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.
I think you have missed a stage. I don’t see mention of adding broth.
See step 4 :)
the recipe says ” then add broth”
Wow! So easy and tasty. Added some pepper but otherwise the soup is amazing!
Thank you for sharing, HS!
Very good I did throw in some roasted broccoli and spinach it made it green but it was delicious
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Dawn!
Beautiful soup with a nutty creamy naturally sweet taste! I put some creamed coconut in instead of the butter and it was delicious.
Dear Katie next Wednesday March 17th I will be celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day (I am now in Italy) with some friends who are coming to me for lunch. I wanted receipes that I could use with foods in the Green, White and Orange colours of our Irish flag. Thank you for the Roasted Cauliflower soup, which will be part of the Green and White colours
I will pass on any comments from my friends.
King regards, Elizabeth Whelan
Just made this for my husband. He had 17 teeth extracted and he LOVES it and I love it also. Going to follow u since ur a veggie enthust and I feel like it’s somewhat healthy for u
Oh boy! I’m glad this was something he could enjoy. I wish him a speedy recovery.
I made this soup last night for dinner. It was delicious. Thank you. My husband prefers chunks of cauliflower in his, so next time I won’t blend it as much as I did.
It was easy and delicious!
Absolutely delish!! Was searching for calorie information etc and couldn’t find it. Is this something that you could share please? Many thanks and will be making this soup time and time again!
You’re welcome, Jenn! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
The entire soup is 804 calories. Divide that number by the servings.
Easy and delicious just as written!
Absolutely delish!! Was searching for calorie information etc and couldn’t find it. Is this something that you could share please? Many thanks and will be making this soup time and time again.
(Sorry found the nutritional info!)
Hi Jenn! The nutrition information is below the notes of the recipe. Enjoy!
This soup was amazing!
I made a big batch and was able to freeze some. Every time I have a bowl I am amazed at how much flavor!
Thanks for this delicious recipe. I made it today and it was a big hit. followed the recipe minus the nutmeg. Yum.
You’re welcome, Elena! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
This was fabulous. I doubled the recipe with 2 heads of Cauliflower, 1 whole large red onion,a whole head of garlic and used chicken stock as I did not have vegetable stock. The roasted cauliflower gives so much flavour and when blended is quite thick. I have just sent my husband to buy 6 more Cauliflowers so will be busy tomorrow. Soup for the freezer. Thanks for this great recipe Kate.
You’re welcome, Viv! I appreciate your review.
I am making this for the second time and I don’t have as much cauliflower as the first time around – if it isn’t very thick/creamy could I add sour cream without changing the taste too much?
Hi! This one really turns out with the recommended about. Sour cream won’t really thicken it up, unfortunately. I would suggest topping per bowl.
This was amazing totally delicious I added a post on my IG@tara.s.hayden
Yummmm
Absolutely delicious! I made this for the first time tonight, followed the recipe exactly except I used chicken broth as that is what I had on hand. The lemon and nutmeg gave it the perfect light flavor. I will make this again and probably double it to have leftovers! Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup: So delicious, my husband and I ate the entire pot of soup!!! Great flavor from very few ingredients and easy to make. I shared this recipe with several friends. Yum…..
Would this be considered a low carb dish?
This was a delicious recipe! I added a red potato to add some body.
Thank you for sharing, Mona!
Tastes delicious and is a lovely consistency. Cooked exactly as directed with replacement of nutmeg with cayenne.
This is my contribution, with sourdough bread, to a four couple dinner – we are exchanging courses at a mall parking lot and each returning home to share our dinner over zoom.
Made this tonight for dinner and it is absolutely delicious. Total hit with my hubby too. Will add this into my rotation of soup recipes. Thank you!
I love it! Thank you for your review.
This soup is excellent! It is creamy, flavorful and enjoyable to eat! Definitely a keeper! Thanks Kate!
Hi! I just finished making the Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup! It is heavenly! Thank you for telling us about it!
Mmmm I just made this and it was so delicious. I did change it a bit I roasted onion, yellow pepper and carrots with the cauliflower. And I used bone broth instead of vegetable broth for more protein. And it was delicious
Having dental work done tomorrow & didn’t want can soup. Found this recipe & made it tonight. Had a small bowl & I’m in love!!! Can’t wait for a bigger bowl tomorrow. Oh & forgot nutmeg ooppss!
This soup was excellent. The only problem … I couldn’t stop eating the roasted cauliflower when I took it out of the oven. Delicious soup.
We love cauliflower and when I saw this recipe, I just knew that I had to try it.
We absolutely loved this soup. Even my 2 year old son ate his whole bowl and asked for more.
That’s wonderful, Ruvé! Thank you for your review.
AMAZING RECIPE! Love that I could make it with basic ingredients. Tastes amazing
I’m happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review, Alero.
This was delicious! I ended up using chicken broth because I didn’t have any vegetable broth, and it still was amazing. I initially made this because I got my wisdom teeth removed and couldnt eat solid foods for about a week, so this was perfect. I’ve made it a few times since then because it was so dang good!
Made this tonight and it was delicious– I even won over someone who claimed not to like cauliflower! I only had mushroom bullion on hand, which made a brown broth, so I didn’t get Kate’s pretty color, but that didn’t affect the taste. I doubled down on the nutmeg and lemon juice, but they remained subtle enough for me.
Thank you for your review, Austin!
I made the roasted cauliflower soup and the only thing I did differently was to use siracha sea salt, it added just a little heat. Everybody loved it. So simple.
