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
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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
What a surprise! I was expecting to have to add some cream to give this more flavor. In fact this tasted rich and calorie laden as written. Will make this again.