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.
For making vegan with cashews, instead of butter… When you say you can skip the step if you have a vitamix, do you mean you can skip the step of soaking and rinsing the cashews? You can just put them right in the vitamix raw/hard? Or did you mean you must soak them but you can skip rinsing. Couldn’t tell. Have been making this recipe all winter for my family and love it but want to try the vegan version!
Hi Jessie, yes that’s what I mean. A Vitamix will be able to handle getting them creamy without the soaking.
Has anyone added parmesan cheese to this recipe?
Yum. Yum. Yum.
I love this recipe and will definitely make it again! Made it almost completely as written- I saw a comment that said they roasted the garlic- and I did that, and I didn’t have vegetable or chicken stock on hand so I made chicken stock with chicken bullion cubes. Lastly, I think mine cooked down a little more than it should have, so I had to add liquid to the blender to make it more “soupy”. I used 1% milk that I had in the fridge. Seems to be the perfect consistency. Taste is on point! Thank you for this recipe…it’s a crowd pleaser for sure!!
I have an abundance of home grown cauliflower this winter and tried this recipe that did not add cream. My family loved it! I followed the recipe, except I dropped in a sprig of rosemary with the sautéing onions and garlic. I do not have a full sized blender, so the immersion blender worked perfectly because I love a few little chunks of roasted cauliflower in my soup! Add some red pepper for color and spice.
This recipe is very yummy! I’ve added some Brocolli that I needed to finish and it was still good! Thank you, would definitely like to make it again!
You’re welcome, Nika!
My GO-TO Cauliflower soup recipe…It’s so delicious and you would think it’s filled with rich dairy. My daughter LOVES this recipe…getting the lemon salt ratio is important. I tend to use 2Tbsp lemon with 1/2tsp salt and it’s terrific… thank you!!!
Wonderful to hear, Kim! Thank you for sharing.
Kate, this is the first of your recipes I’ve made and it was…PERFECT! I’m no expert, and this was easy to make with clear instructions which is exactly what I need.
Thanks so much – another dish to add to my (very limited) repertoire!
Wonderful, Olivia! I hope you try more. I appreciate your review!
Brilliant, having followed the creamy carrot this was just as great.
Thank you so much we really love the way it comes together with all the twists.
Must confess, added ginger to it as we really love it in the carrot.
Have a lovely day
This was delicious and a big hit with the teenage girls. While the cauliflower was roasting, I made a quick vegetable stock from leek tops,onion &carrot peels that I had in the freezer(kept for occasions like this). Used sweet onions just cuz that was what I had in the house. Very easy to make! Thank you! :)
I’m delighted it was a hit all around, Nagi! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Made this last week, and I’m doubling it up again this week! Very flavourful despite the minimal ingredients- I was surprised. I thought I would need to add something else to give it an oomph, but it was great!
I made this soup today. I doubled the lemon and nutmeg to intensify the flavor. This soup has an amazing texture (used Vitamix to blend) and seems like it would be a great pallette for other spice combinations. I will experiment and report back!
This recipe was delicious! Easy to make. I used an immersion blender instead of transferring to a free standing one. A definite make often.
I have made this soup over and over. It is sooo good! Yeah, it makes your house smell for a bit, but hey – it is cauliflower after all, and cooked cauliflower smells like cooked cauliflower. Today I am going to try using caramelized onions to see how much of a difference it tastes. I 100% recommend this recipe.
Loved this Roasted Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Super easy and super yummy. : )
Fantastic – making it for the second time this week!
I made this recipe for lunch today and it was absolutely delicious. I did Make a few minor adjustments because I’m doing Weight watchers & opted out of using the butter. 1st, I just Used cooking spray on the cauliflower florets (Fresh from an actual head) then placed it in oven using Cooking spray and parchment paper on a baking sheet. Then, I used A sweet onion vs purple & also added 1.5 sticks of carrots, 1.5 tsp of freshly cut Jalapeño to give it a little kick. I only Had chicken stock on hand which worked too. I also Added 2 TBS of Thai unsweetened coconut milk vs the butter, and a little white pepper in addition to the nutmeg. All turned out perfect and using a few florets as garnish was perfect. Thank you for sharing. I will Definitely make it again and wish I could Post my final picture.
Followed recipe and ended up with a brown gloop. Not what was expected and not great taste. Thanks for recipe though.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it, Ashley. I appreciate your review!
can I use yellow onion, instead of red??
Hi, I find red gives it best flavor but that could work too.
