This Roasted Cauliflower soup is easy to make with a few basic ingredients. The roasting of the cauliflower gives the soup a slightly nutty and smokey taste with a creamy cauliflower texture. It’s a big bowl of comfort food that is light and healthy, low carb, low calorie and great for lunch or a light dinner.
Recipe Highlights
- Easy to make with basic ingredients and pantry staples
- It’s a great low carb and low calorie option for either Dinner or Lunch
- Its dairy free and there’s no sugar or sweetener needed
- Its full of nutty, smokey and savoury flavours and much tastier than store-bought soups
- It’s a rich and creamy consistency, but easy to thin out or make even creamier
- It’s a meal on its own, or serve with crusty garlic bread
- Its light but very filling and keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days
- It freezes well and is easy to reheat and serve like this Summer Corn Chowder
- Lots of options to customise (suggestions below!)
Ingredients
Nothing beats a big bowl of soup when you're craving healthy comfort food. I love eating soups year round because they're easy to make, filling and are great when you're trying to clean up your diet. Some of my faves are this Green Split Pea and Bacon Soup (its thick and smokey!), and this high protein Yellow Lentil Soup.
Ingredient Notes
- Cauliflower: Buying a whole head of cauliflower is the best option for this recipe. If the cauliflowers are on the small side, buy two and use both in the recipe. Alternatively buying 1 large cauliflower should be enough. I tend to avoid buying the cauliflower already chopped into pieces as its more expensive.
- Onion: Any type of onion will work, brown, yellow or white. The onion provides a savoury base to the soup.
- Olive Oil: I love using extra virgin olive oil, however you can use whatever you have on hand. If you don;t have olive oil, you can substitute with vegetable oil or grapeseed oil
- Garlic: Using fresh garlic is best for this recipe as I like to roast it with the cauliflower in the oven, which creates a lovely garlicy, nutty savoury undertone to the cauliflower soup. If you only have the garlic from a jar, rub some onto the garlic pieces before roasting to create a similar effect.
- Broth/Stock: You can use vegetable stock or chicken stock in this recipe. I find using chicken stock adds more flavour, however if you want to keep it vegetarian, use the vegetarian stock option. I’d recommend buying a good quality stock/broth, or use the boullion cubes dissolved in boiling water.
- Butter: Butter adds a rich creaminess to the soup. To keep it dairy free, use a dairy free butter, otherwise regular butter is fine. I tend to use a full fat butter for extra flavour as the lighter, low fat butters don’t create as much flavour.
- Nutmeg/Cumin: Add these spices to taste. I use ¼ of a teaspoon of each which I find to be enough, however you may like to add a little extra. I do recommend using some kind of spices in this recipe to enhance the flavour. If you don’t have these particular spices on hand, good substitutes for Cumin include ground paprika, curry powder, ground corriander, and even taco seasoning. Substitutes for Nutmeg include ground ginger powder, all spice powder.
- Salt/Pepper: this is essential for seasoning and really brings out the flavours, especially the smokey roasted cauliflower.
How To Make
- Roast the Cauliflower: Remove the leaves and the stem of the cauliflower and chop it into florets. Add the florets into a large baking tray and drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt, nutmeg, cumin, and ground pepper. Roast until tender and lightly golden, about 30-35 minutes. You cold also use this method to make Air Fryer Cauliflower which is quicker and just as flavourful.
- Roast the Onion: Chop onion into quarters (leave the skin on for them not to burn) and place them in another baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and roast until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Place garlic cloves in a small piece of foil and roast them with the onion.
- Cook Soup on Stovetop: Peel the onion and garlic cloves and place them into a pot. Add the roasted cauliflower, butter, and vegetable broth. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes until everything is perfectly tender; this will make the soup extra creamy.
- Blend Soup until rich and creamy: Place the soup into a food processor or blender and blend until very smooth. Be careful not to over-fill your food processor, or you will end up with soup all over the counter. Make it in batches if necessary. TIP Select a few lovely florets to garnish the soup bowls.
- Serve: Divide the soup into individual bowls. Garnish with the selected cauliflower florets, some freshly ground pepper, and paprika.
Recipe Tips
- Cauliflower: its definitely a good idea not to skip the roasting of the cauliflower as it creates a much more flavourful soup
- Spices:
- Extra Garlic: double up on the amount of garlic cloves, or swap regular salt for garlic salt
- Extra Zing: add a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger when cooking on the stove
- Extra Smokey: add ½ a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the roasted cauliflower before baking
- Extra Freshness: sprnkle with fresh chopped chives on top at serving
- Extra Creamy: add a drizzle of coconut cream on top to serve, or a teaspoon of cream friache.
