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.
Delicious and so easy!
Happy you think so, Regan! Thanks for your review.
Just finished making (and eating) this and it was absolutely delightful! Next time I will make a double batch because although I was making this for lunch this week, already half of it has disappeared! Thank you for the recipe!
This one has that power! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Cheryl. Thanks for your review!
Wow! Once again another deliciously created soup with minimal ingredients! 2nd recipe of yours that I have tried and wow can I say I love cauliflower now more than EVER! Thank you again for this healthy soup!
You’re welcome, Erika! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
My husband and I were incredibly surprised at how delightful this soup was. We ate the whole batch in one night… whoops!
We added a slight amount of cumin in with the onions, and used vegan European style butter.
Some croutons would just set this off perfectly.
Thank you for this wonderful, easy recipe!
I love it! Thanks for sharing, Audrey.
Hi Audrey, I love the fact that you used vegan butter, I want to do so myself. Which one did you use?
Cheers,
Anna
I have fallen in love with Miyoko’s European Style Cultured Vegan Butter, absolutely recommend using for basically anything. It has a much nicer flavor and texture than more traditional vegan butter spreads.Enjoy!
Just finished making this soup. Very quick and tasty. I’ll be making this again. Although I don’t have choices or onions right now it is still good, but yes I can see they will add a nice flavor for my next bowl.
My daughter made this for a soup and salad birthday party. The rest eat animal products so she wanted something my husband and I could eat. We are vegan. There were three other soups available but not for us. This soup was so good. We enjoyed it and took the leftovers home.
I’m glad it was loved by all preferences! Thanks for your review, Estelle!
So good and def freezes well! Roasted my cauliflower in an air-fryer to speed up prep time.
Thank you for sharing, Oyin!
I made a big batch of this super delicious soup and froze it, and when it froze it turned pink! Did this happen for anyone else?
When defrosted and heated back up went back to the normal colour and still delicious!
Wondering if maybe it is a reaction with the lemon??
Wow! Wonderful recipe. This has been added to our meal rotation as the official partner for Thursday grilled cheese night :-) We too devoured every drop so don’t plan on leftovers unless you have great willpower!
Love to hear that, Karen! Thanks for your review.
Omg this was such a wonderful soup recipe! My kids loved it so much! I actually followed it except double the amount of sweet onions and carmlized it. I also used an immersion blender which helped make it much simpler! Thank you again!! I will be sharing this recipe again and again!
You’re welcome! I appreciate the review, Alice!
I have made this soup 3x in the last 3 weeks! It is delicious- I added a little cayenne to give it a kick and used Vegan butter. It was perfect!
One of the best soups I’ve ever made. Loved it!
Thanks for your feedback, Simone!
What makes yours have a orange color. Did you add paprika?
Dee
It could be the vegetable broth and spices combination. I’m not sure it is orange, but it does have a color. :)
This was my first recipe I made from Love real Food. I thoroughly enjoyed the soup! Much better than previous recipes I have followed! Great book!
Hooray! Thanks so much, Frank.
Best roasted cauliflower soup ever! A great flavor combination. This is a keeper. Thank you!
Thank you, Michelle!
This was absolutely delicious. I recently started Keto and this was a great soup to get fats and veggies in. I will be making this often!
Thanks for your review, Dana!
This was DELICIOUS!! Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome, Mary!
Delicious! Doubled the recipe and have lots for weekday lunches.
A great leftover soup! Thanks for your review, Cadence!
Thankyou for this recipe, its delicious!
I tweaked a couple of things; including roasting whole, unpeeled garlic cloves with the Cauliflower and then when it was time to add the vegetables together, I peeled then added them to the soup pot.
At the end, I skipped the lemon juice and added 1/2 cup of non-fat half and half to the soup.
I will definitely make this again!
Thanks for sharing, C!
This soup was a hit! Picky kids loved it.. Super cook Hubby licked the bowl.. I’ll have to do it again!!
Parent win! I love it, Lauren.
i am absolutely blown away with this recipe! i love cauliflower but never expect much with any recipe i find. however i found using low sodium chicken stock *i’m not vegan* 3 cloves of garlic and a large red onion just NAILED this soup! i wish i’d have doubled the recipe , but i’ll do it next time. the whole family absolutely loved it and there’s no leftovers ;) thanks so much for a subtley delicious soup!!
Wonderful, Lisa! Thank you for your review.
Thank you so much for sharing. This was absolutely delicious and feels really wholesome after over-indulging over the New Year. I had family over for dinner and everyone loved it, even taking some for their lunch the next day.
Can I make this with frozen cauliflower?
I did and it turned out fine! Just had to roast the frozen cauliflower for a lot longer than I did when using normal cauliflower.
Made this for dinner last night and followed the recipe as laid out. It turned out fabulous! Three of us polished it off completely. Great way to make use of that head of cauliflower sitting in the fridge and roasting it does bring out a wonderful, deep roasted flavor. Simply added humus and flat bread to make it a filling and satisfying meal.
I’m glad you loved it, Bob!
Don’t understand the comment about adding hummus, did you add the hummus to the soup?
Just got round to making this (it was marked as a future recipe-to-make from the excellent “Love Real Food” cookbook), and it was delicious! I was out of butter but had a small-medium avocado on hand that needed to be used up, so I blended that in (it didn’t seem to affect the color of the soup) and it seemed to work well. Another fantastic recipe from C+K!
Thank you, Michelle!
Followed your instructions with some small variations and the result was fantastic soup. I used up a cauliflower and broccoli head which were sleeping in my fridge and needed brought back to life. Very tasty and enjoyable.
Thank you, Bill!
My sixteen year old daughter made it from her ‘Love Real Food’ Christmas gift and it was absolutely delicious. She’s enjoying cooking her way through the book and the rest of the family are loving the results. Thank you, Kathryne!
