Cauliflower soup is so creamy, so cozy and so comforting on a winter day! Packed with good-for-you veggies and just a little bit of dairy, it’s a great lunch or dinner whenever days are dreary and you need something soothing in your life.
I haven’t shared anything new in a bit and I apologize. Still trying to get into the rhythm of this blogging thing, the technical stuff, and how to balance it all with my freelance writing, and house, garden, and home projects. Whew!!
This recipe for cauliflower soup is one I’ve been making for years. And it’s just so good! I usually serve it as part of my meal-prep lunches. It’s pretty hearty on its own, but I usually pack it with a half sandwich (turkey or ham are the usuals). Just to make sure we don’t have that mid-afternoon sag from not enough protein. Or if I have enough time I’ll make piroshki to go with it. More on that later. Promise.
Origins…
So I’m a sucker for old, spiral-bound community cookbooks. Love them. And on a visit back to Iowa years ago, my sis showed me one she wanted to get rid of (the horrors!!!). Leafing through it, I found this recipe for cauliflower soup. I haven’t altered it all that much, other than to give more accurate measurements based on long experience in making it.
And to us, it’s absolutely one of our favorites, and we look forward to it every winter. It’s a little too heavy for us in the spring and summer, but that’s when our garden starts coming in, and other vegetables are plentiful. This is totally rooted in Eastern European cuisine, where cruciforms like cauliflower and broccoli thrive in the cooler summers (potatoes too, for that matter).
How to Make this Cauliflower Soup Recipe
To me anyway, one of the coolest parts of this recipe is that it achieves its creamy consistency through two methods, and both are so easy. You start by chopping and shredding what seems like a TON of vegetables, including thinly sliced potatoes. The neat thing is that the potatoes will break down during the initial cooking and help provide a starchy body to the broth as well as thicken the soup.
One further note: this recipe uses just a tiny bit of dried tarragon, and I think it’s essential. Tarragon has a mild licorice flavor that rounds out the flavor of the main ingredient – cauliflower – and brings it all together. French tarragon is an easy-to-grow perennial herb that I used to have in my herb bed, but I’ve yet to start it at our new home. Spring is coming, though!
The other thickener is just a little bit of roux, which you can make with a gluten-free flour substitute if you wish. A roux is a French method of cooking a fat (like unsalted butter) with flour (or GF flour) for just a minute or two, just to get rid of the raw flour taste and ensure that every granule of flour is fully coated with fat.
Add the roux to the simmering soup and let it bubble and thicken for a few minutes while stirring. At this point, it’s going to look waaaay too thick, but not to worry. The milk and half-and-half you’ll add in a minute will thin it to a perfect consistency.
The final steps are to add the milk and half-and-half, then the cheese, and heat it through. This will bring the soup together into a cozy, comforting, crave-worthy meal!
Cauliflower Soup – Cozy & Creamy!
Cauliflower soup is so creamy, so cozy and so comforting on a winter day! Packed with good-for-you veggies and just a little bit of dairy, it’s a great lunch or dinner whenever days are dreary and you need something soothing in your life.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided use
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup celery, sliced thinly crosswise
1 small carrot, grated
3 medium potatoes, sliced thin
1 large head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
1 cup 2% milk
2 cups half-and-half or light cream
salt and pepper, to taste
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Instructions
In a large stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter or margarine until melted. Add onion and saute until transparent. Add celery, potatoes, carrot, cauliflower, and chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender. Add bay leaf and tarragon.
While the soup is simmering, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter or margarine in a small saucepan or pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for one to two minutes to ensure all of the flour is coated. When the cauliflower is tender, add the flour mixture and cook, stirring, until the soup stock has thickened. (It will look very thick at this point.)
Reduce heat to low and add the milk and half-and-half. Stir to combine thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste, and simmer another 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the sharp cheddar cheese and chopped parsley and heat through.