Easy, cheesy cauliflower soup is packed full of veggies and ready to go in just 45 minutes. This delicious soup will keep you warm all winter long!
What makes this soup so amazing (aside from the cheese and cream) is its flavor. It’s packed full of flavor!! Celery, shallot, and garlic are the big contributors, with coriander, paprika, and cayenne close behind. For more hearty soups try Creamy Asparagus Soup, Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon, Creamy Pumpkin Soup, and Better Than Panera Broccoli Soup.
Flavorful Soup in 45 Min!
Cooler weather has me craving soup 24/7. Can you blame me? There’s nothing better than cozying up to a big bowl of this homemade creamy cauliflower soup with a few of my 1 hour soft & fluffy dinner rolls. And by few, I mean like 4!
We’re slowly easing our way back into “cheesy” dishes. Our 1 year old is still really sensitive to dairy, so I set aside a bowl full of this before I added the cream and cheese. He slurped it right up. Both my husband and 5 year old gave the finished version two big thumbs up. Honestly, I was kind of shocked. No one complained about there being a ton of veggies, and not one missed the meat. #dinnerwin
It also doesn’t hurt that it’s ready to go in 45 minutes. We can make this when we’re in a hurry or prep it in advance for later in the week. It reheats really well!
How to Make Cauliflower Cheese Soup
SAUTE. In a large stockpot or dutch oven set over medium-low heat, add the butter. Once melted, add the celery and saute for 3 minutes, then add the carrot, shallot, and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. (Note: Shallots are more sweet and mild than a yellow or white onion (they lack the bite) with a hint of garlic. I prefer to use shallot in creamier dishes where chunks of onion would be off-putting.)
BROTH. Add the flour. Whisk the flour until it turns golden brown, taking care not to burn. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, whisking continuously until combined. Turn heat up to medium and bring to a simmer.
SEASON. Add the salt, garlic powder, pepper, coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
BOIL. Add the cauliflower, allow the soup to gently boil for 15 minutes. (Note: Use a BIG head of cauliflower. The biggest you can find. If all you can find are small ones, grab two. The texture of this soup relies on cauliflower puree, so it’s kind of important that there’s enough!)
PUREE. Remove 2 cups and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the mixture to the soup.
THICKEN. Pour in the cream and continue to gently boil for an additional 10 minutes, then add the cheese and whisk to combine.
GARNISH & SERVE. Remove from the heat and serve it up with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley and a few cracks of black pepper. Everyone will be licking their bowls clean, I promise
Recipe FAQ
What can you use to puree the soup?
- A high speed blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec)
- A quality food processor
- An immersion blender (you will have to transfer it to a separate bowl to use this)
What kind of cheese should you use in cauliflower soup?
You can pretty much use whatever you have on hand. I prefer using a soft cheese like cheddar or colby jack.
Alternative Methods
Can you blend it all and then heat it up? We find that letting the ingredients cook together provides great flavors that canโt be replicated after the blending process. It may be a little more complicated this way but it gets the best flavor possible!
Crock Pot: Cheesy cauliflower soup can be made in the crock pot pretty easily. Put your veggies and broth in the crock pot and cook them on low for 4 hours. Then add in your flour and dairy products and cook on high for about an hour. After that blend it up with an immersion blender and season to taste.
Instant Pot: Add in your chopped cauliflower head(s), vegetables, chicken broth, and spices. Cook this on high pressure for 8 minutes. Use quick release and then mix in your heavy cream and cheese. Use your immersion blender and then youโre done!
Add-ins and Storing
Add any of these ingredients to your cheesy cauliflower soup for something extra!
- Crispy bacon pieces
- Croutons
- Green onions
- Broccoli florets
- Corn
STORE the soup in a tupperware container for up to 4 days. Donโt store until the soup is completely cooled! Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
TO FREEZE the soup, let it cool completely before placing it in ziploc bags. It will last for 3 months in the freezer. When defrosting, let it sit in the fridge overnight and then rewarm it in a saucepan on the stovetop. You may need to add a bit of water, broth, or cream to get it to the right texture.
For more cauliflower recipes, check out:
- Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie
- Jalapeno Popper Soup
- Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
- Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese
- Roasted Spring Vegetables
Cheesy Cauliflower Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 stalk celery - thinly sliced
- 2 carrots - julienned and cut into 1-inch strips (matchsticks)
- 2 shallots - minced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. coriander
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 large head cauliflower - or 2 small/medium heads, cut into florets
- 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 1 c. grated cheddar or colby jack cheese
- Freshly chopped parsley - optional garnish
Instructions
- In a large stockpot or dutch oven set over medium-low heat, add the butter. Once melted, add the celery and saute for 3 minutes, then add the carrot, shallot, and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the flour. Whisk the flour until it turns golden brown, taking care not to burn. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, whisking continuously until combined. Turn heat up to medium and bring to a simmer.
