Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Easy cauliflower soup is made with minimal ingredients but loaded with flavor. This vegan cauliflower soup is comfort food in every bite! Thick, healthy cauliflower soups offer tasty, healthy, low-carb substitutes for potato soup recipes.
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Winter, spring, summer, and fall — you can find me eating the best cauliflower soup ever! I love eating it slowly, trying to savor the moments. Like I’m eating it up with a spoon… which I can accurately say I’m doing quite literally.
If you’re like me, you’re looking for opportunities to serve yummy plant-based soup recipes all year long! That’s because they’re so easy to make, delicious, and filling!
Cauliflower is going through a Forrest Gump sort of revival right now — you can use it with mashed potatoes, pizza, serve it as an appetizer like cauliflower buffalo wings, and you can even make cauliflower steaks. I’m not kidding ya!
I just happen to like it with this thick and creamy soup. It’s filling, nutritious, and not too hard on the calorie checkbook. You know, that mysterious place where you try to balance calories spent vs. calories taken in? Soup is a perfect way to become a caloric CPA!
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Joni
OMG… I just made this soup and it is sooo incredibly fantastic. Definitely give this a try as an end of winter celebration.
In this Post
Ingredients & Substitutions
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Cauliflower — You’ll need one large head of cauliflower. See my guide for cutting cauliflower.
- Olive oil
- Onion — Use either a yellow or white onion.
- Carrot — We’ll be using 1/2 cup chopped carrots.
- Celery — You’ll need 1/2 cup chopped celery.
- Garlic — You’ll need two cloves of garlic, or you can use some tender cloves from a garlic confit.
- Vegetable Broth — Be sure to use a high-quality broth like Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base.
- White wine — This is optional, but I love the flavor that white wine adds to this soup.
- Raw cashews — I buy these at health food stores or online.
- Nutritional yeast flakes — You’ll need a bit of nutritional yeast flakes.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Raw cashews are cooked along with vegetable broth and then pulsed in a blender, creating a perfectly creamy soup base
- Nutritional yeast flakes are a favorite among vegans for the cheesy flavor they add to things like soups
- Cook this soup from scratch with a head of fresh cauliflower or substitute frozen cauliflower if you’re in a hurry.
How to Make Cauliflower Soup
It’s easy to make this Vegan Cauliflower Soup healthy! The hardest part is actually chopping up the cauliflower. After that, it comes together quite nicely. So, let’s begin.
Prepare the Cauliflower
- Rinse the cauliflower.
- Cut it in half, through the middle of the stem.
- Use a paring knife to cut away the stem from both halves.
- Break the florets away.
- Cut branch stems into small, bite-sized pieces.
- You should have around 4 to 5 cups of florets and small stem pieces.
Here’s more on how to cut cauliflower into florets.
Quick Fix Tip
Substitute frozen cauliflower florets to make this recipe even faster.
Make the Broth
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for about a minute longer.
Cook the Cauliflower
- Add the water, bouillon, wine, nutritional yeast flakes, cashews, and chopped cauliflower florets and pieces.
- Bring this to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Use tongs to remove half of the florets from the pot.
Blend the Soup
- Remove the center cap from your blender lid. Fill the blender only halfway.
- Secure the lid on the blender and top with a kitchen towel. Blend on low speed for a few seconds, then slowly increase speed to create a creamy soup.
- Transfer to a bowl. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients from the pan. Add about 3/4 of the reserved florets to the pureed soup, leaving some to place as a topping.
Marly’s Tips
Never overfill a blender with hot liquid, as the steam can build up pressure while blending. It’s better and safer to work in batches when you’re blending a hot soup.
Serving Suggestions
To serve, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve this simple cauliflower soup with tasty toppings like roasted cauliflower florets, croutons, air fryer chickpeas, tempeh bacon pieces, and/or sriracha. These vegan low-carb cheez-its are a nice touch, too.
Storage Tips
Store cooled soup in an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Cauliflower is Healthy
Did you know cauliflower is healthy? That’s because it’s a cruciferous vegetable. That means it’s related to broccoli and kale, and I don’t have to tell you how healthy those are!
Cauliflower is a low-calorie vegetable that’s a nutritional superstar, making it a great addition to your daily diet.
However, cauliflower soup recipes are often made with cow dairy and sometimes even ingredients like bacon. This vegan cauliflower soup is entirely plant-based and delicious!
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That’s it for this vegan cauliflower soup!
Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 5 teaspoons Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base**
- 8 cups water
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ cup raw cashews chopped or shredded
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
Instructions
- Prepare the Cauliflower: Rinse the cauliflower. Then cut it in half, through the middle of the stem. Cut off the stem from both halves. Use your hands to break many of the florets away. Use a paring knife to cut bite-sized florets. Cut branch stems into small, bite-size pieces. You should have around 7 to 8 cups of florets and small stem pieces. Learn more about how to cut cauliflower. See notes for a tip on using the whole head of cauliflower.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about a minute longer.
- Next, add water, bouillon, wine, nutritional yeast flakes, cashews, and chopped cauliflower florets and pieces. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes until cauliflower is tender. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Use tongs to remove about 3 cups of the cauliflower florets from the pot.
- Blend the soup: Remove the center cap from your blender lid. Fill the blender only halfway. Secure the lid on the blender and top with a kitchen towel. Blend on low speed for a few seconds, then slowly increase speed to create a creamy soup. Then add some of the reserved florets and give it a few quick bursts to break up larger pieces into bits. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining ingredients from the pan. Again, add some of the remaining florets and pulse. Be sure to leave some florets as a topping.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cauliflower florets, croutons, toasted nuts, and/or sriracha.
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Creamy Vegan Soups
If you love this cauliflower soup, then that must mean you love creamy vegan soup recipes! Be sure to check these out:
If you’re after more cauliflower recipes, be sure to try my tasty Cauliflower Gratin!
Enjoy!
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
8 Responses to Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Rate / Comment
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Marly,
Thanks for this really good soup! Really, REALLY, yummy! Um.. did we say REALLY YUMMY?!!!
Well, we made this last night… made a minor change n’ only used 7 cups o’ home made (no salt) vegetable broth instead of 8 cups o’water n’ Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base.
Now, just a question if we may… why isn’t the cauliflower stem peeled, cut into little rounds then quartered n’ put into the soup t’cook n’ used in the soup? Do y’spose it would it alter the soup’s taste or texture to much?
Consider’n we’re use’n a high powered blitz’n device t’make it smooth n’ creamy… it might make more yummy soup??
Again, thanks for the really yummy recipe!
I’m so glad you liked this soup recipe. Thanks for reaching out – I appreciate it. I like your idea of adding the stem. I will add this suggestion as a note in the recipe card. Also, I like your idea of making this a low sodium soup…allowing the flavor of the ingredients to shine through!
Mmm. Just what’s needed on a gloomy December day.
Well, heya stranger! So glad you like this cauliflower soup recipe. I’m enjoying some of it these days as it made it into my meal prep this week. I love adding sriracha to it. Yum!
OMG.. I just made this soup and it is sooo incredibly fantastic. Definitely give this a try as an end of winter celebration.
Looks delicious as well as nutritious! I’ll definitely make this! Thanks! Cathy
Thanks, Cathy! That is my favorite combination – nutritious and delicious!
I know, even it can still be quite chilly in April. We just rained for a couple of days and this cheesy creamed cauliflower soup sounds perfect. I love comfort food that’s also good for the soul and body. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and have a beautiful weekend.