An easy recipe for creamy cauliflower soup, wonderfully flavored with garlic, nutmeg, and Parmesan.
I was never a big fan of soups until I met my husband. He loves soups, and he's the one who got me hooked on them. He used to make this amazing onion soup in the winter that I really loved and was a complete meal. In the summer, he made gazpacho and tzatziki.
Now that I'm in charge of cooking, I taught myself to make many of his tasty soup recipes. And I also learned to really enjoy soups! In particular, this tasty cauliflower soup has a delicate flavor and a wonderfully creamy texture. It's so good!
The ingredients needed for this recipe
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty soup. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
Butter: I love using creamy European butter. But any butter will be great.
Onion and garlic: I make life easy by chopping the onion in the food processor and using jarred minced garlic.
Cauliflower: You will need one large head for this recipe.
Chicken broth: Store-bought is fine. But when I have some leftover homemade chicken broth, I use that.
Spices: White pepper and ground nutmeg. It's OK to use black pepper, but the black speckles will show on the white soup.
Heavy cream: I tried using half-and-half once and determined that heavy cream is the way to go.
Grated Parmesan: Make sure you use finely grated parmesan, not coarsely shredded.
How to make creamy cauliflower soup
Scroll down to the recipe card for the details. It's a very easy recipe to make! Here are the basic steps:
1. Saute onions, garlic, and cauliflower in butter. You want the onions to be soft, but you don't want them browned and caramelized for this recipe.
2. Now add chicken broth and simmer until the cauliflower is tender. This only takes 15 minutes or so.
3. The last step is to puree the soup and stir in heavy cream, spices, and Parmesan. You can either puree it in batches in the food processor or use an immersion blender and puree it right in the pot.
How to serve creamy cauliflower soup
I often have a bowl of it for my lunch, especially in the winter. I sometimes have it with buttered 90-second bread on the side, and sometimes I enjoy it on its own. (By the way, another soup that I really enjoy for lunch is this very flavorful butternut squash soup). You can also serve it as a dinner appetizer. In which case, serve a cup per person instead of a bowl.
Additions and substitutions
Here are a few ways you can change this recipe up:
- Use olive oil instead of butter. Personally, I prefer butter, but olive oil is very good too.
- use shallots instead of onions.
- For an extra creamy soup, increase the heavy cream and use up to ½ cup.
- A pinch of dried thyme can replace the nutmeg or you can add it as an additional layer of flavor.
What about leftovers?
You can keep the leftovers of this creamy cauliflower soup in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave, covered, on 50% power.
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Creamy Cauliflower Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped (6 oz)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 large head cauliflower chopped (2 lbs. with refuse, 1.5 lbs. without)
- 1 quart reduced-sodium chicken broth (I use the Pacific Natural brand)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, until onions are soft but not browned.
- Add the garlic and the cauliflower. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the broth and the kosher salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is very tender.
- Turn the heat off. Purée the soup using an immersion blender until very smooth. Stir in the pepper, nutmeg and cream. Heat over medium-low heat until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Serve immediately.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living.