This creamy, rich soup gives you that world-conquering feeling that you just slurped up practically the whole day’s veggie requirement…and you LIKED it. (PS: It’s vegan. And paleo. Basically it will make you superhuman.) Originally posted January 22, 2016.
Table of Contents
- You’ll love this Vegan Cauliflower Soup
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup Ingredients
- Cauliflower Soup (No Cream) Substitutions
- How to make Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup
- What to serve with Cauliflower Carrot Soup
- How to store No Cream Cauliflower Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Soup Recipe FAQs
- Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup Recipe
So my parents just got back from a cruise to ANTARCTICA. For real guys. Penguins, blue icebergs, sub zero temps, the whole bit. Wanna see?
My dad is an amazing photographer. These were all taken by my mom on her phone (and I still think they are awesome), but if you want to see some of the photos from his nice camera when he gets them all organized, tell me and I will share!
There were a lot of photographers on the cruise, and they had a photo contest with different categories that you could enter, like “Wildlife” or “Sunset”. One of the categories was “Something fun and creative,” so my dad entered a picture he shot of 2 penguins doin’ it on the beach.
He DIDN’T WIN. “What’s more creative and fun than sex??” he said.
(Umm…but really.)
In other news, here’s where I knocked an entire box of spinach AND a bottle of olive oil on the ground during this photo shoot. I thought to myself, “I will never tell anyone that I picked my spinach up off the ground and then ate it,” until I remembered that spinach GROWS IN DIRT and then I felt a little better about telling you how I eat food off the ground.
So I was really tempted to name this recipe “Dirt Soup,” just because of the way it looks. There is a legendary story in Eric’s family about the time his mom made “dirt soup.” Everyone, including his mom, thought it tasted exactly like dirt, and they threw it in the garbage. Nice to know I’m not the only one with epic kitchen failures!!
But this super creamy soup tastes nothing like dirt, pinky swear. For being mostly vegetables and water, it is shockingly flavorful. I tried it and liked it, and then I added some chicken bouillon and liked it more, and then I added some sharp cheddar and liked it even more. Adjust the recipe to your needs. If you are really hitting it hard this January, leave out the cheese. If you are vegan, leave out the chicken bouillon. If you are just congratulating yourself on not serving your family hot pockets for dinner, go ahead and add them both in.
You’ll love this Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Traditionally, Golden Cauliflower Soup is made creamy by blending cashews with the soup. But in this recipe, I used Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend. Worked like a charm! It lends the same creaminess without adding the calories (and dairy!) found in traditional creamy soups. One more thing, I added the spinach last after I blended it, but after eating for a while I went back and pureed the spinach. Totally just personal preference, eat it however you like. My kids loved this one!
Creamy Cauliflower Soup Ingredients
Here’s a quick shopping list to help you gather your ingredients. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions!
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Celery
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Carrot juice
- Nutmeg
- Dried basil
- Dried thyme
- Dried sage
- Cayenne pepper
- Unsweetened almond milk (or cashew milk)
- Spinach
- Chicken bouillon (optional)
- Cheddar cheese (optional, to garnish)
Cauliflower Soup (No Cream) Substitutions
Since this is a vegan soup, we’re getting that delicious creaminess from your choice of almond milk or cashew milk. If you don’t want to use a nut-based milk, then oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk are all good choices too. Of course, if you’re not following a special diet and just trying to get your veggies in, it’s fine to use regular cow’s milk (or even half and half!).
How to make Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this soup. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card below for complete, detailed instructions!
- Chop all of the vegetables and mince the garlic.
- Add carrot juice, water, and chopped vegetables to a pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the spices and chicken bouillon (if using) and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender (or transfer the soup to a blender and blend there before pouring the soup back into the pot).
- Turn the heat back on to medium and add the almond milk and spinach. Cook for a couple minutes until the spinach wilts and serve hot.
What to serve with Cauliflower Carrot Soup
This soup makes a delicious main dish all by itself, but if you’d like to serve something with it, I recommend any of the following vegan-friendly salads or breads.
Marinated Asian Cucumber Salad with Rice Vinegar << light, healthy, and vegan.
Black Bean and Couscous Salad << sub veggie broth for the chicken broth to keep it vegan/vegetarian.
One Hour French Bread << you can use olive oil instead of butter and make an amazing, warm, crusty, totally vegan loaf of bread to go with your soup! And it’s FAST.
Garlic Knots Recipe << Use all olive oil for the garlic “butter” and you’ve got the ultimate vegan garlic knot to accompany your soup.
Garlic and Rosemary Skillet Bread << A super impressive, totally vegan bread with lots of garlic and rosemary flavor.
How to store No Cream Cauliflower Soup
Cauliflower soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for several months.
How long does cauliflower soup last?
The delicious flavors of this cauliflower soup will meld together in the fridge, making it perfect for meal prep. The texture doesn’t deteriorate so you’re good to make it one day and enjoy it a few days later. Since it calls for a dairy substitute instead of milk, it can be frozen–super rare for a creamy soup! I recommend freezing it in the portion size you’ll want to pull out. You can do individual ones if it’s all yours or larger ones for feeding a group.
