Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Browning the cauliflower in the oven and using butter-sauteed garlic and extra sharp cheddar cheese makes this tasty Roasted Cauliflower Soup really flavorful! The whole thing comes together in less than 40 minutes and will please the entire family.

So by now you know my affinity for all things comfort food. This includes soup. All the soups. From Best Ever Broccoli Cheese Soup to Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup and everything in between, I love, love, love to make (and devour) soups of all sorts. Plus, they are great for cold weather, are easy to double (or triple), freeze well, and are generally quick to put together.

This recipe for Roasted Cauliflower Soup is ever so slightly more time-intensive to make (we’re talking 15 tiny minutes longer than most of my recipes) but worth every one of those minutes if you ask me.

I really hope I didn’t lose you at “cauliflower.” I realize you might be sick of hearing about cauliflower this (pizza crust) and that (mashed “potatoes”) but I’m not giving you this recipe under the guise of it being something else. It’s simply a delicious, nutritious recipe that’s great for vegetarians and loved by meat-eaters alike. It’s creamy, savory, filling, heartwarming, and, best of all, good for you!

The other thing I like about this soup is you can make it any time of year. Cauliflower can be found year-round in your grocery store and it keeps well in your fridge too (up to two weeks). So I tend to purchase it often, and use it last or close to last in my veggie rotation. That way, if I don’t have time to go to the store, I know that there will always be a veggie option waiting for me in my fridge that is still good!

HOW DO YOU MAKE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP VEGAN?

Although this soup is already vegetarian, you might want to make it without animal products all together. To do this, you’ll need to swap out the butter, chicken broth, half and half, heavy cream, and cheese for vegan-friendly foods.

Here’s what I would suggest: Swap the butter for coconut oil. Vegetable broth can be easily substituted for chicken broth, and instead of half-and-half and heavy cream you can use coconut milk here for both. What you want is the creamy part of the milk. To get this, put cans of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge for about an hour. When you open the cans, you’ll be able to skim off the creamier/thicker part to use as your creamy base. Save the rest of the milk to add later if you’d like to thin your soup out a bit. Or you can use a dairy-free half-and-half or creamer substitute.

For the cheese, use a vegan cheese substitute (though this may be a little gritty) or try using a half a cup of nutritional yeast to get that nutty, cheesy flavor.

WHAT MAKES CAULIFLOWER HEALTHY?

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable related to the broccoli family. It provides antioxidants that help prevent cancer. The fiber in cauliflower helps regulate your digestive system, and the choline it contains is great for your brain’s memory and learning. Cauliflower is also great at keeping your bones strong and acting as a heart helper.

It’s also low in calories and can provide nearly 80% of your daily needs for vitamin C, 20 percent of vitamin K, and 10 percent of your daily needs of vitamin B6 and folate.

ARE BROWN SPOTS ON CAULIFLOWER BAD?

If your cauliflower is starting to turn brown, that means it’s starting to go bad. You can cut the bad parts off if it’s just a little bit. But if you let the brown spots go, they will eventually seep deeper into the vegetable, softening the consistency and eventually turning black. My advice is to give it a little peek everyday or every other day and if you start to see any browning, it’s time to cook that baby up.