This creamy Cauliflower Cheese Soup is rich, velvety, and full of flavor yet surprisingly light and wholesome! It’s a satisfying choice any time of year, perfect for when you’re craving something warm and comforting.
Make it a soup and sandwich night and add my Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwiches or BBQ Chicken Sliders to the menu!
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Although typically a cool month staple, I’ve been serving up a variety of my favorite soups on a weekly basis since spring. I’ve also been recipe testing my heart out and this Cauliflower Cheese Soup is one of the big winners.
My Broccoli Cheese Soup makes such a frequent appearance on my menu that I decided to tweak it a bit to work with cauliflower. And, it is a very good thing that I did!
Soup and sandwich night has become pretty much a once a week thing here. With all the strife in the world today, there’s something especially comforting about ending the day with a pot of homemade soup.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Vegetables: Diced carrot warms up the color of the soup but also adds a warm, slightly sweet flavor that blends perfectly with the cauliflower and onion.
- Milk: I wanted to keep this one on the lighter side so I used whole milk instead of heavy cream which makes a pretty significant difference in the fat and calorie count while still tasting pretty darned indulgent. To lighten up even further, feel free to substitute all or part of the whole milk with 2%.
- Cheese: We have cheese (yes!) but just enough sharp cheddar to add richness and flavor without making it overly cheesy.
- Broth: Use a low-sodium chicken broth or opt for vegetable broth for a vegetarian soup.
- Seasoning: This is a simply seasoned soup so the flavor of the ingredients can really shine. A shake of hot sauce and some freshly ground black pepper add a nice kick. Add as much of each to suit your taste and set them out when you serve so people can add more if they’d like.
- Hot sauce: Completely optional, but we like this soup with a little zip from some Tabasco.
Once trimmed, my large 3 pound head of cauliflower yielded about 2 pounds of florets which is more than you need for this recipe. You can opt to buy cauliflower florets already trimmed and bagged so you know exactly how much you are buying but one good-sized head of cauliflower should be plenty to yield the 1½ pounds of florets you will need.
How to Make Cauliflower Cheese Soup
This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- In a Dutch oven, cook the onions and carrots in melted butter until the carrots are fork tender and the onion is translucent. Add salt, parsley, and garlic and cook and stir for another minute.
- Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes (see below for gluten-free instructions). Then, slowly pour in low-sodium chicken broth, stirring as you add it..
- Turn up the and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 or 3 minutes until it begins to slightly thicken.
- Add cauliflower florets and return to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low and place the cover on the Dutch oven. Cook for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor, returning to the Dutch oven when you reach the desired consistency.
- Return the pot to the stove and add whole milk and simmer for 5 minutes over low heat.
- Add the shredded cheddar cheese and cook and stir until the cheese is completely melted.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and a few shakes of hot sauce, if desired. Garnish the soup with a little chopped fresh parsley and it’s ready to serve! Set out your pepper grinder and a bottle of hot sauce (like Tabasco) and let everyone season their soup how they’d like.
Make it Gluten-Free
It’s easy to make a gluten-free Cauliflower Cheese Soup by using cornstarch as a thickener. Omit the flour and instead make a slurry by whisking 2 tablespoons cornstarch into the milk until smooth before adding it to the pot. Cook and stir until thickened.
Storage and Reheating Tips
Refrigerate: Transfer cooled leftover soup to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 4 days. Since there is a good amount of dairy in this recipe, I wouldn’t recommend freezing it as the texture may become a bit grainy when it is thawed and reheated.
Reheating: Reheat gently on the stove over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the cheese from separating. Add a splash of milk or broth if needed to thin it out. Or, pop it in the microwave and cook it in short intervals, stirring in between, just until warmed through.
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Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, or to taste
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth for vegetarian
- 1½ pounds fresh cauliflower florets, from one good-sized head of cauliflower
- 1½ cups whole milk, can use 2% milk for a lighter soup
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- a few shakes of hot sauce, like Tabasco, optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over MEDIUM heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring for a few minutes until carrots are fork tender and the onion is translucent. Add ½ teaspoon salt, the parsley, and the garlic and cook and stir for another minute.
- Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring as you add it. Increase the heat to MEDIUM-HIGH and and cook the mixture until it comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to LOW and simmer for about 2 or 3 minutes or until it begins to slightly thicken.
- Add the cauliflower and return to a low boil. Reduce the heat to LOW and place the cover on the Dutch oven. Cook for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is very tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor, returning to the Dutch oven when you reach the desired consistency.
- Return the pot to the stove and over LOW heat, add the milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cheese and cook and stir until the cheese is completely melted. Add remaining ½ teaspoon salt and taste. Season with additional salt, if needed, freshly ground black pepper, and a few shakes of hot sauce, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
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Please provide how much is in each serving. Thanks
Hi Jill. The recipe serves 8 so the nutrition details are calculated for 1/8 of the total amount. Sorry I can’t provide an exact measurement.