Mind-Blowing Cauliflower Soup
from The Blender Girl cookbookNovember 17, 2009
This creamy cauliflower soup is really quick and easy and is absolutely incredible. Even cauliflower haters love this soup!
Mind-blowing Cauliflower Soup
This creamy cauliflower soup is really quick and easy and is absolutely incredible. Even cauliflower haters love this soup!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 to 8
Calories 139 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) grape seed oil (or olive oil)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 2 cups (200g) sliced leeks (white parts only) (or diced yellow onion)
- 1 teaspoon (6g) Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1 large head cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 7 cups (1.65l) vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup (35g) blanched slivered almonds (or raw unsalted cashews)
- 3 tablespoons (9g) chopped chives, to serve
Instructions
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In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic, leeks, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the cauliflower and sauté for another minute.
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Add the vegetable broth, increase the heat to high, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is completely tender.
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Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly; stir in the nuts.
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Pour the soup into your blender in batches and blast on high for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy.
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Return the soup to the saucepan and warm it over low heat. Stir in salt to taste.
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To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with either chopped chives or grated nutmeg.
Recipe Notes
Recipe from The Blender Girl cookbook
Comments 143
“I hate cauliflower! But I LOVE this soup” was what my son said when I served this up for dinner. This soup is just so good!
LOL! I LOVE it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
During this awful American winter this was such a lovely warm the tummy kind of soup. So smooth and creamy. Yum!
Yes! This soup is very comforting in the Winter.
LOVE soup season!
This soup is incredible. It is as simple as that.
I think so too! Thankyou!
Great recipe. Perfect meal with a ball of millet on top. And I made mine without the almonds — still super great! And may I just say, I think cauliflower is THE most versatile ingredient of all time?!
SO glad you enjoyed this.
Yes! I think this tastes great without the nuts too….and I TOTALLY agree. I use cauliflower as the base in SOOOO many things! Just INCREDIBLE!
Thanks Lizzie.
Yes – I think so too. AND – SOOOO easy!
Yes! This turns anyone into a cauliflower convert. Probably because it doesn’t taste like cauliflower! HA! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Oh Thankyou!
This is my all-time favourite soup, so that means a lot to me!!!
Thanks Kane!
I think so too 🙂 He He He!
LOL! I am so glad you enjoyed this.
It is a real winner!
You might be a cauliflower fan now!!!
Yes! I totally agree that the nuts add something really special to this soup.
You just cannot believe that something so simple taste so darn good!
So glad you enjoyed it.
LOL! Yes! This soup is a real showstopper!
Thanks for the lovely comment.
I am so glad you enjoyed this!
WONDERFUL Melissa. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Aren’t the Massel stock cubes AMAZING?!
Glad this is a family favourite now!
Thankyou Megan!
I am so glad we are connected in Vitamix piggy heaven. Enjoy that machine.
It will change your life!
HA! Yes…..it does do that to you!
SO glad you enjoyed this soup!
Thanks Claire.
It kind of makes the soup taste better knowing it is that easy doesn’t it?! HA!
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband absolutely loved it as did I! He had 2 bowls! Keep the yummy recipes coming!!
Hey Jeannie,
Thanks for taking the time to comment here. I am so pleased you enjoyed this soup. It is my very favourite soup recipe and still make it all the time. It is such a winner.
I have a huge head of cauliflower from my garden and I am going to try this tonight. Do you think it can be frozen and reheated?
Hey Sarah,
YES! I freeze this soup ALL the time and it just defrosts and heats up beautifully. ENJOY! This is my all-time favourite soup.
Oh, Tess this is amazing! I used 4 rustic potatoes instead of leeks because I didn’t have leeks. And it was so delicious! 🙂 🙂
Oh, I am SO pleased you enjoyed it! How wonderful 🙂
SO excited to try this recipe!! It’s getting to be that time of the year 🙂 What type of broth do you use….low sodium, no sodium, or regular?? I would assume regular, if not specified otherwise, right?! LOVE your site, it is awesome! 🙂
Thanks Christina. I really appreciate your lovely positive comments and support of my website. It is great to be connected 🙂
With regards to the broth, I always use Massel when I don’t make my own. But you can use any natural veggie broth you like.
