in it… and added little bit grounded black pepper as well. And the characteristic taste of nutmeg was just perfect in this combination. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe looks amazing!Courious if i can make this with frozen cauliflower. Thanks for your help.
Hi! It should work find once it is thawed and roasted.
what is the measured amount of soup in “one bowl” for calorie counters?
Hi! One serving is roughly 1.5-2 cups (US standard measuring cups). I hope that helps!
Thanks for a great recipe! We love it! I have made it with vegetable broth and low sodium chicken broth and both were delicious. I have to double the recipe for 4 adults.
I have been wanting to try this recipe out for over a year and am so glad I finally did! Apparently my nutmeg expired in 2014 (aah!) so I swapped it out for curry powder, as suggested in some of the reviews. The result was a delicious, creamy, cauliflower-y flavor. My husband was bummed that we didn’t have any leftover. I will definitely make this again, but may try leaving 1/3 or so of the cauliflower pieces whole and not blended in — if it’s worth reporting back, I’ll do so. :) Thanks so much for a super easy and really tasty soup!!
I’m glad you finally did too! Thank you for sharing how you got creative, Alyssa.
Just made this soup,really really yumbo, going to try the roasted Butternut recipe now.I roasted the cauli and butternut together, so im sure it will be just as yumbo,i agree, where would we be without good ole fashion butter.I prefer that to creams in my soups.thanks again for recipe.
WOW! If I had a restaurant, this would be on the menu. I loved the roasted flavor, and the lemon added a nice finish. I did make two small changes. Rather than saute the onion and garlic, I roasted them with the cauliflower, adding the onion halfway through, cut into thirds, and roasting the garlic whole for the final 10 minutes. I also added a small carrot, no more than a half cup, chopped, and if I had some celery, I would have put that in too. Surely these would have had no perceptible change in the outcome–it’s just the way I like to do things. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Thank you for sharing, Bill! I appreciate the review. I’m happy it was such a hit.
Hi Kate! Made this soup last night – it came out a lot thicker than I expected? Almost more like a puree. I used a food processor to blend it so maybe that’s why and my cauliflower head was pretty big! So lots of cauliflower in there! Was still tasty but trying to think of ways to thin it out for tonight since I have so much left! (and still want it to taste good). I was thinking of maybe adding some oatmik to thin it out (I am vegan) or maybe more lemon juice? I also used earth balance instead of butter but don’t think that would effect the texture too much.
Let me know your thoughts! I am a big lover of all your recipes :)
Hi Isabel, I’m sorry this one didn’t seem to do it for you. I wonder if you had a larger cauliflower. I don’t think you will get the same impact with oat milk. Maybe try a little more vegetable broth, but you may need to adjust the seasonings.