Vegan Cauliflower Soup Recipe FAQs
Cauliflower is a great base for soup or cauliflower “rice” because it doesn’t have a strong flavor. In this soup we’re adding black pepper, basil, thyme, sage, and cayenne pepper to avoid a bland soup. If you’re not adding spices you’re missing out on flavor!
When you blend this cauliflower soup, it instantly becomes a creamy, thick soup texture with no additional thickeners needed. If you’d like a thicker soup, mix up ¼ cup of water with the almond milk before adding it and whisk it into your soup while it’s still cooking in step 7.
Any spices you enjoy go perfectly with cauliflower, because it has very little flavor on its own (for example, I made Indian inspired cauliflower rice and Spanish cauliflower rice (to eat with Mexican food). You do you! In this recipe I use a blend of spices that taste great to me. Feel free to leave something out if you don’t enjoy it and sprinkle in something else.
Other Soup Recipes You’ll Love
How to Make Tomato Soup (Quick and Easy) << who knew that the best tomato soup you’ve ever had would be your own?
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup << easy, healthy, and warm.
Creamy Zucchini Soup with Popcorn Garnish << have you ever put popcorn on your soup? Such a fun substitute for croutons!
30 Minute Pea Soup (From a Bag of Frozen Peas) << pretty much the definition of “oh noooo I forgot to make dinner!!”
Simple Asparagus Soup << so delicious when you’re in the mood for spring veggies AND it’s still freezing outside.
Paleo Stuffed Pepper Soup from Fake Ginger
Swedish Meatball Soup from What Great Grandma Ate
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Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
- 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of carrot juice
- 4 cups of water, *
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- dash cayenne pepper
- 1 to 2 cups Unsweetened Original Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend
- 4-5 handfuls of spinach, chopped
- optional: 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
- optional: shredded cheddar cheese, to garnish
Instructions
- Chop all of the vegetables.* Mince the garlic.
- Add carrot juice and water to a large soup pot. Add the vegetables and bring to a boil.
- Add the nutmeg, salt, pepper, basil, thyme, sage, and cayenne. Add the chicken bouillon at this point, if you are using it. (All liquid in this soup can be replaced with chicken broth.)
- Once the soup has come to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
- Turn off the heat. (Add the spinach at this point if you are pretty sure you want it blended, and wait a couple minutes for it to wilt.)
- 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 vegetable lava. Pour the soup back into the pot.
- Turn the heat back on to medium and add the Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend, and the spinach. Cook for a couple minutes until the spinach wilts.
- Serve hot! (Sprinkle cheese on top of each bowl if you want.)
Notes
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk. Thanks so much for supporting the brands that keep The Food Charlatan up and running!
Just made this last night (minus the nutmeg – I’m allergic!) and it was delicious and a hit with the kids!
So happy to hear that Helena! Always a win when the kids like it. :) Thanks for the review!
Hi Karen. I’m so happy to find your blog and this recipe on Pinterest. Just want to personally thank you and let you know that I featured this recipe on my blog in my “10 Food Processor Soup Recipes (No Cooking Skills Required)” post.
Here it is, http://tinykitchendivas.com/food-processor-soup-recipes/
Please let me know if I missed something or if you want to change and add information about your blog and project.
Xoxo,
Tessah
The cauliflower soup looks delicious! Need to make this!
Thank you Tatjana! I hope you love it! Let me know how it goes :)
This is the prettiest soup ever! I’m glad your olive oil bottle didn’t break during the shoot, and I’m glad you had the opportunity to take this dappled picture of it.
I’m definitely putting cheddar on mine. :)
Thanks Annie! I’m glad it didn’t break either!! I thought it had at first and I was about to throw a hissy fit. Haha. And yes–good choice on the cheddar. The sharper the better!
That cruise looks absolutely amazing! What a fun time! And I could eat this soup all day! I love the spices. Yum!
I know, I’m so jealous! But I did hear from them that they camped. On Antarctica. My Dad said he was warm enough but gaaahh!!! I would need this soup for every meal if I went :)
This looks so creamy and so delicious- pinning! Love me some cauli!
Thanks for pinning Medha! I love me some cauli too! It’s the most versatile veggie ever!
Cashew milk is amazing in soup! I’ve used it in a creamy mushroom soup before.
And the photos have me dreaming of visiting all seven continents one day!
Creamy mushroom soup!! I so need to try that with cashew milk! I love the gentle creaminess it adds without being overbearing. It’s the best!
And that is actually my Dad’s goal Julia! He wants to visit basically the entire world :) He’s going to come close I think!
That is an amazing cruise to have gone on. What an experience!!! Love your Mom’s pictures and I’d love to see more. Seriously gorgeous…. as is this soup!! :)
I agree Rachel! I told someone the other day they were in Antarctica and their response was, “Why??” HMM LET ME THINK. haha. I will post more pictures when I get them!!
PLEASE POST MORE PICS – THE OTHERS WERE JUST “TEASERS” – LOVE ANTARTICA !! THANKS
Okay Dick, duly noted! I will post more when they come!