Creamy cauliflower soup is the perfect healthy recipe for when you need a quick nutritious meal and a helping of something that's warm and comforting. This cauliflower soup recipe has no stodgy ingredients or full fat cream but still provides rich and creamy flavours from its caramelised shallots and fluffy cauliflower. Its made with just a few simple and healthy ingredients and can be on the table in under 30 minutes.
3large banana shallotsor 6 small (150g) roughly diced
1medium cauliflower600g leaves removed and chopped into small florets
½teaspoonground nutmeg
450mlvegetable stock
300mlsemi skimmed milk
Seasoning and crusty bread to serve
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add a clove of finely chopped garlic and 150g of roughly chopped shallots. Fry gently until soft.
Recipe tip: for extra flavour, fry the shallots in the pan until caramelised
Next, add the cauliflower florets and half a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
Then pour in 450ml of veg stock and 300ml of semi skimmed milk.
Gently bring the soup to the boil and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a processor and blend until smooth.
Recipe tip: Add the chunky parts of the soup to the processor first and gradually add the liquid as you blend. Add more liquid to thin out the soup and stop when you reach your desired consistency.
Return the soup to the pan to reheat if necessary, then taste and season.
Recipe tip: For a super smooth soup blend for an extra 2 minutes and then pass soup through a sieve.
Serve in bowls with crusty bread.
Video
Notes
How to make cauliflower cheese soup
For cauliflower cheese soup follow the recipe above and after blending return the soup to the pan. Gently reheat the soup and add 50g of grated cheddar (or your preferred hard cheese. Stir well until the cheese has fully melted. For an extra kick stir in a teaspoon of mustard or serve with a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
How to make spicy cauliflower soup
Cauliflower is a great vegetable for taking on other flavours and will soak up spices like a sponge. To make a spicy or curry-flavoured cauliflower soup follow the recipe above but coat the cauliflower with spices before adding to the pan. For a spicy kick first coat the uncooked cauliflower florets in half tablespoon oil then mix: 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, and ½ teaspoon hot chilli powder. For something a little milder with more of a curry flavour, mix with: 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon curry powder, ½ teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon ground coriander. Curried cauliflower soup is great served with freshly baked naan bread. Its also ideal for bulking out with moroccan ingredients like chickpeas: spicedcauliflower and chickpea soup.
How to make vegan cauliflower soup
To make this recipe vegan, simply replace the milk with plant milk (i.e. - almond milk) or remove the milk completely and replace with extra vegetable stock.
How to make roasted cauliflower soup
To make roasted cauliflower soup, simply coat the raw cauliflower florets in oil (and spices if you like) then roast on a tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are just starting to char. Then continue with the recipe above, the only difference being that you will only need to simmer the soup for 10 minutes, rather than 20 minutes, before blending.
How to make cauliflower soup creamy
To make cream of cauliflower soup simply return your soup to the pan after blending and gently reheat. Once its piping hot remove from the heat and stir in 150ml of double cream, then serve. Alternatively you could stir in 3 tablespoon of soured cream (particularly good if you've made the spicy or curried cauliflower soup), or replace the milk in this recipe with a can of coconut milk for a creamy cauliflower and coconut soup - delicious.
Can you freeze cauliflower soup?
Cauliflower soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once your soup is fully cooled transfer to sealable containers and pop into the freezer. Defrost thoroughly before reheating, either on the side for a few hours or in the microwave for 5 - 10 minutes with lid removed. Then gently reheat in a pan until the soup just about boils.