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This cauliflower soup is luxuriously creamy and full of incredible roasted cauliflower. It’s a comforting and healthy soup, not to mention budget-friendly, too.
By roasting the cauliflower florets, this humble ingredient is transformed. The roasting process brings out the natural sugars and caramelizes them for a veggie that’s nutty, slightly sweet, and packed with flavor. When combined with onion and garlic and finished with zingy lemon juice, this simple cauliflower soup becomes worthy of any event or the holidays as a crowd-pleasing side! Best of all, this recipe requires very little prep – chop, roast, and then blend for creamy goodness.
What’s in This Post?
Watch how to make it
Ingredients
- Cauliflower: it’s best to use fresh cauliflower as frozen (thawed first) doesn’t become as caramelized when roasted.
- Garlic: I used fresh garlic cloves. Adjust the amount to taste.
- Onion: I used red onion, but a yellow/white onion would also work.
- Stock: I use lightly salted homemade vegetable stock. You may also use a veg bouillon cube with water to make up the amount of stock. Adjust the added salt accordingly.
- Olive oil
- Salt & Black pepper: to taste.
- Lemon juice: a squeeze of fresh, bright lemon juice added just before serving takes this soup to extra levels of deliciousness!
- Optional garnish: Top the creamy roasted cauliflower soup with sautéed pine nuts, a pinch of chili flakes, and fresh herbs.
How to make cauliflower soup
Prepare the vegetables: First, preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Then, peel and slice the onion and chop the cauliflower into small, even-sized florets. You can also peel the garlic cloves (or leave them unpeeled at this point).
Spread the ingredients across a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet and drizzle/spray with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Roast the vegetables: Then roast in the oven at 425ºF/220ºC for 30 minutes (or until the cauliflower is fork-tender and slightly caramelized), flipping the florets halfway. Alternatively, you can air fry the ingredients (in batches), shaking every few minutes for even cooking.
Simmer and blend the soup: Once roasted, reserve some cauliflower florets for garnish, if desired. Then transfer the rest to a pot, add the vegetable stock and lemon juice, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook for up to 10 minutes to meld the flavors. Blend until velvety smooth using an immersion blender.
Alternatively, you can also blend the soup in a food processor/blender. In that case, blend in batches if needed and secure the lid with a clean towel. If it has a chute, keep it open to let steam escape. Occasionally open the lid to release steam.
Optional garnish: While simmering the soup, if you want to make the pine nut garnish, melt the butter in a skillet and toast the pine nuts until golden and fragrant.
Serve and enjoy: Finally serve the soup, topping with roasted pine nuts, melted butter, roasted cauliflower, fresh herbs, lemon zest, or your preferred garnishes!
Storage
Make ahead: You could roast the veggies 2-3 days in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to add them to warmed veg stock and blend.
Store: Allow the soup to cool. Then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freeze: I recommend storing the leftover cooled soup in reusable silicone bags, with all the excess air squeezed out. Lay it flat until frozen, then keep it upright to save space. Freeze for up to 2 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: Use either the stovetop (for several minutes over medium-low heat) or microwave (2-3 minutes, stirring halfway) until warmed through.
Recipe tips and notes
- Adjust the consistency: If it’s too thick, you can always add more stock to reach your preferred consistency.
- Chunky vs. smooth: blend the soup to your desired consistency. You could also keep some florets to one side to add back into the soup if you want some big pieces.
- Caramelization: Ensure veggies are nicely caramelized for flavor; broil for extra browning if you want.
- Color variation: The color may vary based on the cauliflower darkness post-roasting.
- Avoid steaming/boiling cauliflower: The roasted cauliflower packs tons of flavor in this soup recipe. If you want to cook the cauliflower using a different method, you’ll need to make up for that loss of flavor in other ways.
More creamy soup recipes
If you try this roasted cauliflower soup recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Equipment
- Hand-held blender optional
Ingredients
- 3.5 lb cauliflower 1 large head
- 3.5 oz red onion 1 medium-sized; yellow/white will also work
- 0.7 oz garlic 4 cloves
- 3 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 5.4 cups vegetable stock lightly salted is best – adjust salt accordingly
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 Tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1 large lemon)
Optional garnish
- 0.8 oz butter (dairy or dairy-free) to toast the pine nuts (optional)
- 1-2 Tbsp pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC.
- Peel and slice the onion and chop the cauliflower into small, even-sized florets. You can also peel the garlic cloves (or leave them unpeeled at this point).
- Spread the ingredients across a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet and drizzle/spray with olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Roast in the oven at 425ºF/220ºC for 30 minutes (or until the cauliflower is fork-tender and lightly caramelized), flipping the florets halfway.
- Once roasted, reserve some cauliflower florets for garnish, if desired. Transfer the rest to a saucepan, add the vegetable stock and lemon juice, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook for up to 10 minutes to meld the flavors. Blend until velvety smooth with an immersion blender.You can also use a food processor/blender. In that case, blend in batches if needed and secure the lid with a clean towel. If it has a chute, keep it open to let steam escape. Occasionally open the lid to release steam.
- While simmering the soup, if you want to make the pine nut garnish, melt the butter in a skillet and toast the pine nuts until golden and fragrant.
- Serve, topping with roasted pine nuts, melted butter, roasted cauliflower, fresh herbs, lemon zest, or your preferred garnishes!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious!!!!
Thank you so much for your comment, Alina! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!