This creamy, cheesy cauliflower soup is loaded with cheddar cheese, and is ready to serve in around 30 minutes if you have a high speed blender to purée it. If not, no worries, just use an immersion blender to make it a rustic, slightly chunky soup.
As a bonus, no flour is needed as a thickener for this soup thanks to the pectin (yes, pectin!) in the cauliflower, so it's gluten free! Pectin, as all you jam makers know, is a natural thickener.
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When the weather is chilly, creamy cheesy soups hit the spot. I make this Way Better Than Panera Broccoli and Cheddar Soup all winter long, and when spring is right around the corner (even if there's still snow on the ground), I crave this creamy keto asparagus soup. And now I've added this creamy, cheesy cauliflower soup to my rotation.
Simple soups of puréed veggies is best when I'm in a hurry too. The above asparagus soup is in that group, as well as this sweet potato and carrot soup. The sweet potato makes the soup sooooo silky!
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This soup only needs 10 minutes of prep. Since the soup is puréed, both the cauliflower and onion can be coarsely chopped. No fancy, precision prep required.
- Cauliflower cooks quickly, so you only need to simmer the soup for 20 minutes, making this a 30 minute recipe.
- You'll get 14 grams of protein and only 11 net grams of carbs per serving (once you back out the fiber from the total carbohydrates calculation.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. Shortcut store-bought options and ingredients you can make ahead and save in the refrigerator can turn a dish that takes 60 (or more) minutes to make into a 30 minute meal or less.
For the all of the ingredients, measurements and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Cauliflower
- Yellow onion
- Vegetable broth - I use Better Than Bouillon - Roasted Vegetable Paste
- Heavy cream
- Cheddar cheese - mild or sharp cheddar is fine, depending on how cheesy you want the flavor of the soup.
- Parmesan cheese
- Dried mustard powder - I highly recommend Colman's Mustard Powder
- Dried oregano
- Dried Chili flakes - any dried red pepper flakes are fine in this recipe, but I do like these that I order online.
- Worcestershire sauce - be sure to use Annie's Worcestershire Sauce to keep this soup vegetarian.
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🔪 Recommended Equipment
- Chef's knife
- Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot
- Countertop blender or immersion blender (depending on how smooth you like your soup)
- Cheese grater
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this cheesy cauliflower soup are in the recipe card below, but here's a quick overview!
Step 1
Cook the cauliflower. Simmer the cauliflower and onion in butter until tender. Add the broth and simmer. Add the broth and bring back to a simmer.
Step 2
Purée. Depending on how smooth you prefer your soup, either use an immersion blender (if you like your soup still a little chunky) or pile it all into a countertop blender and purée until smooth.
Step 3
Finish the soup. Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the rosemary olive oil. Stir until the cheese is completely melted into the soup.
Step 4
Serve. Serve with a drizzle of rosemary olive oil and coarsely ground black pepper.
👩🍳 Why This Recipe Works
Cauliflower has pectin in its florets and stems, which as jam makers know, is a natural thickener. This goes into action when cauliflower florets are simmered until softened, and then whipped up in a blender with a stream of olive oil.
This allows you to eliminate a roux in many recipes for thickening a sauce, or in this case, a soup. You can tailor it to your taste preferences too, since cauliflower has such a mild flavor. For example, I added curry to the cauliflower sauce in the this romanesco pasta recipe with great success.
⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- If you make your own rosemary olive oil, make it at least a few hours in advance, and ideally the previous day.
- Purchase cauliflower florets already separated. Many grocery stores sell them this way in sealed plastic bags.
👩🍳 Preparation Tips
- After the cream is added, be careful not to bring the soup to a boil. It shouldn't reach more than barely a simmer.
- Cauliflower has a very mild flavor and is easily overwhelmed. If you adjust any of the ingredients, taste the soup as you go to make sure you retain the cauliflower taste as well as cheese and other ingredients.
- When reheating this soup as a leftover, it may be thicker than it was when you first cooked it. Just thin it with water to gain the consistency you prefer.
💡Ideas for Possible Variations
- Other cheeses that are great for melting work in the soup as well, if you want to swap out the cheddar. Good examples are Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Fontina.
- Use half and half in place of the heavy cream.
- Instead of finishing the soup with a drizzle of rosemary olive oil, top the soup with truffle oil, balsamic tomatoes, or maybe a dusting of gremolata breadcrumbs or roasted chickpeas for some crunch.
🥬 Make it Vegan
- Swap out the cream for an extra cup of vegetable broth.
- Use plant-based cheeses.
- Use a vegan butter or 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for the unsalted butter.
🤷♀️ Cheesy Cauliflower Soup FAQ
Can I freeze this soup?
No. I don't recommend freezing soups with milk or cream in them. When they thaw, there's a lot of risk that the milk / cream will separate. It's best to pour leftover soup into jars and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
What's the best way to purée this soup?
There are at least 3 ways to purée this cauliflower cheddar soup:
- Immersion blender - this is the most convenient way, since you can do it right in the pot. It's ideal for rustic soups that still have some veggie chunks in them.
- Powerful high-speed blender - this requires transferring the soup to the blender, but gives you a very smooth soup in about 40 seconds.
- Large powerful food processor - this method requires transferring the soup to the bowl of the food processor. It will like take a few batches to purée all of the soup, and it will take a much longer time that the blender.
Purée the soup before adding the cream and cheeses.
What cheeses are the best to use in a cauliflower cheese soup?
A wide variety of cheese work well, but a soft cheese that melts great is always best. I can recommend Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby Jack, Fontina, and obviously cheddar cheese.
I use a sharp cheddar cheese, but mild cheddar is fine. Extra-sharp cheddar may overwhelm the cauliflower flavor.
Don't you need to make a roux with flour to thicken a creamy cauliflower soup?
No. The florets of cauliflower have pectin in them, which is a natural thickener. That makes this soup gluten free!
Can I make this soup in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker?
I haven't done it, but there's no reason it shouldn't work great using either cooking method.
Don't have time to run to the grocery store? Order the ingredients for this recipe using Instacart (affiliate link). Just click on the Instacart button in the recipe card below, and the ingredients will all be organized for you on their site. Plug in your zip code, choose the store you prefer, and select the ingredients you want delivered to your home.
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Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds cauliflower, very coarsely chopped (10 - 12 cups when chopped up)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (Use Annie's Worcestershire sauce to keep this soup vegetarian)
- ½ teaspoon dried mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
- 4 teaspoons Rosemary olive oil
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, or other heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and add the coarsely chopped cauliflower and diced onion. Toss to coat, cover and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the broth, and bring back to a simmer for 5 minutes. For a puréed texture, pile it all into a high-speed blender and purée. This shouldn't take more than 45 seconds.Return the soup back to the pot.
- Stir in the grated cheeses, salt, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, oregano and dried red flakes. Stir until the cheeses are melted into the soup. Correct for any seasoning.
- Serve with a drizzle of Rosemary Olive Oil and coarsely cracked black pepper.
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