This vegan cauliflower soup is both the perfect way to get more veggies into your kids and serve a healthy cozy meal to the whole family!
This post was originally published on December 2, 2013.
Oddly enough, it's my middle son who is soup obsessed. Ironically he is also one of my tougher eaters, so anytime I can get veggies into soups he likes I call that a mom win.
This vegan cauliflower soup really is a win-win-win-win though. The kids (well ⅔) love it, it's super simple to make, it can be made ahead of time, and it's full of healthy, whole food, plant based ingredients!
Ingredients
Here's what you will need in order to make this incredibly creamy dairy free cauliflower soup:
- Onion
- Cauliflower
- Broth
- Raw cashews
- Potato
- White beans
- Seasonings
How To Make Vegan Cauliflower Soup
- Sauté the onions and cauliflower.
- Blend everything.
- Serve!
Serving suggestions
I highly suggest adding extra flavor and texture by offering some toppings. These are our favorites:
- Parsley
- Thyme
- Vegan Parmesan
- Ground black pepper
- Saved browned cauliflower
This dairy free cauliflower soup can be served as a complete meal, but it's also fabulous paired with any of these plant based dishes:
- Greek Farro Salad
- Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad
- Vegan BLT with Avocado
- Healthy Baked Onion Rings
- Baked Eggplant Fries
Preparation tips
Before you get to cooking this creamy soup, make sure to check out these helpful hints:
- This recipe as is will make a thicker bisque type texture. You can adjust the amount of broth for how thick or thin you prefer it.
- Depending on the salt content in the beans and broth, you may want to adjust how much salt you add in.
- I used red potatoes but any starchy potato will work, just don’t use sweet.
- Do not boil the potato to cook it or it will have too much moisture. I cooked it in the microwave (time saver!) but you can bake it too.
- If you prefer to roast the cauliflower for a more robust flavor, roast at 450 F/ 230 C for about 25 minutes until brown and crisp.
- If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews overnight to soften them. You can also boil them for 20-25 minutes if you forget. Another method is using a coffee or spice grinder to grind them dry (not soaking) into a very fine powder.
Make ahead and storage tips
This recipe for vegan cauliflower soup can be a real time saver! Prepare it ahead of time so all you have to do is heat and serve. Or, make enough for leftovers for an easy lunch the next day!
- Prep the onion, cauliflower, and potato in advance to save time when cooking the soup.
- Make the soup all the way but wait to top, and store until you're ready to eat. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, top, and serve!
- This cauliflower soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze this soup for up to 3 months, defrost before reheating.
Common Questions
To ensure your cauliflower soup is anything but bland, there are a few things you can do. Make sure to season to taste. Depending on what ingredients you use, you may want more salt, or extra garlic. Roasting the cauliflower is another option for adding a more robust flavor. You can also add extra seasonings or veggies to customize to your taste.
This vegan cauliflower soup is thickened with potato and cashews. For a thicker soup, use less broth.
Cauliflower soup will last in the fridge for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container.
More Vegan Soup Recipes:
- Vegan creamy spinach pea soup
- Mexican tequila lime chickpea soup
- Summer veggie and bean soup
- Greek lentil soup
- Healthy vegan carrot soup
- Vegetable minestrone soup
- Black Bean Soup
Healthy Vegan Cauliflower Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped sweet or yellow onion
- ½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt , adjust depending on salt in beans and broth
- 3 cloves garlic , chopped
- Drizzle of olive oil , or broth if you don’t use oil
- 1 head cauliflower , about 2 pounds once cleaned and chopped into larger pieces
- 4 cups broth , low sodium if needed (see note)
- 1 cup raw cashews , see note
- ½ cup cooked potato , see note
- ½ cup cooked white beans , drained and rinsed from can
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Optional toppings:
Instructions
- Sauté the onions and salt with oil or broth until soft. Abut 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower, saute for about 6-8 minutes until browning. You can also roast the cauliflower if you prefer but the soup has more flavor if you brown the onions for the caramelized taste, so it takes more pans to cook the cauliflower in the oven but it is an option.
- Put the top on the pan and allow to cook for another 5-7 minutes until cauliflower is nice and soft.
- Add the cooked mixture into a blender, being careful not to burn yourself because it is hot. You can also save some of the cauliflower to use as a topping for the soup.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until nice and smooth. If your blender is high speed then it will blend it until nice and hot. If not, then you can warm in a pan on the stove.
- Serve!
Notes
- Adjust amount of broth for how thick or thin you prefer it. This will make a thicker bisque type texture.
- If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews overnight to soften them. You can also boil them for 20-25 minutes if you forget. Another method is using a coffee or spice grinder to grind them dry (not soaking) into a very fine powder.
- I used red potatoes but any starchy potato will work, just don’t use sweet.
- Do not boil potato to cook it or it will have too much moisture. I cooked it in the microwave but you can bake it too.
- If you prefer to roast the cauliflower, roast at 450 F/ 230 C for about 25 minutes until brown and crisp. I opted to pan saute so that I had less pans to clean but roasting yields a great flavor as well.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Susan Dubose
We love this soup! The only addition I make is a pinch of cayenne to give a little kick. Delicious!
veggiesdontbite
Yay!! So happy to hear!
Dustin
I can’t wait to taste this. I’m making it right now.
veggiesdontbite
How did it go?? Hope you enjoyed it!
Karman
Great soup we loved it 😋
veggiesdontbite
Awesome Karman! Thank you so much for letting me know and the great review!
Laura Colvin
Hi, thanks for posting this recipe. I looked at the nutritional info and wonder where the 1 gram of cholesterol comes from?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Laura! It's from the cashews. There is some saturated fat in cashews. You should always talk to your doc if you must avoid saturated fat, but in general the healthy qualities that cashews give outweighs the small amount of saturated fat they have.
Naomi
Would this freeze ok?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Naomi! Yes! It definitely would!
Kathy
Hope you Can help. This soup sounds wonderful. At our retirement home we make a soup night. I need this recipe to equal 10 quarts of soup.can you help me.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Kathy! Thank you so much! So this makes about a 4 quart pot full. Not to the top but mostly full. If you go to the recipe where it says 4 quart pot nest to servings, you can hover and click on the arrows to increase the servings until you get 10. That will automatically adjust how many ingredients you need! I would maybe do 11 or 12 quarts just to be safe you have enough.
Kate
I just made this soup and it was amazing! I didn’t have leeks so I used white onion instead and just roasted every thing in the oven. Thank you for sharing!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Kate! So happy you liked it! Thanks for the kind comment!
Emily Kemp
Mmm I love squash soup but never added cauliflower before, sounds delicious!
Sarah
This soup was delicious and perfect fall soup! Love your blog and recipes!!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Sarah!! I am so glad you liked it! I have another fall soup I'm working on and hope to post soon. I just need one more trial to get cooking times right before I post.
Erin Hedrick
Your pictures are beautiful!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Erin!