Just made this and it is yummalicious! Quick, easy, and made me feel hugged!
LOL! Oh, I LOVE that and I LOVE you!!! So glad you enjoyed this 🙂
This soup is heavenly…soooo addictive…love it..thank you for sharing the recipe…
Thanks Loubna,
I just love this soup too. It IS addictive and never fails to impress. When you use your Vitamix it is like eating cauliflower foam. SO good!
I love it! Yes, this soup is a LIFESAVER on Body Ecology, and is just SO good for anybody. This is my all-time favourite soup. I am so glad you enjoyed it.
As a high raw vegan and body ecologist, this recipe ticks all the boxes including flavour, simplicity and the taste..well fantastically delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Elaine.
Yes, this is my all-time favourite soup. It is SO easy and SO delicious, and such a LIFESAVER on BE. Thanks for taking the time to leave a lovely comment.
I just made this! It is delicious ! Creamy! About to cook some quinoa for the grain. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it. I LOVE a quinoa ball with this soup.
I have tried a couple of different cauliflower soup recipes, but I have to say that this is by far the best one that I have come across. Bookmarking this page for sure! Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
That is lovely. Thankyou. I really love this recipe too. I was allowed to put 10 recipes from the site in my book and this was at the very top of my list. It is my most requested recipe…..and SO easy. Win Win. Enjoy 🙂
Excellent soup – How many calories in a cup?
Thanks. I don’t do nutritional profiling for my recipes. But, you can punch this recipe into third-party software such as nutrition data or cronometer.
Hi I am excited to try this recipe but am new to cooking with nuts, when you say to soak the nuts; how much liquid and for how long? Thank you!
Just enough liquid to cover the nuts, and soak for 8 hours or overnight.
Brianna – yes, cover the nuts with filtered water and soak for the prescribed amount of time. Cashews are a short soak nut, so only require 2 hours of soaking. Almonds require 8 hours. Read more here:
http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/info/soaking_grains_nuts_seeds
Thanks Diane.
I just bookmarked this recipe to make over the weekend! I can’t go a week without soup in my meal rotation. This looks great. Love the addition of the cashews for creaminess. I also love to add grains to my soup to add a bit of chew. Yum!
Great. Enjoy 🙂
This sounds amazing and verified by all the comments. Please give me instructions on soaking the nuts. I have never used raw cashews or almonds in a recipe before that called for soaking. How long would you suggest.
Cari – read more about soaking nuts and seeds here:
http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/info/soaking_grains_nuts_seeds
Cashews – 2 hours and Almonds – 8 hours
I can’t do nuts – any good substitution you recommend?? Thanks.
This soup tastes amazing without the nuts for allergies.
Love this recipe!!! My boyfriend and I can’t get enough of it!!!
Wonderful. I am so glad you are enjoying it.
It’s just a pity Massel use palm oil.
Feel free to use any broth you like in this recipe.
I am going to start a new religion based on worshipping this truly divine soup! I can’t believe it doesn’t have cream or butter. I’m not vegan, but this has definitely made me vegan-curious. Thank you!
Love it. Yes, this soup is a serious winner! So glad you enjoyed it.
Has anyone used a different vegetable stock other than the one recommended? I want to make this but I wasn’t sure how much of the goodness depended on the type of veggie stock used. Thanks!
You can use any broth to make this soup. I get more emails about this recipe from all over the world than any other recipe on the site. It’s the alchemy created between the cauliflower and the cashews that is the star of this recipe. Enjoy!
This looks delicious and I’d love to try it, but am not sure how much cauliflower to use. Cauliflower comes in different sizes, so can you please tell me how much cauliflower to use in terms of cups or by weight, as in ounces? Also can I substitute coconut oil for the olive oil? And how long would this keep in the refrigerator? Can this soup be frozen? Thanks!
Joanne, I love this soup – I use 2 cauliflower heads because the organic ones are so small. I also freeze it and it’s just as great.
Thanks Eda. Yes, Joanne, this soup is so forgiving, it’s almost impossible to mess it up. Use 1 large head of cauliflower (or 8 cups cauliflower) or 2 small heads as Edna said. This soup freezes very well. You just may want to blend it again after defrosting and before reheating for the creamiest consistency. You can use coconut oil. But, it can bring in a slight coconutty flavor, which I find detracts from this blend. If you don’t want to use olive oil, I recommend grape seed oil. Enjoy!
