It’s not the prettiest soup in the world, but this cauliflower soup was a surprise hit with my family.
Recently I wrote that most of the soups I make are one-pot meals. But after reading research that says people who begin a meal with a light vegetable soup consume fewer calories than those who don’t, I started thinking about making more starter course soups. I had a cauliflower in the fridge and a meal that needed more vegetables in it, so I whipped up this creamy-tasting soup.
Frankly, I can’t even remember what I served with this because the soup was the star of the meal. I had worried that E wouldn’t like something so simple and basic–roasted cauliflower allowed to shine on its own without lots of seasonings–but she devoured it. I’d also been concerned that the truffle oil, which gives the soup a rich, woodsy taste, might not be to her liking, but obviously I was wrong. From now on, Roasted Cauliflower Soup will be on the menu regularly.
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
I used a Vitamix to get this silky smooth, but a regular blender might also work. Be careful not to burn yourself opening and pouring from the blender because the mixture can be super-heated.
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower (I used an orange one)
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 cups fat-free vegetable broth
- 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 drops truffle oil (optional, but good)
- Smoked Spanish paprika, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Cut the cauliflower into florets and place them into a large baking dish covered with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Lightly spray the top of the cauliflower with oil in a mister (you can skip the oil if you like, but watch carefully for burning). Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the onion wedges and garlic on top of the cauliflower, spray lightly with olive oil, and return to the oven. Cook for 20-25 more minutes, stirring once halfway through.
- While the vegetables are roasting, heat the vegetable broth and add the chopped potato. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cook covered on very low until cauliflower is ready.
- Add the cauliflower mixture to the broth. Puree it, in batches, in the blender until very smooth. Return it to the pot and add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Just before serving, stir in a few drops of truffle oil, if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve, sprinkled with smoked Spanish paprika.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Makes 4 large servings. Per serving, without oil spray: 45 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 11mg Sodium; 2g Fiber.
Holler at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa’s Kitchen are hosting a monthly blogging event called No Croutons Required. This month’s theme is one that I can really get behind–vegetarian soup! I’m sending in this soup as my entry, which, now that I think about it, would taste great with croutons.
reimannfamilyfarm
August 21, 2009 at 12:32 pmHello, one of my CSA members passed this recipe on to me to share with our other members (we have had a lot of cauliflower the last few weeks). I have posted your recipe on our farm's website. Please do contact me and let me know if this is not OK. Many thanks — and I am very happy to have found your site! Do you mind if I link to your site in general from our farm's website?
~Chris.
SusanV
August 21, 2009 at 12:46 pmHi Chris, I generally prefer that people post the link to the recipe rather than the recipe itself, but since it's already posted, I'd appreciate it if you included a clickable link back to this post. (This avoids problems with Google thinking that one of us is plagiarizing the other!) And I'd be very happy for you to link to my site in general. Thank you, and enjoy the soup!
Anonymous
August 30, 2009 at 5:32 pmI made this last night — delicious! I love the idea of roasting the cauliflower with the onions, gave them a different taste from just sautéing them & without the oil!
Toni Lightwood
September 4, 2009 at 8:39 amThanks so much for this soup, I made it last night and it was a big hit with the whole family! I used a large sweet potato (and a small white potato) because I had a white cauliflower (fresh from the Farmer's market) and I had my heart set on the soup to be light orange like in the photo 🙂 I'll be sure to try more from your site!
CutistRawFoodist
November 15, 2009 at 7:08 pmwish I found this recipe first. my cauliflower soup sucked! I still have to eat it, tho.
gayle
January 24, 2010 at 10:12 amI made this yesterday and LOVED it… however, when I put it back into the pot to simmer for 10 minutes, it started jumping and spurting out of the pot… as high as my ceiling! Is there anything I can do to avoid hot soup flying at my face?
SusanV
January 24, 2010 at 11:16 amGayle, turn it to the lowest setting and put a cover on it. I have the same problem when I heat spaghetti sauce.
LaLa
March 7, 2010 at 1:39 amA girlfriend of mine sent me a link to your blog. My stepfather who is dying of cancer pronounced that he could no longer chew over a week ago. He was eating smoothies only so I made this soup. He was so in love with this! So were my mom and I and it was just about the last food he ate. I will always make this and think of him. Thank you.
KJ
June 6, 2010 at 8:13 pmMade this soup tonight and it was a huge hit. It was very simple to make also. Thanks for your website. I plan on making several more of your inventions in the coming weeks.
Sue
July 27, 2010 at 5:33 pmTotally Yummy! Thanks!
terry
September 8, 2010 at 3:26 pmthis soup is really good – i added a few extra ingredients (chopped carrots, celery and a little fennel) which added a little more flavor and nutrition…
CK
September 29, 2010 at 7:37 pmThis was so good. I didn’t have truffle oil or paprika so I added a little curry powder and cumin. It is so creamy without any milk or cheese. I’m no vegan but I was really impressed. Thanks!
Miles
October 6, 2010 at 10:15 pmDELICIOUS!!!
Kristen
October 16, 2010 at 4:31 amI made this soup tonight, and it was delicious. I had cauliflower to use, and did a web search for a recipe. I’m so happy this came up. I had every ingredient on hand – even the truffle oil! I did add a few baby carrots, because I had them to use up, and I love carrots in soup. Delish! Thank you so much!
John
December 4, 2010 at 8:40 amSusan! I was AMAZED at how good this turned out. I made this with the intention of rationing it out throughout the week. Before i knew it, i had sat down and consumed the entire pot!
kathryn
February 6, 2011 at 2:58 pmLoving roasted veggies right now! So warm and filling! Thanks for a great recipe
Wanda Hosier
March 13, 2011 at 12:05 pmWhat is truffle oil and where do you find it? I have never heard of it! I would like to try this recipe.
Angie
June 3, 2011 at 1:20 pmI tried this recipe and my family (including a 4 year old) loved it. My husband even went back for seconds. There are a couple of things that I had to change in the recipe, however, because I have a habit of starting a recipe thinking I have all the ingredients, and then realize when I get to that one, I don’t have it. SO, because we live in a small community and we cannot get orange cauliflower, we used white. Also, I didn’t have a potatoe (one of the ingredients I thought I had), I used 3 carrots in place and it added color, as well as a little sweetness and turned out delicious. In the end, I added about 1/2 cup grated cheese and let that melt, which isn’t vegan, but was very tasty. Without the cheese though it was very tasty too! Needless to say, with the 3 of us eating this soup, I only had enough for a small container to take to work for lunch the next day…. 🙁 We will be making this one again.
Marian
October 21, 2011 at 1:21 pmI just made this soup as an appetizer last night and it was amazing. Thank you! I posted it on my blog dinnersisters.com. I made dill salmon and parmesan brussel sprouts to go with it. Delighful meal. Thanks again 🙂
Esther J
February 2, 2012 at 2:54 pmThis is a great recipe.
I didn’t have the truffle oil to embellish, so I sprinkled a little apple cider vinegar in to add a little tanginess. It worked very nicely for my tastes (Granted, I was raised having cabbage sprinkled with a homemade pepper sauce in a vinegar-y base, so it suited my childhood culinary comfort-food zone just fine).
Dianne
February 10, 2012 at 12:35 pmYUM! I happened across this early this morning while looking for another recipe. I
happened to have a head of cauliflower that I wanted to use so tried out the recipe. I changed my spices since I love curry and used curry powder, cumin and fresh ginger. Even my hubby (Mr. meat eater) loved it too. Thanks 🙂