Thank you for this recipe. I did make a few minor adjustments. My daughter loved it
I made this soup and it was absolutely delicious!!! I gave some to my daughter and grandson and they loved it. I’ll be making it again tomorrow and sharing it again. Thanks
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Lorraine.
I love this cauliflower soup! I used vegan butter instead and added a little bit of nutritional yeast before blending. I also toasted pepitas with olive oil and sea salt to put on top for some crunch.
This sounds fantastic. Just wondering if you’ve ever substituted leeks for red onion? I had purchased leeks for another similar recipe but I like the sounds of yours better and I trust your recipes much more so I’m going with this, but just want to use my leeks! Lol such problems we have. ;o) Anyway thank you for your wonderful recipes, they are always so flavorful!
Hi, I haven’t tried it in this and don’t cook with them often so I can’t provide much guidance.
So delicious! I happened to have some leeks on hand, so I used those with a couple cloves of garlic instead of onion. The roasted cauliflower added incredible depth along with the mellowness of the leeks. I used a splash of dry sherry in place of lemon. Oh, gosh, it was amazing!
I’m always looking for news ways to prepare cauliflower. I’ve tried this with butter and liked it. But tonight I tried the raw cashews, and it was amazing! This is definitely going into the rotation. Thanks Kate!
Great to hear, Robyn!
I have made this soup twice. It’s very easy to do and tastes amazing!!
Your recipe is absolutely phenomenal! No cheese, no cream yet this soup was so creamy. Yum! Roasting the cauliflower made all the difference. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank YOU!
Thank you, Kristina! I’m happy you think so.
A friend had made this for our book club, and I just had to try to make it myself. I think it turned out better than hers (sorry, Laura)! I made it the day before so all the flavors would have a chance to meld. It was delicious! I will definitely make a double batch next time!
Hi Kate! Love all you soup recipes and have been making them alot this past year or so! However, my husband and I are going more plant based now… Might you have any suggestions for roasting vegetables without oil? Also, ( if any) additionally ideas for replacing cheese in some of your soup recipes? Thank you!
Hi! Sorry to disappoint, but my go-to method is with oil.
This was a HUGE hit with my family. Kids, who are lukewarm about cauliflower, devoured it and I’d wished I’d doubled the recipe. We also have a friend on a strict keto diet and this seems like a winner for her too.
We topped the soup with crunchy fried onions and served with a side salad and baguette. A perfect winter meal! Thanks so much for sharing.
What a wonderful soup my husband really loved it ❤. Karman
Thank you for sharing, Karman! I appreciate your review.
Wow – who thought cauliflower could taste so sweet! Such a perfect soup! The roasting makes all the difference. I left a few very small chunks, and used an immersion blender. I will make this again for sure. Next time a little less salt, just because i am watching my sodium. It’s so thick and creamy, Ano no dairy – well except that little butter. Now i need to make so I’m soups with carrots, and with broccoli…
Yes, roasting is key! Thank you for taking the time to review, Keli.
Hi Kate,
I’m a follower of yours and I making this soup right now. I’m wondering why you choose a red onion. (I have sweet yellow onions, so that what I’ll use.) Myself having no training or much knowledge in this I’m very curious about your onion choices for different soups and flavors.
Hi Diane, what did you think? I loved the red onion here with the roasted cauliflower. It’s about the flavor profile. :)
Hi Kate,
Thanks for responding. I loved how Souper easy this was to make. I think the red onion must be what was missing, so I’ll be sure to use one next time. Meanwhile I’m searching for a good source for which onion to use when and a bit about flavor profiles.
SO good! One of my new favorite fall/winter dishes! I also add paprika to taste to give it a little zing! I’ve made it twice now and I just love it!
Thank you, Shannon! I’m excited it’s a new favorite.
What a delicious recipe! And so easy! I used chicken stock, added half a leek and topped the bowls with grated cheddar cheese! Dee-lish! Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!
Marlene Smith
Mississauga, Ontario
CANADA
Thank you, Marlene! I’m glad you loved it.
Seems like a silly question but lid on or off the pot when simmering (after adding cauli with the broth)?
Thanks
Lid is off, so it’s uncovered. I hope this helps!
oh how I love you Kate!!! this soup is so dreamy, i make this one and the roasted butternut squash one on rotation all winter❤️ so perfect, the lemon and nutmeg give it that little oomph, I never get tired of it! i personally don’t add any butter and I find it perfectly creamy without. also I’ve made it with both red onion and white onion and personally can’t tell the difference! thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!!!
You’re welcome, CT I’m glad you enjoyed it.