Oh wow .. This is one of the best soups I’ve ever had. Used green onion instead of leeks and added some hot sauce during the simmer for an extra kick. Put it in the freezer for 15min before blending to avoid your blender top blowing off. Delicious !!
Awesome. Thanks for sharing your blend Carolyn. Yum!
What is a quinoa ball? How to make it?
Sorry for any confusion. A quinoa “ball” is just a scoop of day-old cooked grain. You could use millet, rice, or anything else you like.
I ate four bowls in one evening. When you follow the recipe and then taste, you just can’t believe you just made it yourself, it’s so good it’s almost not plausible. It’s like eating soup from The Savoy.
Oh….I totally agree Jane. This soup is so easy and so delicious. It is my all-time favorite recipe. So glad you enjoyed it so much.
Wowee…this soup is scrumptious and so darn easy! I didn’t have any nutmeg or chives so I put a crunchy crostini on top and it was a nice addition. Thanks for this recipe, it is now one of my favorites!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Yum! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! My husband and I really enjoyed this soup and it will be a “keeper” in our family for decades to come.
Wonderful. I have been making this soup for over 25 years and it never gets old. Enjoy 🙂
This soup is DELISH!! I was trying to copy one of my favorites soups that’s sold downtown, it is identical except the chef told me she adds a touch of truffle oil and salt- I did it and yep. My most perfect and beloved soup. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Wonderful! Pleasure. Yes, it’s amazing with truffle oil!
I see you have cashews/or almonds in your list of ingredients. When do you add them to the soup? During or After cooking, when blending???
Sorry for the confusion Nancy. Once the soup has cooked and you are cooling it a little bit before putting it into the blender, throw in the nuts and stir them into the water to soften. Leave for 10 mins and then blend.
Looking forward to making this recipe for tonights dinner. It doesn’t say anything about soaking the nuts prior….Just wanting to make sure I don’t need to. TIA!
Oops! It does say soaked, but for how long?
For this soup, just throw them into the pot as the soup is cooling before blending. The hot broth will soften the nuts.
Tess,
Thanks for this recipe. I’m coming off a coconut water fast and this is serving as one of my “back to solids” transitional foods (following herbal tea, broth, and previous soup).
It’s simmering now and while I do have a Vitamix I am going to have a go at using a hand blender right in the pot. If the nuts turn out to be problematic I’ll succumb and go to the 5200.
Imagine how tasty this is when you’ve not had anything to eat for 8 days:-)
Loved it! What a delicious way to break your fast!!!
I just made your soup and it was delish!! Thank you! my husband can’t believe it’s cauliflower and he loves it! WOW!!!!
Yay!!! So glad it was a hit.
I don’t have that brand vegetable stock available where I live. Is the stock necessary?
No, you can use any broth in this recipe and the soup tastes great. It’s so easy, you can’t mess it up.
If I want to use 2 heads of cauliflower, do you recommend I double all the other ingredients? Thanks
No, keep the onions and garlic the same. Just add slightly more broth to cover the cauliflower, and add just a few more nuts. Enjoy!
Made this last night and it was fantasic!! It was so pillowy soft and velvety, like the creaminess of half and half without the heaviness. I added 2 small zucchinis and blended in 1/3 c cashews instead of 1/4, and added 6TBS of nutritional yeast which added protien and gave it a slight cheesy flavor. Water sautéed the leeks to start and then added only 1TBS olive oil when I added the other veggies. I also added fresh Rosemary, fresh thyme, cayenne and white pepper. LOVE LOVE LOVE can’t wait to have this for lunch
Love your tweaks. Yum! Thanks for sharing.
This is by far the most delicious cauliflower soup ever. Yes, I agree – we always use Massel.
Oh, I am so glad you enjoyed it. This is such a keeper. Yes! Massel is just the best! I never use anything else.
