Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
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Cheesy Cauliflower Soup is super creamy, cheesy, and veggie packed. Made in less than 40 minutes and your whole family will love it!
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Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Cauliflower Cheese Soup is one you need to make this soup season! This blended soup is packed with veggies, lots of cheese, and flavor. It’s completely satisfying and makes for an easy dinner.
We blend together veggies, a roux (made of flour, butter, and milk), and cheese to get a super creamy, thick, and velvety textured soup. Only half of the soup gets blended so it’s still chunky and creamy at the same time. Serve this soup up for lunch or dinner with your favorite salad, sandwich, or protein.
If you love cooking with cauliflower, try my other cauliflower recipes: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, Cauliflower Pizza, and Loaded Cauliflower Bake.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Comforting cheesy soup: Who wouldn’t love cheese in their soup? The cheesy roux and potatoes make this soup extra creamy once it’s blended together creating a hearty soup.
- Budget-friendly: This is a simple budget-friendly soup, if you’re trying to lower the cost of your meals. You’ll only need a few veggies and pantry staples.
- Healthier soup: There are so many nutritional benefits of this soup since it’s packed with veggies. This is a delicious and easy way to get your veggies in!
- Easy recipe: You don’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen since it takes less than 40 minutes to make from start to finish.
Key Ingredients
- Cauliflower: We use a big head of cauliflower head and chop the cauliflower florets into small pieces so all the veggies are about the same size. This will help them cook quicker.
- Carrots & celery: Adds flavor and texture.
- Potatoes: I love Yukon gold potatoes because I love the flavor but Russet potatoes will also work well. The potatoes will add a creamy texture to the soup.
- Chicken broth: Reduced-sodium is always recommended so you can control the salt. You can also use vegetable broth instead.
- Onions & garlic: Adds flavor. We use 3 cloves garlic but feel free to add more.
- Olive oil: You can also use any type of neutral oil or butter.
- Herbs & seasoning: We use salt, black pepper, thyme, and rosemary to season and enhance the soup flavors. Use fresh or dried herbs.
- Butter, flour, & milk: Used to make the roux. The roux will make this soup extra creamy and thick. I recommend using whole milk for more flavor and thickness.
- Cheese: One of the key ingredients! Sharp cheddar cheese works best for the most flavor but you could also use white cheddar cheese. If you can, shred your own cheese so it gets extra melty. The pre-shredded stuff will work but the melt factor wont be the same.
How To Make Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Sauté onions and garlic: Heat a large pot or large saucepan, add the olive oil, garlic and onions. Sauté until onions are soft, about 2 minutes.
Add veggies and seasonings: Add the cauliflower, carrots, celery, potatoes, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until soft.
Make roux: In a medium pan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until it forms a paste. Slowly add in the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the cheese and continue to whisk together until the cheese is completely melted and a slightly thickened roux forms.
Add roux to soup: Slowly add the roux to the soup and stir until combined.
Blend soup: With an immersion blender, blend half of the soup together just until it has a thick and creamy texture. You could also transfer half of the soup to a regular blender, food processor, or blend with a handheld potato masher. Stir until the soup is completely blended together. There will be small chunks and the soup will thicken. Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
Add toppings: Top the soup with a little extra cheese and serve with fresh crusty bread or toasted baguette slices. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Variations
Vegan Soup: Use any type of nut milk instead of regular milk and use a vegan cheese. You can sub the butter for a vegan butter or use all olive oil instead. Swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
Prep veggies the day ahead: Chopping up and dicing all the veggies takes the longest amount of prep. Cut your veggies the day before you make the soup. If cutting the potatoes ahead of time, be sure to submerge them in water to store so they don’t turn brown.
Shred your own cheese: I always recommend shredding your own cheese for any recipe. It just tastes better than the packaged stuff and is so much cheesier when melted.
Chunky or creamy soup: You can blend the soup as much as you prefer. I blend half of the soup so it’s still creamy and slightly chunky.
Add spice: Add a couple splashes of your favorite hot sauce or add a teaspoon or two of chili powder or cayenne pepper.
Half cauliflower, half broccoli: Instead of using a full head of cauliflower, only use half and replace the other half with small broccoli pieces.
Healthier alternative: Use reduced fat milk instead of whole milk and you can use less cheese than what the recipe calls for or use low fat cheese.
Soup Toppings
This hot soup is delicious just as it is but if you wanted to add even more, these are some of my favorite soup toppings:
- Crispy bacon pieces
- Sliced green onions or chives
- A swirl of heavy cream (to make it extra creamy)
- Fresh herbs
- Hot pepper flakes
- Sour cream
- Additional cheese (shredded)
- Croutons
- Garlic bread
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover soup is always a great idea, especially when it’s cold out. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5-6 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this soup for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, simply thaw and reheat over the stove or microwave.
Other Delicious Soup Recipes
- Healthier Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- White Bean Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Homemade Vegetable Soup
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- French Onion Soup
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Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
Cauliflower Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 head cauliflower chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup Yukon gold potatoes diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried rosemary
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Roux
- 2 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- 2 tablespoons milk whole milk preferred
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large pot, add the olive oil, garlic and onions. Sauté until onions are soft, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower, carrots, celery, potatoes, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until soft.
- In a medium pan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until it forms a paste. Slowly add in the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the cheese and continue to whisk together until the cheese is completely melted and a slightly thickened roux forms.
- Slowly add the roux to the soup and stir until combined.
- With an immersion blender, blend half of the soup together just until it has a thick and creamy texture. You could also transfer half of the soup to a blender or blend with a handheld potato masher. Stir until the soup is completely blended together. There will be small chunks and the soup will thicken. Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Top the soup with more shredded cheese and serve with fresh bread or toasted baguette slices. Enjoy!
This is a great alternative to the typical broccoli cheddar soup. I like how it’s loaded with healthy veggies. A great comfort food for sure on a cool spring day.
This cheesy cauliflower soup was easy to make and full of flavor. It was a great pairing with some slider sandwiches.
All the cheese and flavors in this soup sounds delightful. I’m looking forward to trying it.
This was so cheese and creamy. My kids loved it too.