You’re welcome, Claire! Thanks for sharing.
Yummy! If you don’t mind a suggestion, there’s no need to spend time cutting up the cauliflower. You can roast the entire thing. Nice for us lazy cooks…
Thanks for sharing!
Gorge recipe thank you xx
You’re welcome, Nikki!
Made this tonight and it’s absolutely amazing!
Highly recommend it!
Thank you, Corey!
This is my go to soup recipe either when I’m craving creamy soup or have sone cauliflower in the fridge that I have no idea what to do (this recipe has also saved a ton of cauliflower going to the compost pile)
I’m glad you found this recipe then, Mauricha!
Wow, this soup was absolutely delicious! Budget friendly, easy to make, minimal ingredients and I highly recommend this recipe!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!
You’re welcome, Brandy! I’m excited to hear you loved it.
I modified this and roasted the onion and garlic as well, and I added about a tablespoon of miso in while it was simmering away. So good.
Thanks for your review, Lynn!
WOW! We’re hooked! This is the best cauliflower soup we’ve ever made and eaten. The best part – super simple!! I’m no chef, though now I feel like one. Sharing this gem. Thank you.
I love it! Thanks for your feedback and review, Trish.
This was literally the best soup I have ever tasted!
I love to hear that! Thanks for the feedback, Jennifer.
Neither my wife or I are a fan of Cauliflower. We do eat it raw in salads. When my wife asked: “What are we having for supper?” I told her Cauliflower soup. At that point I get “that face” and a Yuck.
But after trying the soup she said: “This is good soup.” I concur. This is really creamy without the calories of cream. The flavor is outstanding.
Thank you Kate for a flavorful soup and a lesson in not prejudging a dish.
I’m glad she liked it! Thanks for your review.
This soup is unbelievably delicious and a nutritional heavy hitter. The butter turns it into comfort food—have made multiple times and there is never enough.
I’m so glad you loved it, Jenni!
Amazing soup, I love all things cauliflower and this recipe is perfect! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Jeza! Thanks for the review.
Absolutely delicious! Roasted 5 cloves of garlic with the cauliflower as one reviewer mentioned. Made this non-vegetarian with chicken broth and added a little cream. Scallions were a bit over powering, so with picked those out…will use chives next time. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Tom!
This is the second time that I am making your delicious soup! It’s amazing that you can have such a deep rich flavor simply by roasting the cauliflower and adding a bit of butter. I have put my own spin on the recipe simply by using some unusual salts which I have acquired through my travel. I flavor the roasted veggies with a smoked salt that I got in Peru. I also use a Bourbon Smoked Garlic Salt, just a pinch but it gives it just a little something else. I made your recipe to your specifications on the first time. Thanks for the great recipe! I am in the catering business and will be sure to share your blog with my clients.
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing the C+K love, Karen!
I was skeptical that it was really that good…. but it is so good!! I used 3 cubes chicken and 1 cube beef bouillon because that’s what I had on hand and followed the rest of the recipe. It is so delicious! I’m on WW and it comes out to 1 point per serving! What a wonderful way to use a point and fill up my belly! I’m sharing this one with all my friends and family!
I’m so excite it surpassed your expectations! Thanks for your review, Carrie.
Kate, this is a wonderful and very easy recipe. I’m always looking for dairy-free recipes, and when it comes to creamy soups, the choices can be limited. I simply used vegan butter in place of regular butter and it turned out great! And for anyone who may be doubtful about the addition of fresh lemon juice, don’t leave it out…..it really adds a brightness to the soup. So delicious! Thank you, Kate!
Thanks for sharing, Mary!
That looks delicious. Roasting brings out a lot of great flavor in veggies. My mom used to make a similar soup back in the day, but added cream to it.
Thanks for sharing, Alexia!
Making the cauliflower soup for the second time… roasting the garlic with the cauliflower this time… love the roasted depth of flavor. Loved the soup first time!!! Thanks for the inspiration.
You’re welcome Ryan! Thanks so much for your review.
Before I make this recipe, I was wondering what brand of vegetable broth do you use for this soup? Is there a go to brand you use for your recipes?
Hi Toni! I’m not really that picky about the vegetable broth I use. I do try to buy organic when possible. Whole Foods 365 organic is pretty good.
I love this recipe! Easy to make, not many ingredients and the perfect solution for a hassle free dinner. Thank you C+K
You’re welcome, Eesha!
Just made this soup today and this is incredible! Easy to prepare, smells so good and when I tasted to see if it needed anything else (I only added lemon juice) forget about it! It’s da bomb! I’m addicted. I agree with Cheryl, I’ll have to double recipe next time. Thanks for this delicious recipe. Since I love soups I’ll be trying more of your recipes.
Thank you, Sue! I’m so happy you love it and want to double it next time.
Excellent recipe!
Thank you, Jonathan!
This soup was so good. I added a pinch of red pepper flakes when roasting the cauliflower.
I like that! Thanks for the review, Kathy.
SO DELICIOUS! My whole family loved it – even my little guy who doesn’t like veggies! Thank you so much for sharing – this will definitely became a regular!
That’s awesome, Patty! I’m so happy it was a hit. Thanks for the review!
Absolutely loved this soup. When I read that it was finished with nutmeg I knew it would be good. My grandmother always used nutmeg with cauliflower and she was a great cook. My only alteration was that I added some finely chopped roasted hazelnuts instead of greens at the end.
Thanks for sharing, Brigitte!
I’m now making this soup a second time within a month.. it is so amazing and we absolutely love this recipe!! I did add mushrooms to the sautéed onion and garlic. This soup is magical!!!
I’m happy you loved it, Jackielyn!