I have tried all kinds of soup recipes and became discouraged since they rarely lived up to the tasting as good as the picture provided had you to believe. This Cauliflower soup though is ABSOLUTELY DELISH!!!!!!!! I am completely in LOVE and thrilled to have a vegetable soup choice to go to! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Oh! So glad you loved it. It’s hard to believe something so simple can be so delicious. It’s been a staple in our house for years.
Add some Thyme! so good!
Yes! Thyme is so amazing in this soup.
Can Roasted cashews work instead of raw? I only have roasted unsalted.. Thanks!
Unsalted roasted cashews are much more assertive than raw, and will bring a cashew flavor into the profile. If you like that, then yes. But, I don’t think it is as balanced. The alchemy created between the raw cashews and the cauliflower is just magic.
I cannot get over how yummy this soup is!! Thank you for sharing! Do you think I can follow the same recipe with broccoli and get similar results?
So glad you enjoyed it. To make a creamy broccoli soup use 2 cups onions or leeks, 2 teaspoons garlic, then add 1 cup cauliflower, 8 cups broccoli, and then broth, then bring to the boil and simmer just until the veggies are tender, then add 1/4 cup cashews. Delicious!
I can’t cook a thing I ve gone on a health kick found this recipe online didn’t have any leek so I used broccoli instead chucked a chilli in unreal all my mates think I’m a ledgend you have got me a winner
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your tweaks! Love it!
I’m having a hard time. I must be stupid but I can’t even find how to ask these questions so I’m using reply.
1) Do you soak the cashews or only the almonds. The way it reads, I’m not sure. Soak in water? How long? Do you puree the nuts before adding to the mix or add them whole? The way it sounds, you add them whole. HELP! We’re in the middle of making this soup and am on a very tight schedule. Thanks
I had similar questions but I see she hasn’t responded to yours.
Sorry Karen, I am on a book tour right now, and can’t respond to comments immediately right now. Once you have cooked the leeks, then the cauliflower take the pot off the heat. Throw the cashews or almonds into the pot whole and allow the hot mixture to soften then for about 10 minutes while the soup is cooling somewhat. Then, ladle the soup in batches into your blender and blast on high for about 1 minute until smooth and creamy. I will revise the instructions to make it clearer.
Sounds yumbo! Can we substitute unsweetened coconut (or almond or cashew) milk for soaked nuts? If so (hope, hope), how much & when do we add? So excited to devour, here in California.
I also wonder about adding unsweetened almond milk as a substitute. I hope you area able to respond soon. Kath Walker, did you come up with an plan that worked for your recipe?
So sorry for my delay in responding. I don’t find that milks work as well. They are not rich enough, and water down the soup. Coconut milk is the thickest, and it takes over the flavor a bit. It’s the magic that’s created with the combo of the cashews or almonds with the cauliflower that is what makes this soup so spectacular.
I made this tonight, yummmmmmm! So delicious! The only thing I did differently was using coconut oil instead of olive oil but I can’t imagine it would have made much of a difference. It is thick, rich, creamy and great flavour! I made the cashews into a cream and then just stirred it in so I could use my immersion blender for the soup. Thanks so much 🙂
Fantastic. Thankyou so much for sharing about the coconut oil, and using the immersion blender with the cashews.
I too am now a fan of this soup but thought I’d share something that worked out beautifully. My 94 year old mother, who loves the color lavender, is a very finicky eater. I made this lovely soup using a purple cauliflower. She happily ate two bowls full!!
Oh, that would be so gorgeous. Thankyou for sharing!
Delish!! And simple, fast, healthy. Recommend the nutmeg AND lots of chives as a must. I also threw in some chopped parsley and quinoa for one bowl (you can do this experimenting bowl by bowl). That was so good. Love this new staple.
Great tips. So happy you enjoyed this Claudia.
Can this be made days in advanced and refrigerated?
Absolutely. I do that all the time. It will keep the fridge for about 5 days. It also freezes really well, too. I defrost, and then put it back in the blender to get it really creamy again. Enjoy!
How long do soups usually last in the freezer? I’m going to try it tomorrow. Thanks!
I don’t keep them in the freezer for any more than 3 months. Some people will leave them in the freezer for 6 months. But, I find they get freezer burn and don’t taste very good when defrosted.
what lovely soup just made it yum
So happy you enjoyed it.