- Add the salt, garlic powder, pepper, coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Add the cauliflower, allow the soup to gently boil for 15 minutes, then remove 2 cups and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the mixture to the soup.
- Pour in the cream and continue to gently boil for an additional 10 minutes, then add the cheese and whisk to combine.
- Remove from the heat and garnish individual servings with parsley, if desired.
Hi, I made your soup and it was amazing! Instead of only pureeing 2 cups of the soup, I did all the soup. It was so creamy. Do you by any chance know the nutritional value of the soup? Thanks
Paulette
The NUTRITIONAL VALUE of the soup is at the end of the recipe and instructions.ย
Yum! Used shredded gouda cheese vegetable stockand vegan meatballs and 1 cup water.. didnt have any celery so used 5 asparagus stems.. was delicious.. ???
I used 3 small heads of the cut up colored cauliflowler and added the seasonings, butter and the 2 cups chicken broth . Let these come to a boil, then added spices, onion, carrots, garlic, a chopped jalapeno, then let it simmer for 15 minutes. Turned off stove and let the veggies sit while I took a can of cream of chicken soup and mixed it with a cup of milk, then put this in the microwave for 2 min then took it out stirred it added this mixture to the pot of veggies and repeated the same process can of cream chicken soup mixed with a cup of milk etc. Heated the pot for about 15 minutes on low, while I grated 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese with 1 cup of cooked chicken breast chunks I had bought at Kroger and added this to the pot and stirred it well with no heat. I did not reheat the mixture again, because I wanted some of the veggies to stay firm, but we each reheated our soup cup in the microwave. It sounds complicated, but once you make the soup it is similar to the recipe above. Delicious!!
This soup is amazing!! It took me closer to an hour and fifteen minutes to make, but Iโm a slow chopper. Will probably just buy pre-matchstick cut carrots next time. The flavor is great. Will definitely make again!ย
Glad you liked it!! Thank you for trying it & for letting me know!
I am on a diet where I could my calories. Do you know how many calories are 1 serving size of this soup?
I am sorry, I do not. If you have a way that you count the calories, you could add these up & then divide by maybe 5, since it yields 4-6 servings, then you’d have an individual calorie serving. I wish I did for you. Thank you!
My mom would always make cauliflower soup. It has become a favorite. I love how cheesy this is & that you’ve added carrots. They are nice additions!
So creamy and delicious! The flavor was so amazing! All my kids ate this…now thats a win, win! Adding it our recipe book!
Can this be frozen? ย It is delicious!
I personally haven’t tried freezing it, but it should! I just never have anything left to freeze.
Can you make this with almond flour instead?
I personally have not tried, but I don’t see why not. Might change the flavor just a tad.
This was delicious! I will definitely make again.ย
I am happy to hear that! I appreciate you letting me know ๐ Thank you!
Thank you. SO good! I didn’t have celery, so I used partly celery salt for the salt. Onions instead of shallots for the same reason. I made one-and-a-half recipes and feel rich having a lot left over after dinner tonight.
Great options! I am glad you liked it. Thank you for letting me know ๐
Noreen soup is delicious, it is a keeper thar I will make again, thanks for the recipe, I wonder how it would come out with broccoli!
Broccoli is a great idea! Happy you liked it! Thank you!
Hello ๐
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I have made it and it was awesome! Iโm wondering- Could this soup be made in a slow cooker?
You are so welcome! I am so glad you liked it! Yes, I would just have it on high for 3-4 hrs.
We recently received a gigantic head of cauliflower in our CSA delivery. I found this recipe and decided to give it a go. When we put the cauliflower in the poty husband thought we needed to add more broth but I looked back at your instructions to usw the largest head available so I moved forward without any changes. As it cooked down, all of the cauliflower was submerge I the broth and cooked perfectly. The end result is a delicious and hearty soup that even my husband who doesn’t like cauliflower loved! Thanks for a great recipe!
You are so welcome!! I am so glad you both liked it! Thank you!
Such a great easy tasteful recipe. I used half and half instead of cream and it was so delicious. I also used a vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. When I served the soup instead of a fresh parsley garnish I offered fresh baby spinach. It not only added color to the dish it added a great flavor. I also had some of the family enjoy adding a few homemade garlic croutons.
I am so happy you think so ๐ Thank you for sharing what you did!
Easy, except for the chopping. I will use my salad shooter next time for those carrots! It is really delicious, though I didn’t have chicken broth so used vegetable and no shallots, used scallions. I put extra carrot in and no cayenne because I don’t like it. Still yummy! Thanks!
You are welcome! That sounds great! Thank you for sharing what you did!
I followed the recipe as is and found it super delicious! Will be making this again and again! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
You are very welcome! I am happy you tried it & liked it! Thank you!