Go ahead and add roasted cauliflower soup to your menu for this week. Bursting with flavor from caramelized cauliflower and earthy spices like turmeric and cumin, this cauliflower soup is vegetarian, gluten-free and low in carbohydrates.
For this creamy cauliflower soup recipe, I season tender roasted cauliflower with a foursome of my favorite spices: paprika, sumac, turmeric, and cumin.
When cauliflower is coated in olive oil and warming spices then roasted in the oven it transforms from a vegetable with sharp bitter backnotes to a tender, caramelized explosion of flavor, texture, and color.
It works beautifully in recipes like my roasted cauliflower salad and spicy cauliflower and tahini dip, but one of my favorite ways to use roasted cauliflower is in soup.
When blended, cauliflower assumes a velvety texture which gives you that creamy mouthfeel without the cream. For this recipe, I blend roasted cauliflower with vegetable broth until the soup is almost smooth. I still like having a few cauliflower pieces to sink my teeth into! Whole milk adds richness, and a generous amount of fresh dill and lemon juice bring the flavors together.
This soup is budget-friendly, easy-to-make, nutritious, and sure to satisfy the whole family!
Table of Contents
Ingredients you’ll need for cauliflower soup
No bland cauliflower soup here! With onions, garlic, and plenty of warm spices, this soup will wow your tastebuds! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Cauliflower: Cut two heads into florets to prepare them for roasting. Nutrition-packed cauliflower is known for its antioxidants and antiinflammatory benefits.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I like a medium-intensity oil here, like our Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil.
- Aromatics: You’ll need 1 chopped onion and 5 chopped garlic cloves.
- Spices: Talk about flavor! We use paprika, cumin, sumac, and turmeric, all of which can be found in our online store.
- Broth: A low-sodium vegetable broth works well.
- Whole milk: Milk is a lighter option than heavy cream, and it makes the soup perfectly creamy. You can also leave it out to make this soup vegan.
- Lemon juice: Squeeze some lemon juice over the soup at the very end to instantly lift the earthy flavors.
- Fresh dill: Add the dill along with the lemon juice to give the soup a fresh herbal element.
Tips for the best cauliflower soup
Soup is a beloved family meal for a reason: It’s easy to make, feeds a crowd and is generally on the healthy side. This soup checks all of those boxes and then some. Follow a few simple tips for making roasted cauliflower soup then apply them to the other soup recipes in your rotation.
- Roast the cauliflower: This soup begins with perfectly roasted cauliflower. I like to roast the cauliflower on high, long enough to achieve super tender, and nicely caramelized (even charred) florets. Trust me when I say roasted cauliflower is on a different flavor level than steamed or raw cauliflower.
- Start a flavor party! This soup has a rich flavor profile. Roasting the cauliflower is the first step in developing that flavor, and we build on it with aromatics like onion and garlic, and a foursome of earthy spices.
- Keep it rustic. While I am all about a velvety soup, like my butternut squash soup or carrot soup, I find that leaving this particular soup with a few cauliflower chunks makes it all the more special. You get to enjoy individual pieces of that sweet, charred roasted cauliflower. I use an immersion blender to control the texture of this cauliflower soup, and if you prefer an ultra-smooth soup, feel free to blend it until you reach your desired consistency.
- Don’t forget the finishing touches! This might sound surprising, but a splash of lemon juice and a handful of fresh dill added right at the end elevates this soup in the best way possible. They bring balance and brightness, which makes this cauliflower soup recipe so much more exciting!
Soup and salad: A classic combo
For my family, nothing more is needed alongside this soup than some crisp-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside focaccia bread or a rustic crusty bread. I sometimes add a salad like my orange beet salad or lemony arugula salad.
Vegan cauliflower soup
The main liquids in this cauliflower soup are low-sodium vegetable broth and whole milk. The milk gives the soup its creaminess.
If you're looking to make a dairy-free or vegan version of this cauliflower soup, simply swap the whole milk out for an unsweetened, unflavored plant-based creamer or milk such as cashew milk or coconut milk.
The flavor profile will change slightly — you might taste more sweetness coming through — but the spices in this soup will still work beautifully. You can also leave the milk out altogether (dairy and non-dairy alike) and increase the vegetable broth.
How to store and reheat leftover soup
If you have leftovers, let the roasted cauliflower soup cool completely, then store in the fridge in tight-lid glass containers for 3 to 4 days.
To reheat: Warm leftover soup in a saucepan set over medium heat, stirring often. Take care not to let it come to a boil.
Can you freeze cauliflower soup?
Soups that contain milk or cream won't hold up so well in your freezer. They tend to develop an unappetizing grainy texture and separate when defrosted.
So, if you plan to prepare this soup ahead of time and freeze it, omit the milk. Then, when you reheat the soup, add the milk. When I do this I just write, “Add milk” on a piece of tape and put it on the lid of my freezer-safe container.
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Roasted Cauliflower Soup without Cream
Ingredients
- 2 heads of cauliflower, cut into florets
- Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 ½ teaspoon Sweet Spanish paprika
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground sumac
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ lemon, juice of
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Place cauliflower florets on a large sheet pan (use two sheets if you need to.) Sprinkle cauliflower with salt and pepper and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil. Toss to coat. Spread evenly on sheet pan. Roast in 425°F-heated oven for 45 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender and caramelized in some parts, turning over midway through. Remove from oven.
- In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and sauté onion, over medium heat, until translucent. Add chopped garlic and spices. Stir for a brief few seconds until fragrant.
- Now add ¾ the amount of roasted cauliflower (reserve the rest of the florets for later.) Stir to coat cauliflower well with the spices, then add vegetable broth and water.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Cover part-way and let simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Uncover and remove from heat momentarily. Using and immersion blender, blend cauliflower and liquid until you achieve desired smoothness (I keep mine a bit on the chunky side).
