This is one of my favorite soups of all times! Perfect for when you have a random head of cauliflower that you don’t know what to do with. It blends down into a dreamy creamy luxurious soup. Oh and did I mention the cheese? All the cheese!
I finally broke down and attacked my son with scissors last night.
Wait! That came out wrong! Don’t call CPS on me!
What I mean is that I finally cut his hair. By myself. In a moment of desperation, right in between needing a new outfit and the bath. (You mom’s know what I’m talking about.)
So I cut his hair. While he sat naked on the bathroom floor, simultaneously trying to crawl away, grab the scissors, and eat his own sheared-off hair. It’s a miracle we survived.
And it’s a miracle I survived when Eric saw his haircut. It is BAD, my friends. It looks like I had my eyes closed.
You’d think I’d never heard of a high chair. Which is ironic, because Eric just commented the other day after Truman had spent another HOUR “eating dinner” that the Year of the High Chair has begun. Sometimes it’s easier to lock him up than  to turn around every 2 minutes to find him chewing through my computer cord or choking on Charlotte’s half-eaten peanut butter sandwich from yesterday.
(Yes! A 10-month-old! Eating peanut butter! This was a test. You should actually be exclaiming about the fact that I left Charlotte’s half-eaten-peanut-butter-sandwich-from-yesterday on the floor. Just be grateful I’m not feeding her said sandwich today.)
Are you still there? Here, have some soup. This one’s a no-brainer guys. I made it twice, and BOTH times I let the cauliflower boil over, resulting in a massive amount of sticky residue on my stove. The fact that it still tasted amazing is a testament to the recipe. It’s pretty forgiving. Just don’t walk away with the lid on and the heat on high. Or do, and clean up the mess. Either way you will get delicious soup.
The secret ingredient is the dijon. Who knew? It’s a game changer, and a simple one at that. This recipe is adapted from my friend Christina over at Food Apparel. It’a Cafe Zupa’s knock off. Have you tried Zupa’s? It’s a Utah chain. I love that place. Eric and I ate there alllll the time before we moved.
Do yourself a favor and buy an immersion blender. Then you won’t have to transfer burning hot soup to a blender and back to the pot. My mom bought me an immersion blender years ago as an engagement present. I had no idea what it was and hid it under some shoes in my closet. I was totally in denial about getting married, and I couldn’t believe that I was old enough to be getting mature, real-life practical gifts like immersion blenders.
But since I’m sure you’re much more mature than me, just buy one. (And don’t worry. My immersion blender and I are like THIS now. Thanks Mom!)
Do you guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?
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Easy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter , or olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup water
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 4-5 teaspoon Dijon mustard, to taste
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, I promise this doesn't make it spicy. It just adds depth of flavor.
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, plus more to garnish
- salt and pepper , to taste
- green onions, or chives to garnish
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or stock pot, melt the butter (or heat the olive oil) over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.
- Meanwhile, chop up the cauliflower. Go here for a little lesson on cauliflower chopping.
- Whisk in the flour and salt and continue stirring for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in all the liquid: milk, water, chicken broth. Continue whisking to get rid of any clumps.
- Add the chopped cauliflower and bring to a boil over high heat. This is the part where you don't want to walk away. When it boils, reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Or transfer the soup to a blender, leaving the center open to allow steam to escape. Blend in batches if necessary. Hold a towel over the top so you don't spray yourself with cauliflower lava. Pour the soup back into the pot.
- Your soup will be pretty thin a this point. Never fear. Turn the heat to low and add the mustard, cayenne pepper, and 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. The cheese should thicken it up.
- Remove from heat and garnish each serving with additional cheese and green onions or chives.
Oh my! Â This soup is absolutely delicious! Â I made it using the crockpot version. Â Velvety smooth broth, and very hearty. Â Definitely a keeper. Â Thanks for sharing! Â Yum! Â
So glad you enjoyed this soup Cheryl! Funny that you just commented here, I have been referencing this soup today as I make a new recipe for Broccoli Cheddar soup :) Coming soon!Thanks for the review!
Can Frozen cauliflower be used in soup recipe?
Hi Denise! I haven’t tried it with frozen cauliflower. I imagine it would work just fine! Enjoy!
Yum! I made a half batch of this and it was delicious. And easy! I added garlic, that was the only difference. Thank you!
Garlic is never the wrong choice Bay! So glad you enjoyed the soup! Thanks for reviewing!
