Easy 3-Ingredient Cauliflower Soup – Simple and delicious recipe for pureed Cauliflower Soup, needs only 3 ingredients. Vegan or vegetarian, gluten free, low carb, healthy, light.
A few weeks ago, my friend Garrett McCord– co-author of Melt, the Art of Macaroni and Cheese and blogger at Vanilla Garlic— wrote to me on Facebook:
“Your italian roasted cauliflower salad is epic. Making it for a potluck tomorrow.”
(Side note – it IS epic – if you want to try it click here!)
We began chatting about our favorite cauliflower recipes, and he pointed out a recipe on our friend Elise Bauer’s website – Simple Cauliflower Soup, which was actually inspired by Garrett and blogged about by Elise. I tried it the next evening with dinner. Garrett recommended roasting the cauliflower first, but I was feeling lazy so I made it the way Elise describes on her site, which took all of 10 minutes.
Holy. Moly. I can’t describe how easy and tasty this soup is!! I am officially addicted. Since my conversation with Garrett I’ve made it several times, and I’ve discovered some things along the way. First of all, the soup really only needs 3 ingredients – cauliflower, salt and pepper (well, and water, if you’re counting that as an ingredient). Adding a high quality butter is highly recommended, but it’s actually delicious without the butter too– which means it can be made completely dairy free. Don’t skimp on the salt, it greatly enhances the flavor of the cauliflower. Blending this soup produces a silky, velvety texture and a really creamy flavor without a drop of cream. Once you’ve nailed the basic concept, which couldn’t be easier, you can dress it up with all kinds of condiments. Garrett recommended a pinch of blue cheese, which was heavenly. Elise tops hers with chives and olive oil or truffle oil/salt. Last week I topped mine with za’atar and a drizzle of sesame oil. So many possibilities!
This is also the perfect opportunity to give my friend Elise a shout-out. If you’ve ever Googled a recipe, chances are you’ve been to Elise’s website, Simply Recipes. She has been a food blogger for years and has managed to blog about many, many fantastic dishes. She does it with intelligence, simplicity, and class. Her recipes work. She’s a kitchen rock star and I highly recommend her website. See her version of the soup here, and read more about Elise here. I’ve posted links to some of her other recipes as well as Garrett’s below.
This soup can be made vegan or vegetarian (if you’re okay with dairy add the butter, it’s so worth it!). It’s naturally gluten free, low carb, low calorie, creamy, filling and amazing. It’s also kosher for Passover! Even though it’s a light soup, I find that more often than not it satiates my hunger. If you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, the result will be even more velvety. Highly recommended!
Other Great Recipe Ideas
Simply Recipes: Roasted Root Vegetables with Tomatoes and Kale
Vanilla Garlic: Asparagus with Lime
Simply Recipes: Broccoli Slaw with Cranberry Orange Dressing
Vanilla Garlic: Earl Grey – Kumquat Marmalade
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Easy Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cauliflower (1 head)
- Salt and pepper
- Unsalted butter (optional, recommended) - you can sub olive oil or a high quality vegan butter like Earth Balance, if you like
Optional topping ideas
- Drizzle of olive oil or sesame oil, crumbled blue cheese, parmesan, za'atar
NOTES
Instructions
- Remove the leaves and tough core from the cauliflower. Chop into small florets and carefully clean them.
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 quart (4 cups) of water to a boil. Stir in 2 tsp of salt till dissolved. Pour in the cauliflower florets. Bring the water back to a boil and cover. Let the cauliflower cook for about 5 minutes till very soft and tender.
- Remove the florets from their cooking water using a slotted spoon; reserve the salted cooking water.
- Place the cooked cauliflower into a blender, filling it halfway. Carefully pour in cooking water, adding till it reaches about halfway up the cooked cauliflower.
- Cover the blender carefully and blend, scraping the sides as needed, until the soup becomes a smooth puree. You may need to add more cooking water to achieve a soup-like texture. The longer you blend, the more silky and smooth the soup becomes. Add salt, pepper, and butter to taste. I use about 1 tbsp butter for a whole head of cauliflower (1/2 tbsp per batch). Salt is your friend here, if the soup is tasting bland don't be afraid to add more. You can also add some good quality olive oil or Earth Balance instead of butter if you'd like a richer flavor without dairy.Repeat process with the remaining batch of cauliflower. Serve soup hot. Leftovers will keep for 1-2 days in a covered tupperware container; soup will need to be stirred after reheating.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Brittany says
I was skeptical of this recipe, but gave it a try based on the reviews. I followed the recipe as written and it was barely palatable, tasting like overly salted cauliflower. I added a little half & half to the bowl which improved it a bit, but would not make this again.
Tori Avey says
I’m so sorry to hear that Brittany! This is one of our family favorites, and as you can see many readers like it as well. However not every recipe will be a good fit for everybody. Better luck next time!
Amber says
My husband and I made this tonight for a family Chanukah dinner, and everyone could not stop raving about it! We added lightly sauteed leeks (before blending the soup with an immersion blender) for a little more depth to the flavor, and it was outstanding! Thank you for this incredibly simple recipe. We will be making it to impress guests again very soon.