- Return to a medium heat and stir in the whole milk (or plant-based milk), and lemon juice. Then stir in the remainder of roasted cauliflower florets you reserved earlier. Cook briefly so that the soup is all warmed through. Test and adjust salt as needed.
- Finally, stir in the chopped dill.
- Serve hot with your favorite crusty whole wheat bread.
Video
Notes
- Pro Tip. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or a regular blender. So for step #6, you can carefully transfer the cauliflower and cooking liquid to a food processor or blender. Pulse or blend to achieve desired smoothness, and then return to the cooking pot and follow remaining instructions.
- Pro Tip for Dairy-Free or Vegan. If you're looking to make a dairy-free or vegan version of this cauliflower soup, simply swap that out for an unsweetened, plant-based creamer or milk such as cashew milk or coconut milk. The flavor profile will change slightly, but the spices in this soup will still work beautifully.
- Pro Tip for Storing Leftovers. If you have leftovers, let the soup cool completely, then store in the fridge in tight-lid glass containers for 3 to 4 days (always use common sense, if it doesn't smell great to you at some point, don't eat it. ) Warm over medium heat, stirring often. Do not boil. What about freezing leftovers? Remember, soups that contain milk or cream won't hold up so well in your freezer. They tend to develop a weird grainy texture and separate when defrosted. If you plan to prepare this soup way ahead for any reason, you will need to do two important things: 1) Under-cook the cauliflower 2) Do not add the cream.
- Recommended for this Recipe: from our all-natural and organic spice collections, sweet Spanish paprika, cumin, sumac, and turmeric. SAVE! Try our Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle or create your own 6-Pack of spices!
- Recommended for this Recipe: Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil. SAVE! Try our Greek EVOO Bundle!
Can Greek yogurt be used in this recipe instead of whole milk? Thank you in advance for your reply.
Hi, Paige. We have never tried, but think it would be fine. The flavor profile might just be slightly different, since yogurt has some tanginess to it.
A fantastic soup indeed. I will definitely make it again and again. I would however recommend going easy with the lemon juice and dill garnish. I think 1 table spoon of lemon is sufficient and a 1/4 or 1/3 cup of dill is sufficient. I also baked the cauliflower with the 4 spices and it came out good.
Thanks for sharing, David!
You are making me look way too good at home. Every single recipe is so good and has so much flavor. This soup was absolutely delicious!
I love your blog! I have made soooo many recipes and they have all been wonderful! Can I use chicken broth in place of vegetable broth for this recipe?
Thanks!
Sure! It might change the flavor profile slightly, but it'll still be delicious!
This soup is so good! Must make it again. The flavors and spices really meld together to such a treat. Never would have tried cauliflower in a soup before. Thanks Suzy!
Bland bland bland. All the spices are moot because you can’t even taste it. I added some Rao’s marinara and Parmesan which helped it a little, but overall… not worth the work. Who writes these things???? So many mediocre recipes, so little time.
Why so harsh? Perhaps just a simple, "I didn't care for it" would suffice next time.
You added marinara? What in the world for?? Should have added more of the spices, cumin, tumeric, salt, pepper. Lemon definitely.
Just another delicious recipe! That roasted cauliflower adds a lovely taste along with the mediterranean spices. Topped it off with homemade croutons which add a nice crunch.
Thanks, Werner!
Can I use yogurt instead of the half and half?
Thank you! 🙂
Hi, Michelle. I have never tried, but I think it would be fine. The flavor profile might just be slightly different, since yogurt has some tanginess to it.
I put this together in my instapot & it turned out great. The aroma that comes from the pot affirms how flavorful the soup is. The flavors of the spices were complimentary to the cauliflower. Very pleased with this recipe.
Could I used dried dill? When to add and how much?
Hi, Dawn. I really recommend sticking with fresh dill for this one.
I made a few mistakes when making this soup, I used only half the spices listed because I thought it would be too much and I over blended the soup to a cauliflower purée. Cauliflower is a bland vegetable, so after I puréed it, the soup had no flavor, so I added in all the spices I held back, I added white pepper, salt & the remaining roasted cauliflower, which gave the puréed soup the texture it needed. I made sure that I put the entire cup of dill in the soup and it was delicious. When making this soup trust the recipe, use the spices in the amounts listed in the recipe and make sure to add the dill, it’s a critical component to the flavor of the soup.
For the time and effort and end result, this absolutely was not my favorite cauliflower soup. Not at all.
I love all the ingredients and made it exactly as it said and really it just left me wishing it were different. What a disappointment. 🙁
Hi! This recipe looks so good. Our family loves roasted cauliflower. To save on some $ could you use frozen cauliflower florets instead of fresh?
Hi, Amy. Yes, you can probably use frozen cauliflower here. But note that frozen cauliflower has been blanched often giving it a softer texture, so adjust roasting time as you need to. For the very best results, I really recommend using fresh cauliflower for this recipe.
This was yum - thanks!
Hi could we put another vegetable like zucchini in here instead of another head of cauliflower?
I haven't tried that, Amber. It could work. But this being a cream of cauliflower soup, for us we usually load up on the cauliflower here.
Recipe Ingredients say lemon, but recipe says lime. Which should it be?
Either will work here, Cat
That looks delicious!
Hi, I made this soup,but it’s lacking in something— may be lemon/ lime juice?
Also,I did not add 1/2& 1/2,just regular milk.
I made a big batch & froze 1/2..
Wondering how I can make it as yummy as it looks or sounds.
I would like to serve again Thursday.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Hi, Arti! We enjoy this recipe as it's written, so it's a bit hard to advise here. You could always up the seasonings here to suit your taste.