It’s no secret that boy, oh boy, do I love soup. I love creamy heart soups that are a meal, and not the starter. I’ve done pumpkin, potato and leek, tomato and even a lobster bisque. But, I think that my cauliflower soup might be the easiest one to make. But, to make it a little naughty and a little filling, I’ve paired it with a toasted cheese sandwich. Because, well, why not?!
Cauliflower Soup
I’ve done a few things to this simple cauliflower soup that makes it a bit creamier or a lot more decadent. But these are just suggestions and honestly, the soup without cream and the cheese sandwich is just as delicious and just as creamy.
Cauliflower is a great vegetable. When roasted and blended it becomes really creamy. It takes on the flavours of what it’s cooked with as well.
It’s also really healthy. It’s low fat and if you’re looking for a lighter option for a mid week meal, this is it. So, if you’re looking to go crazy on the weekend, this is great for the mid week blues.
For this soup, I cook it up with garlic bulbs (of course!). Everything roasted together in the oven means that they all take on each others’ flavours and create this creamy, garlicky mixture ready for blending.
Don’t be intimidated, it’s just cauliflower soup!
I know that some people can be intimidated about making soup at home. For those looking for simple recipes, blending a soup can seem like a lot more work. But, once the cauliflower and garlic is roasted down, it whips up in no time at all. In fact, it might take over an hour for the veggies to roast in the oven, but your hands on time is 10 minutes.
Let’s talk options
There’s some options with this cauliflower soup. First one is that the cream is not necessary – but it is a nice addition. But, if you’re looking to cut calories, or you’re dairy free, skip the cream. It doesn’t need to be served with grilled cheese. It could be served with a delicious side salad or just by itself. But, once again – this is a recipe I encourage you to experiment with. What do you like to serve your soup with?
If you make cauliflower soup, please tag me on Instagram, Tik Tok or Pinterest so I can see your wonderful creations!
If you have any questions or would like to leave a review, please do so here! I always love answering your food and recipe related questions and hearing your feedback on my recipes.
Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
Cauliflower Soup
- 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets 2 pounds / 1kg
- 2 garlic bulbs
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek roughly chopped
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock 32oz
- 200 mL heavy cream optional
- salt + pepper
Grilled cheese for two
- 4 sliced sourdough or white bread
- 50 g grated mozzarella cheese 1/3 cup
- 50 g grated cheddar cheese 1/3 cup
- 530 g grated parmesan cheese 1/4 cup
- 60 g salted butter 4 tbsp
Instructions
Cauliflower soup
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F
- Using a sharp knife, slice the top off the garlic bulbs, about 2 – 3 cm down from the top to expose the raw cloves.
- Place the garlic bulbs into a large baking dish along with the cauliflower and thyme. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Reserve 4 of the smallest cauliflower florets for garnish and remove the garlic from the baking dish and allow to slightly cool. Using your fingers, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skin. Set to the side.
- In a large pot on a medium heat, bring the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the heat. Add the leeks to the pot and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly wilted. Stir occasionally. Add the cauliflower and all the juices to the pan into the pot along with the roasted garlic cloves, chicken or vegetable stock and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then immediately turn the heat to low and cook at a gentle simmer with the lid off for 20 minutes.
- Once the soup has cooked, remove from the heat and allow to slightly cool. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth and silky. This can also be done in a blender.
- If using the cream, add it to the soup and stir through. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, reserved cauliflower florets and extra thyme leaves.
Grilled cheese
- Spread both sides of each piece of bread with the butter.
- Evenly distribute the cheese across both grilled cheeses. Begin with the cheddar cheese, followed by the mozzarella and lastly the parmesan. Place the other slice of bread on top.
- On a low – medium heat, heat a heavy-based skillet or frying pan. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Place the grilled cheeses into the pan and cook for 5 minutes on each side. The key here is to cook low and slow so the outer layer does not burn and the cheese has enough time to melt.
- Transfer to a cutting board, cut in half and serve with the cauliflower soup.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an really long comment but after I
clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr…
well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways,
just wanted to say superb blog!
Thank you so much!
The white drizzle on top with the olive oil, is the white stuff cream?
Looks delish can’t wait to make this!!
It is cream!
The BEST Cauliflower soup ever! I questioned as to whether the soup would have enough flavor with just salt & pepper and yes, yes it does! I followed the recipe to the T with the addition of Greek style Chicken Feta meatballs and it was divine!! Thank you for an excellent recipe and thank you for the conversion for lazy Americans such as myself!
Thank you for the lovely feedback! So glad to hear you enjoyed it.