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.

A bowl of soup with a bowl of roasted chickpeas behind it and a head of cauliflower.

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, served 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!

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 it adds 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.

Key Ingredients

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.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

  • 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 2 cloves 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.

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

  1. Rinse the cauliflower.
  2. Cut it in half, through the middle of the stem.
  3. Use a paring knife to cut away the stem from both halves.
  4. Break the florets away.
  5. Cut branch stems into small, bite-size pieces.
  6. 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.

A bowl of cauliflower florets.

Make the Broth

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook for about a minute longer.
Looking into a pot full of chopped onions, carrots, and celery.

Cook the Cauliflower

  1. Add the water, bouillon, wine, nutritional yeast flakes, cashews, and chopped cauliflower florets and pieces.
  2. Bring this to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes until cauliflower is tender.
  3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Use tongs to remove half of the broccoli florets from the pot.
A ladle is full of soup, hovering over the rest of the pot of soup. Steam rises above the hot soup.

Blend the Soup

  1. Remove the center cap from your blender lid. Fill the blender only halfway.
  2. 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.
  3. Transfer to a bowl. then repeat with the remaining ingredients from the pan. Add about 3/4 of the reserved broccoli florets to the pureed soup, leaving some to place as a topping.

Marly’s Tips

Never overfill a blender with hot liquid because the steam can build up pressure as it blends. 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 that you can include in your diet every day!

However, cauliflower soup recipes are often made with cow dairy and sometimes even ingredients like bacon. This vegan cauliflower soup is completely plant-based and delicious!

Reader Reviews

★★★★★
OMG… I just made this soup and it is sooo incredibly fantastic. Definitely give this a try as an end of winter celebration.

Joni

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!

A bowl of soup has croutons in it and drizzles of hot sauce.

That’s it for this vegan cauliflower soup!

Looking down on a bowl of soup with croutons on top with a blue napkin beside it.

Vegan Cauliflower Soup

Enjoy this healthy vegan cauliflower soup as a side dish or even as the main dish. Serve with crusty bread and hot sauce.
5 from 3 votes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 182kcal

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 the cauliflower 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.
  • 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. Then 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)

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 774mg | Potassium: 629mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1820IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg

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.

Enjoy!

6 Responses to Vegan Cauliflower Soup

  1. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyRhondda Reply

    Mmm. Just what’s needed on a gloomy December day.

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      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!

  2. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyJoni Reply

    5 stars
    OMG.. I just made this soup and it is sooo incredibly fantastic. Definitely give this a try as an end of winter celebration.

  3. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyCatherine Sherman Reply

    5 stars
    Looks delicious as well as nutritious! I’ll definitely make this! Thanks! Cathy

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      Thanks, Cathy! That is my favorite combination – nutritious and delicious!

  4. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyAmy Tong Reply

    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.

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