I made this for dinner last night and it was AMAZING. My partner was so impressed when I told him what was in it…he is a huge cream/butter fan.
Oh, I am so pleased. Yeah….this soup is a winner.
I’ve made this soup once before and absolutely loved it! I plan to make it again but don’t have enough leaks. Should I use a combination of onion and leeks or just onion?
Wonderful. I am so glad you’re enjoying it. This soup works fabulously with either leeks or onions. You don’t need both. So, use the leeks or 1 chopped onion which is about 2 cups diced. Enjoy.
I have tried twice to print the Creamy Cauliflower recipe and keep getting the Scalloped Potato Bake. There is a hiccup in your site
So sorry Dee, we did have a glitch while we were upgrading the site. The print function is all fixed now. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Hey,
Just wanted to say this soup was fabulous. I was looking for a vegan cauliflower soup recipe that wasn’t curried and this was it. I decided to add two small carrots and subbed the nuts for 1 cup of coconut fat and it turned out delicious. Thanks for the inspiration!
Yum! Thanks for sharing your tweaks. I’m going to try them.
Could this be made in the crock pot? I like to just chop stuff up, chuck everything in, and forget about it for a few hours.
I’m sure it could be. I totally understand why you want to. But, I have never done it. If you try it, please let me know how it turned out and what you did. This recipe is so popular and gets so many hits, that it would be helpful for others. Thanks!
This soup has become a staple in my house. I make it every few weeks. While I love it for lunch or dinner my favorite time to have it is … Breakfast!
I get sick of sweet hot beverages, most teas taste like soap to me and coffee hurts my stomach!
So, one morning, desperate for Something Hot, I tried a mug of this soup that I had made the night before and fell in love with this as my morning hot drink! Not only do I get that needed “hot” something but I also get a light, satisfying, healthy meal! Love it!!!
Oh, thankyou for sharing. I am so pleased this soup is so helpful for you. I have been making this for over 20 years and I am never going to stop! I just love it.
Hi, I made this soup (which turned out great), and I freezed some portions. After defrosting in the fridge, I noticed it looked a darker colour and separated/curdled. Is that OK, do I just need to blend it again? Also how long does the soup keep in the fridge (from freshly cooked). Thanks!
After cooking, this soup keeps in the fridge for about 5 days. After freezing and defrosting it is common for the soup to separate a bit. Don’t be alarmed. Just defrost and throw it in the blender and it will be great. I do it all the time.
This sounds delicious! Will it work as a cold soup?
Yes! This is spectacular cold. Enjoy!
I just made this for the first time and it turned out amazingly delicious! I have never liked the taste of cauliflower but this soup is simple wonderful. Instead of leeks I used green onions. Very easy simple recipe that tastes like it should be in a French restaurant. Thank you for this recipe!!!!
Oh! I am so pleased you loved it so much. Yeah….this soup is such a winner on every level. So easy and so so good.
Tried this recipe today and it was superb! If you didn’t know the ingredients, you would swear it has full cream in it! Thank you Tess for sharing it.
Yes! So rich and creamy. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Can I use fresh cauliflower I have blanched and frozen?
Yes, you could use that. I would defrost it and remove the excess “iced water”, and then place it in the broth with the other ingredients. You won’t need to cook it very long, so the flavor may not be as deep. But, it should still work beautifully. Let me know how you go.
I made this soup tonight and found it bland and uninteresting. If this is your most requested recipe, then I’m obviously missing something. I’d never bother making it again.
Oh, Jeff, I was so surprised to receive your comment. In over 20 years of making this soup for people, and after receiving hundreds of emails a week about this soup for the last seven years of this blog, you are the first person that has ever commented that they didn’t like it. But, perhaps there are others out there. So, I thank you for taking the time to leave your honest feedback. I hope you find another recipe on the site that you enjoy more.
I loved this soup and found it super simple to make and incredibly satisfying. One question: Any idea on how to make the color more white than yellow? My soup turned out far more yellow than the pictured soup above. Yours is so much prettier 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed the soup. The color changes a little depending on what broth you use, how far past the white part you chop your leeks, and the quality of your cauliflower. Mine always comes out white. I only use the white part of the leek and use Massel broth. I hope this helps a little.