Made this soup for supper tonight… it is so good! My husband doesn’t even like cauliflower but he ate his bowl of soup happily. I can’t wait to pack the leftovers for my work lunch tomorrow :)
That’s great, Cynthia! Thank you for your review.
Made this soup this morning. It is amazing. Highly recommended.
Hi Kate, is it possible to substitute the butter for heavy cream? If so, how much would you suggest using? Thanks!
Hi Dave, I really enjoy the butter here. I would try maybe a tablespoon and adjust to your taste.
Been on a special diet is not fun & been restricted on what to eat is depressing but this soup is tasty & fun to make.I made it also with broccoli, wow definitely will be making this again. I have to admit I’m enjoying all these recipes & trying them out bit by bit-thanks
Excellent. I actually roasted the onion and garlic with the cauliflower together and substituted ‘earth balance’ for butter. Blended in a vitamix. Creamy and delicious. Froze it in single servings. Will do again!
I didn’t see the calorie count, did I miss it?
I’m happy you enjoyed the soup! The nutrition information is below the notes of the recipe.
Can this recipe be adapted to a crockpot?
I recommend this as is. I haven’t tried it in a crockpot, sorry!
I’m so glad my roommate told me about your recipes! This was one of the best soups I’ve ever had!! It was super simple to make. I had a dinner party and was nervous because I had never made food for 8 people, but this was perfect! I made it with a candied walnut, apple, and goat cheese salad, as well as a tortellini bake and it worked great.
Because I was cooking in Mexico, I decided to add some chili flakes when I added the baked cauliflower to the broth. It added a really nice kick! I didn’t have nutmeg, so I added cumin and a tiny bit of turmeric and it was incredible. Thank you so much for all of your amazing recipes!
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Umi. I appreciate your review.
I have cooked this soup many times, so easy to prepare and cook.
My family love it.
Delicious ❤️❤️
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Yvonne!
OMG just made this, incredible.
My taste buds are in overdrive :)
Thank you and well done.
One for now and the others for the freezer
You’re welcome, Jan!
Love, love, love this recipe. I do not like spending lots of time cooking The recipe was super simple and the results were very delicious. I actually eliminated the butter and it was still very creamy.
That’s great, Lisa! Thank you for sharing.
I can’t recommend this recipe enough. Full of flavour and silky smooth. A definite favourite.
Thank you, Kim! I’m happy to hear that.
Absolutely love this soup! I haven’t found that the lemon was needed. The soup is a hit with the whole family, especially our toddler!
Thanks for the recipe. My wife is allergic to onions. Any suggestion how to replace them?
Hi Christian, sorry to say I don’t have a great option without a new recipe. Sorry to disappoint!
Thank you for your consideration anyhow. Looking forward to your next recipes.
Hello Kate, I have just made this cauliflower soup for lunch today. DELICIOUS.
This is by far the best tasting cauliflower soup that I have ever made or eaten anywhere.
I always roast my cauliflower, even when it accompanies a meat dish or other, as it adds so much to its flavor BUT it is those little extras in your recipe that take this soup to another level. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Sylvia
Hooray! I’m excited you liked it so much, Sylvia.
Unbelievably good! It’s such a simple recipe but it turned out to be phenomenal. I couldn’t stop eating it! I’ll definitely be making a double batch next time and freezing some leftovers for easy dinner nights.
Oh my goodness!!! This is a wonderful recipe! I didn’t have nutmeg so I substituted with Alspice and used some Cashews in place of butter! The lemon juice is perfect for complexity! It is delicious. This is a tasty, creamy, hearty soup with vegan health benefits. Serving it with a crusty bread, some cheese and a salad from the garden! Printing it for my recipe book of winners to make again! Thank you!
Fabulous soup, Thank you sharing, I made according to your recipe . To cut the cauliflower flower I reccomend simplyrecipes.com save your fingers and time.
This soup is so so great,honestly, just make it.
I made my own veggie broth from ohmyveggies.com
Mine was simplified, I used 3carrots, 2onions, 3celery, 5garlic clove, 2Tolive oil, and 8cwater, . I didn’t have bay leaves, parsley or thyme. Would have been nice, but the broth was same day fresh and whole food flavorful with no “extras”. Hard to beat.
Back to the soup, so yummy. I justwent to reach for my bowl but found I ate it all already. I’m debating on a 4th bowl.
I set aside about 1/4c of the onions+ cauliflower soup mix because it wouldn’t fit in my mini blender then added that to the already blended soup. I Will definitely set aside more due to the vibrancy in texture change. By the way folks, Kate is so right about the beauty of roasted cauliflower. Never in my life. Wow, just wow. Thank youKate! !
I also used a plant based butter and fresh shredded nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste is a must. My habibi loves more salt.
Nexttime I will definitely add cashews as you suggested!
I pared it with some lazy hummus, avocado, tomato, cucumber, and whole wheat pita.
10/10 will make again, easy to put together and clean up.
That’s great, CJ! Than you for sharing.
The recipe includes four cups of stock but it’s not mentioned in the method for cooking unless I missed it
Hi Dave, see step 4 at the end. I hope you love it!
Absolutely stunning recipe.
I’ve made this quite a few times now and find some toasted pumpkin seeds and good quality extra virgin olive oil drizzled is to my liking.
Have made this twice and it is great! Second time I put a little habanero pepper in while it was simmering and that added a nice taste. Also grated some cheese in when it was served for dinner. Very tasty!
My roasted broccoli doesn’t seem like enough – a little nibbling along the way. Would it be okay to supplement with another roasted vegetable? Maybe roasted broccoli, or roasted carrots?
Hi TK, this is the cauliflower soup. Are you sure you measured your cauliflower?