One of the best soups I’ve ever had!! Wouldn’t change a thing.
This was an excellent soup. It was a bit thicker than we liked so I added a bit more broth. Didn’t have vegetable broth so I used chicken broth instead. Also added 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper because we like a little spice. Personally I could have added a bit more. Also added 1-1/2 cups Gruyere cheese. That might be why it was thicker so it probably had nothing to do with the recipe. I didn’t have red onion so I had to substitute yellow onion instead. Excellent soup!
Looks good! I’m wondering where all the 17g of fat is coming from? I’m on the WW diet and it’s showing that this is a 9 point soup, but that seems high, especially since the soup is essentially just veggies and broth.
Hi! You can omit the butter if you like. Sorry to not be of more help.
I love this recipe! So easy!
Anyone have any ideas for side dish pairings? Maybe tabouleh?
That sounds like a great pair! Thank you for your review, Jess.
i’m making this right now and i know it’s going to be heavenly bc roasted cauli has such an amazing flavor. i’m just roasting all the veggies together along with carrots and broccoli too. i have a tip to help with the cauliflower smell, i sprinkled some smoked paprika on all the veggies before putting them in the oven. the smell right now is very rich and complex and flavorful, not farty like cauliflower and broccoli can be
Delicious! I just made it but had to cut everything in half (didn’t have enough cauliflower!) I did add 1 bay leaf in the boiling/simmering stage. It’s supposed to help with the sulphur smell that may be what Jennifer from Greece was talking about. The lemon and nutmeg did exactly what you said! You can’t explicitly taste them but they added another element of flavor that was so good, it sets it apart from any other cauliflower soup. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Mary-beth!
Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that I generally don’t use because broccoli is just better in terms of texture and flavour (just an opinion) Good news is, you can feel totally meh about cauliflower and love this soup. It’s a winner, so simple, quick and delicious and so fun to garnish too (…it’s the little things these days). My husband and I both loved it and two of three kids ate it no complaints – a win in my house. Thanks AGAIN Kate!
You’re welcome, Holly! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This soup is absolutely amazing, gonna make it again tonight.
There was no odor, when I make cauliflower mash that’s when I smell it. I think that roasting is the key.
Delicious made with NO tweaks to the recipe! I served it with a garnish of a spoonful of Major Grey chutney and/or greek yogurt, and a side salad of watercress, red onion and tomato dressed with a little lemon juice and evoo. And naan for those of us who could eat gluten! A really good GF naan recipe would have been great. Sigh. HM brown sugar almond snaps and caramel crisps (both GF) with fresh fruit for dessert. Great weekday winter dinner:-)
PS I made sure to turn the vent to High BEFORE each time i lifted the lid to check, and with new charcoal filters there was essentially no “cauliflower”odor! And this is in Vermont where we do not have the windows open when it is 5 degrees outside;-)
Not sure where I went wrong but this tired out the texture of grits, not soup. It was also bland. If I was looking for a grain-free grits, it would have been pretty tasty with some cheese on it or something but as a soup it’s definitely not something I’d make again
Hi MH, I’m sorry to hear you were disappointed by this recipe. What did you use to blend it with? It should have been smooth and creamy.
Made this tonight and followed the recipe *exactly as written. Delicious! I like the idea of a little cayenne… next time. My husband said it’s a definite have again!
*(I lied, I made sourdough croutons)
Thank you for your feedback, Lisa! Sourdough croutons sound delicious.
This soup was so flavourful and satisfying! For me it also has the consistency of cream of wheat, which I love. Thank you for this delicious and healthy recipe!
Dear C&K,
I LOVE YOUR RECIPES!!! INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS…WONDERFULLY HEALTHFUL!!! SOUPS, MUFFINS, SALADS, BREAD, VEGGIES, ETC…
I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING YOU FOR SEVERAL YEARS; NEVER HAD A RECIPE THAT DIDN’T OUT PERFECTLY. SOOO VERY HAPPY I FOUND YOU AND SO ARE THE FRIENDS I SHARE MY GOODIES WITH.LOVE PICTURES OF YOU AND ADORABLE LITTLE COOKIE…KEEP MORE COMING. THANKFUL FOR YOU!!!
Thank you! I’m happy you have been enjoying so many recipes, Johni.
I made this last night – subbed paprika, sumac and cayenne for nutmeg. and saved a few florets to top each bowl. Added pepitas and green onions on top and a side slice of fresh buttered sourdough.
Turned out so delicious! We will definitely be adding this to our regular soup rotation. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, Jaclyn! I appreciate your review.