This cauliflower soup recipe is rich and creamy...without any cream! Warm, comforting, and SO flavorful, it's the perfect meal for a cold day.
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This roasted cauliflower soup recipe is rich and creamy…but it doesn’t call for any cream. Instead, the blended cauliflower creates its luscious texture—no dairy required!
I’ve had this cauliflower soup recipe in my cold weather rotation for years now. Even though all the ingredients are plant-based, it’s just as comforting as any soup made with heavy cream, milk, or cheese. On a chilly winter night, it absolutely hits the spot! It’s also super simple to make, so there’s lots to love here.
Cauliflower Soup Ingredients
You only need 10 basic ingredients to make this creamy cauliflower soup:
- A head of cauliflower, of course! It gives the soup a silky texture without any nuts or dairy.
- Garlic and shallots – You’ll roast them along with the cauliflower. Once they’re tender and caramelized, they add rich, nutty flavor to this cauliflower soup.
- Fresh thyme – For fresh, earthy flavor.
- White miso paste – It adds savory, umami flavor that tastes fantastic with the roasted cauliflower, shallots, and garlic.
- Dijon mustard – For tang.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Vegetable broth – Make homemade vegetable broth, or use store-bought.
- Fresh lemon juice – It makes the soup nice and bright.
- And sea salt and fresh black pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Cauliflower Soup
I like to think of this cauliflower soup recipe in three easy steps: roast, simmer, and blend.
First, roast the veggies. Break the cauliflower into florets and chop up the cores. Peel and quarter the shallots. Wrap them in a piece of foil with the unpeeled garlic cloves, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Recipe Tip
Don’t have shallots? Replace them with half a yellow onion, chopped. Use the onions just like you would the shallot—add them to the foil along with the garlic!
Spread the chopped cauliflower florets and core in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and toss them with oil, salt, and pepper. Add the foil packet to the sheet, and roast until all the vegetables are tender and the cauliflower is browned.
Next, simmer. Bring the vegetable broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Peel the garlic cloves, and stir them into the pot along with the cauliflower, shallots, and thyme. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Finally, blend the soup. Allow it to cool slightly. Then, transfer it from the soup pot to a blender. Add the miso paste, mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Feel free to use an immersion blender for this step if you prefer!
Blend until smooth. Before you eat, season to taste with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice, as desired.
What to Serve with Cauliflower Soup
When you’re ready to eat, garnish your bowl with micro greens, fresh parsley, and/or freshly cracked black pepper. This cauliflower soup would also be fantastic with homemade croutons on top for crunch!
Enjoy the creamy soup with focaccia, crusty bread, or a grilled cheese sandwich on the side for dipping.
It also pairs nicely with a side salad. Make a simple green salad by tossing mixed greens with Italian dressing, honey mustard dressing, or lemon vinaigrette, or try one of these 25 Winter Salad Recipes!
Enjoy!
Got leftover soup? Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It’ll thicken in the fridge, so you might need to stir in a little water when you reheat it in the microwave or on the stove.
This cauliflower soup freezes well too. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Then, transfer it to airtight jars or containers, leaving an inch for the soup to expand at the top. Freeze for up to 3 months!
Allow frozen soup to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this delicious soup, try one of these recipes next:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Black Bean Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Tortellini Soup
- Best Lentil Soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, about 2 pounds
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 shallots, peeled and quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- Leaves from 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ½ tablespoon white miso paste
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- Microgreens, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop the cauliflower including the core pieces. Transfer to the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread evenly on the baking sheet. Wrap the shallot and garlic cloves, along with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, in a piece of aluminum foil and place it on the baking sheet with the cauliflower. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cauliflower is browned around the edges.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, bring the vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat. Add the roasted cauliflower, shallots, peeled garlic, and thyme and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and transfer to a blender. Add the olive oil, miso paste, mustard, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with ¼ to ½ teaspoon more salt and more lemon juice. Garnish with microgreens, if desired, and serve.
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This is delicious, very different from other cauliflower soups I have made. A very intriguing taste, and so easy to make. I roasted the cauliflower, garlic and shallot the day before, and used my immersion blender as I like a bit of texture in my soups. Thank you for this delightful recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!
“Leaves from 5 sprigs of fresh thyme” is somewhat vague. Is there a measurement? How big is a “sprig”? One long stem? What if it is multi-stemmed?
I love this soup! It was delicious and even a little bit better the next day!
This soup is the bomb! I used tarragon Dijon (because that’s what I had on hand). A great vegan recipe. Thank you ☺️
Im not normally a fan of homemade soup but I was looking for a recipe to use up a cauliflower.
Omg it’s absolutely delicious and I will be making it again.
Wasn’t sure what to expect as seemed like a strange mix of ingredients but it’s delicious
I’m so glad you loved it, Deirdre!
I loved it. Favorite cauliflower soup ever! Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved the soup!
I made the soup with soy sauce instead of miso and added parsley instead of thyme. Absolutely delicious!
I LOVE this soup but I will say that we don’t love the dijon in it. Next time I will try adding a bit of truffle oil to replace a bit of the olive oil. And I may try sherry instead of the dijon.
Thank you – absolutely delicious and easy to make. Used soy sauce as didn’t have any miso in. Tasty and perfect consistency. Assuming it will freeze okay too.
I’m so glad you loved it!
It was honestly the best thing I ever cooked, that actually tasted good, I appreciate you.
10 weeks pregnant. This past month my diet has been mainly carb based. I’ve barely eaten any veggies. This soup is the perfect way to get a veg into my diet. It is so silky smooth. I had all the ingredients in the fridge. Done in under an hour. I’ll be adding this to my rotation!
I roasted a large head of cauliflower yesterday, then made the rest of the soup today since I had most of the ingredients on-hand, including the white miso!. I had to put it in the blender in two batches so that it would properly puree. It is delicious and vegan, which is not easy to achieve. Congratulations – this one is a winner!
I’ve made this soup probably 8 times already! I love it so much. It’s flavorful, creamy and filling! Thank you!!!
This soup turned out exactly how I hoped – just absolutely delicious! I only had red miso paste on hand and it worked just fine. Love and Lemons never disappoints.
A Delicious and easy soup to make.
I doubled the recipe because I had a very large head of cauliflower.
I now have soup to freeze and soup to share.
Thank you,love and lemons
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this it was great added a little bit if minced ginger and some saracha…even my husband that does not like cauliflower said it was good!
I never leave comments and this was the best cauliflower soup ever! Five stars. I doubled it and instead of doubling the vegetable broth, I used 4 cups broth plus 4 cups water. I also used a Myer Lemon for the juice. I felt like I was at my own gourmet restaurant. My husband and teenage kids loved it. It’s really nice with the microgreens garnish and the fresh thyme.
Oh I forgot to say….I left out the lemon juice. I had another soup recipe that called for the lemon juice and we did not like the taste.
Love this soup! I made a couple of changes. I added cheddar cheese,doubled the Dijon mustard and used thyme and rosemary(my own dried herbs probably 1 tsp of each). I did not have vegetable broth so I had to use chicken broth.
Hi Ann, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Love L&L but this one was a swing and a miss for me. The texture was great but the flavors of the cauli/miso/dijon/lemon clashed mightily. No one at the table would eat it. : (
Hi Katy, I’m so sorry to hear you were disappointed with the soup! Did you make any changes to the recipe?