Creamy and comforting cauliflower soup is light and healthy with a touch of decadence. A touch of cream and crispy bacon will make you think you’re eating something much more fattening than you actually are!
Can you believe it’s the end of September already? Time is just flying by! I’ve said before that the end of summer/beginning of fall is my favorite time to make soups. You still have access to a lot of fresh vegetables and it’s a great time to fill your freezer with a variety of soups for the winter!
My freezer is currently home to my kale and sausage noodle soup and now it’s joined by this creamy cauliflower soup! Later this week there will also be potato soup in the mix – yum! I love doing this now so that whenever I need a quick lunch or dinner on a cold day, I’m good to go.
I’m sure many of you may be wrinkling your nose at the sound of cauliflower soup, but trust me – it’s really good! I love cauliflower, but I think even those of you who don’t will enjoy this soup. It’s basically the same method as my potato soup, but with cauliflower instead.
This year’s cauliflower crop was definitely a good one – our plants yielded enormous heads of cauliflower! The photo below is one of the first heads picked and clocked in at just over 5 pounds. We had some as big as 8 pounds, though! 1 head is equivalent to roughly 3 or 4 heads that you would find in the grocery store. Crazy, right?
Now, let’s make some soup!
This recipe is really straightforward and quick to make – crisp up your bacon, sauté the veggies, thicken and add the liquids, and then season and puree. The whole process takes just over 30 minutes and you can make this one completely ahead.
The best part of this soup, in my opinion, is that it’s not only delicious, but healthy too! It’s packed full of veggies and just like in my potato soup I use mostly chicken broth, which cuts down on the fat and calories.
To keep things creamy, I used a cup of low-fat milk and then right at the end I add a small amount of cream. It ends up being less than a tablespoon of cream per serving, but it’s just enough to give the soup some richness. However, you can skip the cream if you really want to. I’ve tasted the soup without the cream and I just think it’s missing something, so I like to add it!
I like to top the soup off with crispy bacon and fresh chives – it just kicks things up a notch. Again, if you want to you can skip the bacon, but I don’t recommend that!
I made this cauliflower soup last week and have eaten 3 bowls throughout the week. I think I’ll be making it again soon to replenish my freezer. If you like potato soup, give this one a try – the cauliflower version is delicious!
- 6 Slices Bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Carrots, finely chopped
- 2 Stalks Celery, finely chopped
- 1 Head Cauliflower,cut into small florets
- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons Gluten-Free Flour Blend
- 7 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Cup Low-Fat Milk (Skim or 1%)
- ¼ Cup Heavy Cream
- 1/8 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, optional
- Reserved Crumbled Bacon and Chives, for serving
- Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Pour off any excess grease from the pan and add the olive oil. Next, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes or until soft, and then season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cauliflower and sauté for 8-10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the chicken broth, being sure to work out any lumps from the flour. Pour in the milk and bring the soup to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Puree the soup to desired consistency.*
- Stir in the heavy cream and the cayenne pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the reserved crumbled bacon and fresh chives.
- *Note: I like to use an emersion blender to puree about half of the soup. I like it to be creamy, but still have whole pieces of cauliflower. You can choose to puree it completely, or not at all.
- You can use a blender or food processor if you don’t have an emersion blender, but allow the soup to cool before using those methods.
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