As soon as the weather turns cool, I get obsessed with this creamy roasted cauliflower soup recipe! This healthy cauliflower soup is velvety smooth, full of flavor, and the hands-on cooking time is short, so I can prep the main dish for dinner while I wait. If you’ve had any of my keto cauliflower dishes, you know that I’m a big fan of roasting cauliflower before using it in recipes. I love the extra flavor that roasting imparts without adding much extra work. Plus, cauliflower is keto friendly. But you certainly don’t have to be low carb to love this creamy roasted cauliflower soup! It’s delicious for just about anyone… even my kids love it.
What Is Roasted Cauliflower Soup?
Roasted cauliflower soup is a soup that’s made of pureed roasted cauliflower. The roasting step adds a lot of flavor, and it’s the best way to make it, in my opinion. If you want an easier version that doesn’t require roasting the cauliflower separately, try cauliflower cheese soup instead.
Healthy Cauliflower Soup Ingredients
This section explains how to choose the ingredients for the best cauliflower soup, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Cauliflower – You’ll need about 6 cups of florets, so choose a large head, or two smaller ones.Olive oil – For roasting the cauliflower. Avocado oil works fine, as well.Garlic – Fresh minced garlic cloves have the best flavor, but the pre-minced kind from a jar works, too.Fresh thyme – Adds flavor! Feel free to experiment with other herbs here; rosemary, chives, or Italian seasoning also work well. If you replace the fresh thyme with any type of dried herbs, use 1 teaspoon dried herbs in place of 1 tablespoon fresh herbs.Chicken broth – You can use chicken bone broth for extra richness, or regular chicken broth. Vegetable broth works as well, for a vegetarian option.Cream cheese – This is what makes the cauliflower soup creamy! Cut it into small cubes to melt into the soup more easily. If needed, you can use a dairy-free cream cheese, or sub coconut cream, though the flavor will be different.Black pepper
How To Make Cauliflower Soup On The Stove
This section shows how to make the best cauliflower soup with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Season cauliflower. Cut your cauliflower head into florets. Place them in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.Roast. Roast the cauliflower in the oven, until tender and browned.
Saute aromatics. For this naturally keto cauliflower soup, we’re using a combination of garlic and fresh thyme. It only needs a minute to bring out the flavors. Sauteing makes a big difference, so it tastes like roasted cauliflower and garlic soup, but the cauliflower is still dominant.
TIP: You can use butter instead of oil for extra flavor. Since you only saute the garlic and herbs for a minute, the butter won’t get the chance to burn.
Simmer. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Blend. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.
TIP: If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the soup in batches in a regular blender, and then return to the pot.
Make it creamy. Add chunks of cream cheese to the soup, then blend again. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
TIP: Save a few roasted cauliflower florets from the pot before you blend it to use as a garnish. They add an extra burst of flavor and texture!
How To Make Cauliflower Soup In A Crock Pot
Want to make this healthy roasted cauliflower soup recipe in the Crock Pot? You definitely can, though it’s not a huge time saver here since you’d still need to roast the cauliflower. Here is how:
Roast the cauliflower (same as above).Saute the garlic and herbs (same as above). You could also skip this step, but the flavor is better if you do it.Slow cook. Add roasted cauliflower, aromatics mixture, and broth to the Crock Pot, and cook for 3-4 hours on Low.Add the cream cheese at the end using the immersion blender, just as you would on the stove top.
Things You Can Add
I kept this cauliflower soup recipe simple, with just six ingredients, but you can also change it up by adding any of these ingredients:
Onions – Saute them with the aromatics.Bacon – If you have already cooked bacon in the oven, air fryer bacon, or microwave bacon, you an simply chop it up and add it to the soup. If you don’t have any ready to go, cook raw bacon in the dutch oven on the stove, before sauteing the aromatics. Then, you can use the bacon grease in place of oil.Other vegetables – Try carrot or celery. Saute them for a few minutes with the aromatics. If you don’t want them pureed, remove them before adding the cauliflower, then add back in at the end.Lemon – Lemon zest or lemon juice can be added at the end to brighten up the flavors.Add heat – Try crushed red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or cayenne pepper.
This roasted cauliflower soup recipe is super simple and straightforward, but here are answers to some common questions to make it perfect…
How to make cauliflower soup creamy?
We use cream cheese to make this cauliflower soup creamy! If you like, you can also make it creamy by adding heavy cream or coconut cream instead, but it will be slightly thinner than using cream cheese.
What herbs go with cauliflower soup?
This cauliflower soup recipe uses fresh thyme, but you could also use rosemary, chives (best added at the end for garnish), or Italian seasoning.
How to thicken cauliflower soup?
This low carb cauliflower soup doesn’t need any thickeners — it’s naturally thickened. The pureed cauliflower makes the soup nice and thick.
How do you fix bland cauliflower soup?
With garlic, thyme, chicken broth, and cream cheese, this soup already has lots of flavor and should not be bland. But, if you want to take it up a notch, try the ideas for additions in the section above.
Storage Instructions
Store the soup in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Can I make it ahead?
You can definitely make low carb cauliflower soup ahead of time. Alternatively, you can also roast the cauliflower ahead of time, so that the day you make it, all you have to do is simmer the vegetables and blend it until smooth.
Can I freeze cauliflower soup?
Yes, you can freeze healthy roasted cauliflower soup! Because this soup contains dairy (from the cream cheese), I would recommend leaving the cream cheese out when you freeze it. When you’re ready to eat, you can reheat the soup and blend in the cream cheese. Alternatively, if you have leftover soup, you could freeze it and then when you reheat the soup, plan on running it through the blender before eating to ensure it’s nice and creamy. Before you freeze the soup, let it cool completely. Then, transfer it to a freezable container (glass or plastic) or freezer bag.
Reheating instructions:
Reheat this healthy cauliflower soup recipe on the stove over medium heat. If it separates, puree with an immersion blender again to bring it back together.
What To Serve With Cauliflower Soup
What goes with cauliflower soup? You can serve healthy breads, or a main dish and/or salad to make it a complete meal. Here are some serving ideas:
Asparagus Stuffed Chicken90 Second BreadMarinated Artichoke SaladPan Seared Salmon
More Healthy Cauliflower Recipes
Whole Roasted CauliflowerCauliflower Potato SaladEasy Cauliflower RiceLoaded Cauliflower Casserole
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