Lauren says
This was ridiculously amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing. It is literally one of my favorite things I have ever made 🙂
Russ says
OMG – soooo good. Boiled cauliflower florets in salted water and then added 15 grinds of black pepper and about 4 tablespoons plus of Kerrygold Irish butter and blended in the cooking pot using immersion blender. So easy. The butter makes it! Simple is better in this case.
Jennifer Bonam says
That recipe is the bom. However, I added a half of a celery stick, a third of a cup of onion and a melted tablespoon of unfiltered Coconut Oil. Also 2 teaspoons of salt. That was truly amazing. Thank you so much.
Janet Hess says
Just finished making this wonderful soup!!! I made it with some apprehension thinking how could you make cauliflower anything without cream! It is creamy, smooth and delicious, thank you so much for
such an easy and wonderful soup.
LV Hudson says
Good Evening Tori,
Thank you for the recipe. Wanted to know what I would do with this head of cauliflower, so not to let it spoil. This cold rainy day, perfect for soup! Followed your recipe but added scallions and garlic and red pepper and some curry for a little bit of bite. It was absolutely delightful! Will try cup with Parmesan to see difference.
Jean says
I almost never make things from scratch, but this is so easy and fast. I was amazed. In fact, it was only a 2 ingredient soup for me. When I started tasting it, I was so hungry and it tasted so good that I just kept eating it and forgot to add pepper. It definitely doesn’t need the butter either. I only used half of the salt thinking that I could always add more and I didn’t need to. It tasted plenty salty to me.
I also used 6 cups of water and used it all since I like my soups a little thinner.
Tori, can you please try to create a celery or cabbage soup as simple and healthy as this (with a blender and saucepan). It might be good with cauliflower too. I would love it!! It’s that time of year where a hot bowl of soup is so satisfying, filling and warming. Thank you!
p.s. If you don’t feel the urge to whip up a new recipe, how could I incorporate the celery or cabbage into this one? (Sorry, I am an amateur cook).
I
Tori Avey says
I will work on something similar, Jean– I would think you can simply boil some diced celery and/or diced cabbage along with the cauliflower, adding additional water to the pot when you boil and blending in stages so you don’t overwhelm the blender. Glad you’re enjoying it!
Cameron Taylor-Dill says
Oh, I forgot to rate this recipe.
Also, instead of using butter in the recipe, drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of olive oil over each bowl of soup..
Cameron Taylor-Dill says
Finally, a decent simple and healthy recipe. Thank you.
Michelle says
I decided to add what I had on hand; smoked bacon, chopped green onion and minced garlic.
It was the best non-dairy soup I’ve had in a long time!
I’m so happy to have a versatile base soup that can be used for anything.
Next on the agenda, broccoli cheese soup made with this baset for the boyfriend ?
Nellie says
What a wonderful way to use up a head of cauliflower. I love it’s simplicity but also the potential for countless variations. I didn’t measure anything, just boiled a bunch of cauliflower in veggie stock and added salt, pepper and turmeric. Blended it all with an immersion blender. Delicious as is but since I didn’t measure, it was a little runny. I had a leftover baked sweet potato, which I peeled and blended into the soup. Wonderful and super healthy. Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
Rob says
Added 1/2 sautéed onion and chopped celery. Fantastic!
Yanira says
Amazing! ??
Harry says
I never tried this before.but i wonder how an apple would taste.I also topped the soup with garlic flavored breadcrumbs.or cheese flavored breadcrumbs.
Miriam Marcus says
I can totally vouch for this one. It’s delicious! And my kids (10 and 15) beg for it!
MJ says
I love cauliflower but did not enjoy this recipe. It was easy to make, but I had to add a ton of cheese to make it even palatable!
Sonja says
If you want to make it again, i changed the recipe up a bit ..
instead of boiling the cauliflower with water i done it with 1L chicken stock and 1 large onion roughly chopped( which you dont add salt to since its full of sodium already ). i also added some onion flakes and mixed herbs to taste.
Once this was ready i pureed it as the recipe instructed.
i then added 6 rashers of chopped COOKED bacon and 150g COOKED chicken ( could’ve added more of both )
the soup is then more flavoursome which i also added some soy sauce to at the end.
Sonja says
i forgot to mention i cooked the chicken with 1tbs of minced garlic 🙂
Mia says
I used a stick blender rather than apricessor and it works just fine. Very clear instructions made it super easy to make .. My only criticism is it is far too salthy for my taste which hides the delicate cauliflower flavour. I might try adding a little garlic next time.
Aoife says
First time I’ve ever commented on a recipe online. Absolutely delicious!! Made it exactly as stated. Will definitely make again!
Jana says
Do you think using chicken bone broth would overpower the soup? I like to work some into meals for the health benefits.
Tori Avey says
Jana I’m sure it would be lovely in this soup; just keep in mind if the broth is salted, you may need to salt the soup less. Enjoy!