So, a few comments. First of all my name is also Karen! My nephew is named Truman and I had an auntie named Charlotte. So obviously we both have cool families! My other comment is a question. I make a wonderful beer cheese soup, and I see this as a problem with this soup too (any soup with melted cheese)… Once the cheese is in there you have to serve it straight away or the cheese becomes stringy. I even use a little bit of roux in my beer cheese but it doesn’t help. It also reheats terribly. And I can’t really use more roux because it would knock the flavors off. Do you have this problem with this recipe and do you know of any solutions?! I would love to make big batches of cheesy soup! Thanks!
Hey Sophiashines! That is so cool! Maybe we have the SAME family. Am I your aunt??? jk :) About the soup: I never have any problems with stringy cheese in this soup. I use high quality cheddar (Usually Tillamook) that I shred myself. I’m wondering if you are adding the cheese when the soup is too hot. The cheese could separate if it’s too hot. Maybe try turning off the heat and waiting a few minutes before stirring in the cheese next time.
thank you i will try that next time!
In spite of it being the middle of May, the weather is suddenly being really lame – so I decided to make this soup before we go right back to 100 degrees! Very yummy – I even had to sub in almond milk, since I was out of regular milk. Still delicious :)
P.S. I made a blackberry pie too – it was a food charlatan night all around!
No way in heck to I get credit for your blackberry pie mom. No way.
I have made quite a few of those over the years, haven’t i?
This looks so darn delicious. I’ve always wanted to make soup starring cauliflower, but have been holding out until now – can’t wait to try this! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning Kathi! This soup won’t disappoint. It’s kind of stupid proof. I didn’t stir it for a good 20 minutes both times I made it and it was still good :) And yeah, rock the cauliflower! I love sneaky vegetables that end up tasting like cream.
Mmmm. I love cauliflower in soup. Just haven’t made it in forever. I need to get that on the menu ASAP. Looks great1
Thanks Melanie! Isn’t it so weird when you forget about recipes you love? I do that all the time. And then you remember it and are like WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??
I LOVE soup. It is one of my favorite things to make in the winter! This looks delicious, and I love that it is easy too!
Thanks Cate! It certainly is nice to have hot soup when it’s being so lame outside. Still dreaming about your donuts, btw :)
I’ve botched my son’s haircuts many a time, I’m pretty sure it’s something your supposed to do as a mom to really earn your title ;) nowadays I just cut his hair over the space of three days. The first to shorten, the second and third to ‘fix’. The soup looks wonderful! I love your orange bowl!
Ha! I’m glad I’m not the only one Kayley. If bad child haircuts is a motherhood rite of passage I am so on track. I like your 3-day step plan! Makes it seem less intimidating!
Love the idea of adding the dijon mustard. I had a similar incident with scissors and our dog. However I think she stayed still better it was just I was that bad with the scissors. My nieces had a good laugh though.
Oh man, I’ve never even tried to cut a dog’s hair, that would be scary! Definitely try the dijon next time you make cauliflower soup, it’s awesome :)
I love cauliflower soup! This looks fantastic!
Thanks Chels! Are you feeling any better today? Wish I could bring this soup over to you.
It sounds like you have your hands full. Eh, every kid eventually experiences a bad hair cut. The good thing: they won’t remember it. I love adding dijon to creamy soups and mac and cheese. This looks awesome.
Thanks Jennie! True, he won’t remember at least! And my mother in law told me that the difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is about 2 weeks. I think she’s probably right :)
So I loath cauliflower. Think I could sub broccoli or potatoes (not healthy but dang good) and still have it turn out well?
Sure, try it and let me know how it goes! I would try broccoli first. I think potatoes would be a little bland without some other veggies, but that’s just me.
Maybe a combo of the two.
My kids like cauliflower so maybe I’ll make it as is for them! :)
Haha, now I must see a picture of how Truman’s hair turned out! Cutting hair can be tricky, especially guys hair. I’ve botched my husbands hair a few times, whoops. And this cauliflower soup sounds amazing. I like cheddar cauliflower soup more than cheddar broccoli, probably because I don’t get a million little green broccoli flecks in my teeth. Have a good weekend friend : )
Oh, don’t even get me started on cutting my husband’s hair. We used to do that a loooong time ago, but then we realized that staying married was more important. haha! I should try it again, those were in the early days of our marriage, maybe it would be better now. Wait, what am I talking about? i just ruined my son’s hair! Eric has to go to work and like, leave the house! Forget it.
Lol! Poor Truman. I’ve never trimmed Wendy’s hair and I’m not sure I would trust myself to. I don’t want to give her bangs but her hair is getting to that point where it’s in her eyes…
Also, your “click on my nose” below your photo CRACKS ME UP! :)
Ha! Thanks Claire! The click on my nose thing is totally a work-around. I couldn’t figure out how to insert a link that said “read more.” And now you know my secret. I’m totally faking this whole I-know-how-to-blog-thing.