- Storage: store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge for around 4 days
- Freezing: this should can be frozen for upto 2 months. I find its best to freeze in portion sizes so its easy to defrost. Make sure to date and label your container.
- Reheating: to reheat, defrost in the microwave using the defrost settings, or alternatively, leave container in the fridge overnight. When reheating this Cauliflower Soup, additional liquid will likely be needed. You can use a little water, stock/broth or coconut milk, depending on what you have on hand. I Personally tend to reheat soups on the stove and rehydrate them using a little tap water, and they turn out just as good as when they were first cooked.
Serving Ideas
Crusty Garlic Bread, garlic naan, or this 3 ingredient flatbread that is so easy to make and better than storebought. If you have an air fryer, why not make your own garlic bread in just a few minutes.
Common Questions
Can I use Frozen Cauliflower?
Yes! Just make sure to defrost it and dry the moisture off before roasting it for best results
Can I use cauliflower rice?
Yes! Either frozen or fresh will work. The roasting time will be less so you may need to experiment a little with the timing to get it roasted just right although it shouldn’t need long in the oven.
More Soup Recipes
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
This Roasted Cauliflower soup easy to make with a slightly nutty and smokey taste and a creamy cauliflower texture.
Recipe Tags: Dairy Free, Low Calorie, Low Carb
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower head
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth/stock
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C
- Remove the leaves and the stem of the cauliflower and chop it into florets. Add the florets into a large baking tray and drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt, nutmeg, cumin, and ground pepper. Roast until tender and lightly golden, about 30-35 minutes.
- Chop onion into quarters (leave the skin on for them not to burn) and place them in another baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and roast until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Place garlic cloves in a small piece of foil and roast them with the onion.
- Peel the onion and garlic cloves and place them into a saucepan. Add the roasted cauliflower, butter, and vegetable broth. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes until everything is perfectly tender; this will make the soup extra creamy.
- Place the soup into a food processor or blender and blend until very smooth. Be careful not to over-fill your food processor, or you will end up with soup all over the counter. Make it in batches if necessary. TIP Select a few lovely florets to garnish the soup bowls.
- Divide the soup into individual bowls. Garnish with the selected cauliflower florets, some freshly ground pepper, and paprika.
Notes
- Cauliflower: Buying a whole head of cauliflower is the best option for this recipe. If the cauliflowers are on the small side, buy two and use both in the recipe. Alternatively buying 1 large cauliflower should be enough. I tend to avoid buying the cauliflower already chopped into pieces as its more expensive.
- Onion: Any type of onion will work, brown, yellow or white. The onion provides a savoury base to the soup.
- Olive Oil: I love using extra virgin olive oil, however you can use whatever you have on hand. If you don;t have olive oil, you can substitute with vegetable oil or grapeseed oil
- Garlic: Using fresh garlic is best for this recipe as I like to roast it with the cauliflower in the oven, which creates a lovely garlicy, nutty savoury undertone to the cauliflower soup. If you only have the garlic from a jar, rub some onto the garlic pieces before roasting to create a similar effect.
- Broth/Stock: You can use vegetable stock or chicken stock in this recipe. I find using chicken stock adds more flavour, however if you want to keep it vegetarian, use the vegetarian stock option. I’d recommend buying a good quality stock/broth, or use the boullion cubes dissolved in boiling water.
- Butter: Butter adds a rich creaminess to the soup. To keep it dairy free, use a dairy free butter, otherwise regular butter is fine. I tend to use a full fat butter for extra flavour as the lighter, low fat butters don’t create as much flavour.
- Nutmeg/Cumin: Add these spices to taste. I use ¼ of a teaspoon of each which I find to be enough, however you may like to add a little extra. I do recommend using some kind of spices in this recipe to enhance the flavour. If you don’t have these particular spices on hand, good substitutes for Cumin include ground paprika, curry powder, ground corriander, and even taco seasoning. Substitutes for Nutmeg include ground ginger powder, all spice powder.
- Salt/Pepper: this is essential for seasoning and really brings out the flavours, especially the smokey roasted cauliflower.
- Consistency: If you’d like a thinner consistency, just add extra broth or water when blending. On the other hand, you can add some coconut or regular heavy cream if you’d like a thicker soup.
- Calories: Calories are based on 3 serves which is about 6 cups
Nutrition
Calories: 261kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 6gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 7gFiber: 4gSugar: 5g
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.
Looking To Cut Out Sugar? Get the FREE Healthy Food Swaps Checklist Pack!Get your FREE Healthy Food Swaps Checklists with over 65 Healthy Food Alternatives to Help you Ditch The Sugar Without Feeling Deprived.
Diane
How many cups of cauliflower? A large head could mean different things to different people.