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This recipe for roasted cauliflower soup is a comforting and filling vegetarian meal that has a splash of cream for richness and a pinch of red paper flake for spice. Make a big batch to freeze and reheat for an easy dinner anytime!
This unbelievably rich roasted cauliflower soup starts with roasting two entire heads of cauliflower in the oven for lots of flavor and depth. Onions, garlic, vegetable stock and a pinch of red paper flakes are all pureed with the oven baked cauliflower until silky smooth!
Ingredients for this recipe
- Fresh Cauliflower
- Onion
- Garlic
- Veggie Stock
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Heavy Cream
The star of this vegetarian soup is definitely cauliflower. It contains two whole heads of the cruciferous vegetable! While I’m a huge proponent of frozen veggies and have a freezer stocked full with them, it’s absolutely essential to use the fresh stuff in this recipe. It just roasts better and has a better texture than the frozen stuff. Don’t waste money buying the precut stuff though! Learn how to trim and cut a fresh head of cauliflower below!
How to cut a head of cauliflower:
- Peel the green leaves off the outside. You may really have to pull on them, they can be quite stubborn!
- Cut around the core. Carefully! So carefully! It’s best to flip the cauliflower upside down and go in toward the core at a 45-degree angle. Hold the knife steady (it's important to use a sharp knife!), rotate the head of cauliflower around the cutting board, and cut up and down. This will save a lot of the edible cauliflower but get rid of the tough and inedible core. Simply discard the core.
- Break apart the florets. With the core gone, simply break apart the florets with your hands (you may have to cut the larger chunks with a knife) and you’re ready to roast!
Peel off the leaves and cut into the core. Remove the core. Break apart the florets. Cut the larger florets, if necessary.
Making Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Prep the cauliflower. You just learned how to do that above!
- Roast the cauliflower. In a hot, hot oven for 60ish minutes. Is there anything better than a pan of roasted veggies?
- Sauté the onion and garlic. Until soft. So easy!
- Add the stock and cauliflower. Put it all in the soup pot. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Bring the soup to a simmer. The cauliflower is already cooked, so this is just to marry all the flavors.
- Puree the soup. Either with an immersion blender or carefully in batches in a powerful blender.
- Stir in the cream. This really takes the soup up a notch! It is so velvety, creamy, and smooth. Unreal!
- Serve the soup! I like a little sprinkle of more red pepper flakes and a drizzle of garlic-infused olive oil. Yum!
Prep the cauliflower. Roast in a hot oven. Sauté the garlic and onion. Add the roasted cauliflower and stock then puree until smooth. Add in the cream. Stir together until smooth.
How to freeze soups with dairy
Here’s the long and short of it: don’t. If a soup recipe calls for dairy, but you intend on freezing the soup, it is always best to omit the dairy before freezing. Only add the dairy after it’s been frozen and thawed and you’ve begun the reheating process. Freezing soup with the dairy in it will cause the soup to separate and/or curdle. No one wants that!
But they will want another bowl of this delicious soup!
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or Soup Pot
- Rimmed Baking Sheet
- Immersion Blender
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 heads of cauliflower cleaned and cut into small chunks
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- Kosher Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- Red Pepper Flakes to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven while it preheats.
- Meanwhile, process the cauliflower heads, discarding the leaves and core and chopping it into chunks. (Learn how to in the post above.)
- Toss the cauliflower in a large bowl with 6 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Carefully pour onto the hot baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 60 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove cauliflower when it is golden brown and fork tender.
- Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoon olive oil. Stir in the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about another minute. Season with salt, to taste.
- Add the roasted cauliflower and vegetable stock to the Dutch oven. Increase heat to high and bring the soup to a simmer. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Remove soup from heat and puree. Do this either with an immersion blender directly in the pot or by carefully pureeing it in batches in a powerful kitchen blender.
- Stir in the cream. Serve with another pinch of red pepper flakes and a drizzle of garlic-infused olive oil if desired.
Notes
- To freeze the soup: make the recipe as stated above, omitting the cream. When thawing and reheating, stir in the cream until smooth and serve.
· by Amanda Gajdosik