Roasted Cauliflower Soup is cheap, easy, and satisfying. This one is kicked up a few notches with the addition of a smoked serrano drizzle.
Originally published October 10, 2013. Updated on 1/27/2024
This healthy roasted cauliflower soup was the result of a fairly magical early morning trip to the farmer’s market (A trip that resulted in TWO soup recipes - Fennel Chicken & Sausage Soup was the other).
This creamy cauliflower soup took very little effort - and only a handful of ingredients - but became an instant favourite.
I basically wanted to make a soup version of cauliflower mash, but roasted.
Roasted onion and garlic adds flavour and complexity, and the white wine brings just a touch of acid and refinement to it.
The thick, creamy texture of the soup is accented with a drizzle of smokey serrano pepper oil.
Oh, this is GOOD. This creamy soup and slice of crusty bread on a cold winter night - heavenly!
It’s a relatively healthy soup, easy to make, and super customizable - I’ve included a few of my favorite ways to tweak this recipe a bit further down in this post.
It’s so thick and comforting, the perfect meal to come home to after enjoying the outdoors on a cold day.
You know, when we actually get those, LOL.
Anyway, let’s get to that recipe, and all the ways you can adapt it!
Ingredients
Note: The full recipe - including detailed instructions - is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
This easy cauliflower soup recipe uses really simple ingredients - you’ll have no trouble finding them in any grocery.
I only have a couple of notes for you:
2 Heads of Cauliflower
We go through a LOT of this cruciferous vegetable in our house - it’s low carb, and super versatile.
Roasting a head of cauliflower brings out delicious flavor, and that’s the backbone of this soup recipe.
I’ve only ever made this soup with fresh cauliflower, as it does roast up differently than previously frozen cauliflower does.
That said - while you may not get the same kind of caramelization on previously frozen cauliflower florets?
If you use them, your soup will come out smoother than using fresh cauliflower. The freezing and thawing seems to break down the cell walls in a way that just cooking doesn’t, IMHO.
So, if roasty, carmelized cauliflower is your thing, go fresh. If you want super smooth, creamy soup - give it a go with ~3 lbs or so of frozen cauliflower.
Just be sure to thaw and drain it well before roasting!
Smoked Serrano Powder
While it's easy enough to make pepper oil by infusion, I wanted something quick and easy... and wanted to use what I had on hand.
I love, love, LOVE hot pepper powders!
My favourite lately has been Smoked Serrano Powder, Hatch Chile Powder is another one we've been loving lately, and I've always loved Jalapeno Powder.
(You may remember it from my husband's "Epic Popcorn" recipe!). Seriously, pick up a few powders and have fun with them.
Anyway.
Stirring the smoked serrano powder into the oil is quick and easy, but'll probably make purists cringe. Whatever.
This makes a fair amount of the oil, but it keeps well in the fridge - just stir well before use.
You can drizzle as much or little of the oil as you want - pretty, kinda fun to be able to customize, AND the smokiness really works well with this soup.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Chicken Broth
Heavy Cream
Milk (2% or Whole Milk)
Dry White Wine
1 Large Onion
Garlic Cloves
Olive Oil
Salt and Black Pepper
... pretty basic ingredients, here, so I don’t have anything to add for them! 🙂
Variations and Substitutions
For a dairy free soup, swap out the milk for unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk, and the heavy cream for coconut cream.
If you want your roasted cauliflower soup to have a bit of a cheesy flavor, toss in a handful or two of Parmesan cheese partway through the pureeing step.
For a cauliflower cheese soup, add 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, and bump your liquids a bit.
For a vegetarian cauliflower soup, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
If you’d like to skip the dry white wine, replace it with some extra broth.
You might want to add a good squeeze of lemon juice to the pot, to replace some of the brightness / acidity that the wine brings.
For a roasted garlic cauliflower soup with plenty of garlic, cut the tops off a few garlic bulks, exposing the tops of the otherwise unpeeled garlic cloves.
Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast alongside the other veggies.
Once the roasting time is up, squeeze the roasted garlic out of the bulbs, and set aside.
Add the roasted garlic paste into the soup at the pureeing step.
More Soup, Stew, Etc Recipes
Looking for a bowl of some warm comfort food for a cool day? Check these out...
Keto Beef Stew
Keto Cheeseburger Soup
Chicken, Shrimp, & Sausage Jambalaya
Keto Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Convention Chili
Keto Clam Chowder
Corn Chowder
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Gluten-Free)
Creamy Creole Soup
Keto Doro Wat
Elk Bourguignon
Easy Keto Ramen
French Canadian Pea Soup
Hearty Beef Stew
Hearty Corn & Black Bean Soup
Italian Wedding Soup Mixes [Just Add Meat & Water!]
Keto Italian Wedding Soup
Keto Loaded Pierogi Soup
Gluten Free Ramen
Keto Chicken Pot Pie Soup
One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Smoky Campfire Chili
Roasted Chili Verde
Low Carb Steak and Kidney Stew
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Easy Roasted Cauliflower Soup Recipe [with Smoked Serrano Drizzle]
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheets
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 2 heads Cauliflower
- 1 Large Onion
- 3-4 Garlic cloves peeled
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 cups Chicken Broth*
- 1 cup Milk
- ½ cup Dry White Wine
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoon Smoked Serrano Powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a piece of foil.
- Remove any leaves from the cauliflower, chop into large florets.
- Peel and slice onion, peel garlic..
- Arrange cauliflower florets, onion, and garlic in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Let veggies roast for about 50 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes or so until golden brown
- Transfer roasted veggies and garlic to a large pot or dutch oven.
- Add chicken broth, milk, and white wine to the soup pot, mash lightly with a potato masher.
- Bring almost to a boil over medium-high heat, turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Puree soup mixture until smooth – you may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your food processor or regular blender. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender, right in the pot.
- Transfer smooth puree back to the pot, add heavy cream and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir smoked serrano powder into oil, drizzle over individual servings of soup.
Notes
Nutrition
More Fall Eats
Looking for more cool weather, “autumn” type recipes to enjoy as the leaves change? I’ve got you!
Acorn Squash Tortellini with Nutmeg Cream Sauce
Homemade Hard Apple Cider
How to Cut & Serve Pomegranate
How to Make Candy Apples
How to Make Pumpkin Mead
How to Roast Chestnuts
Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Traditional Pumpkin Mousse
Wild Rice & Sausage Stuffed Peppers
Wild Rice Stuffed Chicken Breast
Michael Porter
This soup is great! The oil infusion works soooo well with it, I can't get enough. Even if you're not a fan of spicy foods, I recommend you do the oil drizzle anyway, use as much as you like. It adds a great depth that compliments the already-delicious taste of the rest of the soup. Marie, feel free to make this for me whenever you like 🙂
Minneapolis Farmers Market
Marie, thank you. You make early fall mornings sound romantic.
alison mcquade
sounds absolutely delicious!