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.
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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delicious and easy to make! the Vitamix blender resulted in a smooth and silky finish. i might pull back just a bit on the lemon juice next time, but definitely making again!
Yay! Would it be possible to add white beans to this for a bit more protein?
Hi Nicole, I think that would be great – you might want to increase the amount of other seasonings (miso, salt, pepper, lemon) to taste.
This is sooooooo good!!! My husband who hates vegetables and my kids who are picky eaters loved it!
I would love to know the nutritional information for this recipe (and all the others)!
Delicious! I am enjoying a bowl as I type this… Perfect for this snowy day in the Northeast. I didn’t have shallots but I did have a giant leek that I used. I can’t believe how creamy it is with just the few ingredients it uses. The miso really adds something to it. Thanks for a great recipe!
LOVE, love, LoVe this soup! I had just gotten onto my computer to come to the website and look for a good winter soup since we were snowed in and this was in my email… and I just happened to have a head of cauliflower that I needed to use. So this ended up being our dinner last night. Even those who do not like cauliflower, LOVED this soup!
This soup was very easy to make and extremely filling. Try giving smaller servings than you normally would on this one. I did end up using the entire lemon in this instead of the single tablespoon called for, but we all really love lemon. I didn’t have any microgreens for garnish, so I used fresh chives, basil and thyme.
Hi Elisa, yay, I’m so glad you loved the soup so much!
I want to make this! I just cannot eat soy products. Do you know of a replacement for the miso? I have a feeling the miso makes this so good! Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hi Renee, you can look for chickpea miso – it’s soy free (read the label to make sure before choosing a specific brand). Otherwise, I would just season with extra salt, to taste, since miso is salty. Should still be delicious!
So delicious! I’ve made this several times and love it each time. Great way to use that had a cauliflower you forgot about in the fridge.
So yummy!! I recommend splitting it in regards to putting it in the blender. Maybe my blender was smaller but it was too much to blend it all together and correctly. I also lessened the lemon juice and enjoyed that 🙂
I will make again!
Love it! I replaced the thyme with basil because I don’t like thyme. Kept everything else the same and it is amazing! Thank you for sharing 🙂
This soup is delicious and amazing!! I love it!
Ooh that sounds so yummy!
This is the best cauliflower soup ever! It reminds me of a soup I ate in Iceland and haven’t been able to replicate . I think it’s the miso that adds a special touch.
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you loved it!!
Wow, another winner of a soup recipe! So good. Could not find miso paste for the life of me, but it still tastes good with just salt!! I made some breadcrumbs as a garnish for the top.
This is delicious! Bringing it to a friend’s for shabbat dinner tonight! Thanks!
Made this soup for supper today.. It was fantastic! Thank you so much.
I’ve used this recipe at least a half a dozen times and it never fails to be a hit. I usually just add my roasted veggies straight to a soup pot and blend everything up with my immersion blender before I bring it to a simmer to warm it back up. It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner on a chilly day.
Jeanine, Thanks for the recipe, it’s delicious!
Hi there, I’d love to make this soup but trying to plan/prep ahead for the week – do you think it would work if I pre roasted the cauliflower, then froze it or alternatively, made up the whole recipe and freeze the soup? I know adding cream or anything diary and freezing it would change the consistency on reheating.
Hi Jennifer – I’m pretty sure this will freeze well since there is no dairy (or dairy alternatives like cashews which also don’t freeze well). I’ve always had great success freezing all-vegetable soups.
Alternatively, this will keep well in the fridge for up to about 4 days, so it’s a great thing to make in advance and eat all week.
hope this helps!
Loved the unusual combination of flavours. Skipped the onions, added fresh rosemary which I added to the cauliflowers at the last 5 minutes of roasting. Instead of broth, I added almond milk. The whole pan was finished in no time.
Definitely a keeper.