Total Time: 45 minutes
Published: October 3, 2022
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This tasty Roasted Cauliflower Soup features crispy browned cauliflower, butter-sauteed garlic, and extra sharp cheddar cheese for the ultimate flavor! The whole thing comes together in less than 40 minutes and will please the entire family.
If soup is your thing, you’ll be glad I mentioned Best Ever Broccoli Cheese Soup, Easy Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup, Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, and Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo.
Why This Recipe Works
Comforting: So by now you know my affinity for all things comfort food. This includes soup. All the soups. This soup is creamy, dreamy and comforting when you need to warm your belly in the chillier weather! Plus, this cauliflower soup is easy to double (or triple), freezes well, and is quick to put together.
Packed with Veggies: I really hope I didn’t lose you at “cauliflower.” I realize you might be sick of hearing about cauliflower substitutions, but I’m not giving you this recipe under the guise of it being something else. It’s simply a delicious, nutritious recipe that’s great for vegetarians and loved by meat-eaters alike. It’s creamy, savory, filling, heartwarming, and, best of all, good for you!
Flavorful: Even though this recipe is healthy, it doesn’t skimp on the flavor! The roasted cauliflower, sautéed garlic, cream and cheese all combine to make a flavor packed soup! You can eat this soup alone or have it with a sandwich or fall based salad!
Ingredients for Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Cauliflower- I used 2 heads of cauliflower for this recipe. You’ll want to cut them into about 6 cups of florets.
- Butter– Butter is needed in order to saute the garlic and then cook the flour.
- Garlic– Fresh, minced garlic is best for this recipe.
- Flour– This will be used to thicken your soup.
- Chicken Broth– You can switch this out for veggie broth for a vegetarian soup!
- Half & Half– I used fat free half & half to cut back on the fat, but regular half & half would do great as well.
- Heavy Cream– You also need some heavy cream to make this soup extra creamy and flavorful.
- Cheddar Cheese– For this recipe, you should use freshly grated cheddar cheese. Don’t use the pre-shredded stuff since it has some ingredients that prevent it from sticking together, it is more difficult to melt fully in this soup.
- Parmesan Cheese– Parmesan cheese adds some nice flavor in addition to the cheddar cheese. This should also be freshly grated.
- To season: Onion Powder and Salt & Pepper
Here’s How You Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Arrange the cauliflower florets onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Generously season the cauliflower with salt and pepper, and cook in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until browned.
- While cauliflower is roasting, melt butter in a large stock pot on medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the flour and stir to combine.
- Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, then add the half & half and heavy cream. Stir in the onion powder, salt & pepper.
- Add the cauliflower to the pot. Using an immersion blender, blend to the desired consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender and blend in batches.
- Stir in the shredded cheeses until completely melted and incorporated into the soup. Add salt to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- This soup is the perfect to pair with sandwiches and salads! Try it paired with my Chopped Autumn Salad or my Autumn Harvest Chicken Salad.
- Roasted cauliflower soup is great to freeze and have for later. Once it’s cooled, place it in a gallon resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready, take it out and thaw it in the fridge for a few hours before placing it in a pot on low heat.
- If you are into spice, try adding a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes or even top it with a little hot sauce before serving!
Frequently Asked Questions
Although this soup is already vegetarian, you might want to make it without animal products all together. To do this, you’ll need to swap out the butter, chicken broth, half & half, heavy cream and cheese for vegan-friendly foods.
Here’s what I would suggest: swap out the butter for coconut oil. Vegetable broth can easily be substituted for chicken broth, and instead of half & half and heavy cream, I would use coconut milk for both. To ensure the soup is creamy, put two cans of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge for about an hour. When you open the cans, you’ll be able to skim off the creamier/thicker part of the coconut milk to use as your creamy base. Save the rest of the milk in case you want to thin out the soup later on. Or, you can use dairy-free half & half.
For the cheese, use a vegan cheese substitute (although it may be a little gritty), or try using half a cup of nutritional yeast to get that nutty, cheesy flavor.
Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable related to the broccoli family. It provides antioxidants that help prevent cancer. The fiber in cauliflower helps regulate your digestive system, and the choline it contains is great for your brain’s memory and learning. Cauliflower is also great at keeping your bones strong and acting as a heart helper.
It is also low in calories and can provide nearly 80% of your daily needs for vitamin C, 20% for vitamin K, and 10% for vitamin B6 and folate.
If your cauliflower is starting to turn brown, that means it’s starting to go bad. You can cut the bad parts off if it’s just a little bit. But if you let the brown spots go, they will eventually seep deeper into the vegetable, softening the consistency and eventually turning black. My advice is to give it a little peek everyday or every other day and if you start to see any browning, it’s time to cook that baby up!
More Recipes You’ll Love
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
This tasty Roasted Cauliflower Soup features crispy browned cauliflower, butter-sauteed garlic, and extra sharp cheddar cheese for the ultimate flavor! The whole thing comes together in less than 40 minutes and will please the entire family.
Servings: 6 servings
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange cauliflower on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, toss to coat, then season generously with salt and pepper. Cook in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until browned.
-
While cauliflower is roasting, melt butter in a large stock pot. Add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add flour and stir until combined.
-
Gradually whisk in chicken broth, then add half and half and heavy cream. Stir in onion powder, salt, and pepper.
-
Add cauliflower to the pot. Use an immersion blender (or regular blender, in batches) to blend to desired consistency.
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Stir in shredded cheeses until completely melted and incorporated into the soup. Taste, add salt and pepper if needed, and serve.
Notes
Use freshly grated cheese, NOT pre-shredded as it does not melt as well as freshly shredded and will give the soup a gritty texture.
Nutrition
Calories: 730 kcal, Carbohydrates: 27 g, Protein: 27 g, Fat: 59 g, Saturated Fat: 32 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 169 mg, Sodium: 2274 mg, Potassium: 1099 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 5 g, Vitamin A: 1698 IU, Vitamin C: 112 mg, Calcium: 729 mg, Iron: 2 mg
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