Comforting, cheesy cauliflower soup that’s easy to make for a weeknight dinner or a quick lunch. This simple cauliflower cheese soup takes only about 40 minutes to make and you will be enjoying this cheesy, creamy, hearty soup.
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Weather is changing, colder seasons are coming, it’s time for comfort food! Rainy, cold weather calls for soup, casseroles, chili, and mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes and hearty soups are the best.
This cauliflower cheese soup is one of the best comfort soups. I love cauliflower so much more than broccoli so a cauliflower cheese soup is the best, in my opinions. If you love cauliflower, you will agree!
Ingredient Notes and Tips
Cauliflower – check your cauliflower thoroughly before buying. Try to avoid cauliflower heads that have any dark spots or soft spots. You can also get pre-cut cauliflower florets if needed, you will need about 18-20 oz of florets. If needed, you can use frozen cauliflower, just make sure to thaw it first and drain off the excess liquids.
Chicken Stock – chicken stock is best for deeper, richer flavor, but if you need to, you can substitute vegetable broth or chicken broth if needed. When using store-bought broths and stock, try to get “low sodium” or “no salt added” kind. Try to also get bone broth if available, it will have a richer flavor.
Flour – all purpose flour works well for thickening soups. If you need to, use gluten free all-purpose flour. (Try to use 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour, not almond or coconut.)
Cheese – for a nice rich flavor, you want to stick to cheeses like sharp cheddar cheese. It’s best to choose white cheddar because it doesn’t have the yellow dye in it. Depending on personal taste, you can use mild or extra sharp if you wish.
Heavy whipping cream – for the best rich and creamy texture, do use heavy whipping cream and nothing less. (If you need to keep it lactose free or dairy free, use lactose free half and half and some lactose free sour cream. There are some plant-based whipping cream options if needed, check your grocery stores.)
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Prepare your ingredients first:
Dice onion and set aside. Cut cauliflower florets off and discard the bottom part of the stem ( you can use most of the stems in soup). Dice cauliflower onto small pieces. Peel the garlic and you can either press it or mince it. Grate cheese on a large cheese grater and set aside. Measure remaining ingredients.
Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add oil. Add diced onion and sauté until transparent (1). Make space in the center of the pot and add pressed (or minced) garlic, mix, and cook until fragrant (2).
Stir in prepared cauliflower, mix well, and sauté for a few minutes. (Add a little more olive oil if needed.)
PRO TIP: let the veggies cook undisturbed for a few of minutes to get a nice sear and then mix and let them cook again. Getting a sear on the veggies will add extra flavor to the soup!
Sprinkle flour over veggies and mix well (4). Start pouring in chicken stock, while slowly stirring (5).
Add salt and pepper, stir and bring the soup to a slow simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in grated white cheddar cheese one handful at a time (7) and then heavy whipping cream (8). Slowly stir until cheese is melted and smooth. Take off heat.
Variations of Flavors
- You can easily customize this cauliflower cheese soup to add meat like diced ham, crispy cooked bacon, diced leftover cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken, or leftover turkey.
- I’ve added roasted garlic to this soup before and it was an amazing flavor addition. You can read about roasting garlic in this delicious Fettuccine Recipe.
- Play around with cheeses. You can try stronger flavors like adding freshly shaved parmesan, gruyere, or asiago cheese, different cheddar cheeses, or milder ones like Monterrey Jack and mild cheddar.
- You can also chop raw chicken or turkey into small cubes and cook it in the pot before cooking the veggies. Take the chicken out of the pot and use the same pot to start making the soup. Add cooked chicken back into the pot after sauteing the cauliflower.
- Feel free to add some carrots, leeks, broccoli, or another mild tasting vegetable you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few ways to make this soup lighter. First, you can try adding fat free half and half instead of heavy whipping cream. It’s not as thick as heavy cream but it will add smooth creaminess to the soup.
You can also try fat free evaporated milk instead of heavy whipping cream.
You can use lighter, 2% cheese instead of the whole milk cheese.
Yes! This soup can absolutely be gluten free with one simple substitution. Instead of flour, you can use all purpose gluten-free flour. Personally, I prefer to use 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour.
Remaining ingredients should already be gluten free but double check the labels.
Absolutely! You can add leftover ham with some leftover turkey meat or rotisserie chicken. Just make sure to check the meat for bones and discard the skin. Dice the meat into small pieces and follow the recipe for the soup. Best time to add the meat is while sautéing the vegetables.
Storing Leftovers
You can store the leftover cauliflower soup in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should last 3-4 days.
It’s easy to reheat individual portion either in the microwave or in a small sauce pot on a stove. In the microwave, make sure to use proper bowl and reheat the soup in 30 second intervals just until heated through. On stove-top, reheat as much as you wish in a small pot over medium-low heat.
Freezing Cauliflower Soup
I highly recommend that you do it without cream and cheese. Cream and many soft cheeses don’t stand up to freezing and thawing well because they tend to separate after thawing.
Cook the soup up to the point to adding cream and cheese. Take the pot off the heat and cool it to room temperature. (To cool it faster, you can set the pot of soup into a larger pan with ice and stir as it cools.)
Transfer cooled soup into a freezer container or a freezer zip-top bag. Make sure to only fill it about 2/3 of the way, allowing the soup to expand as it freezes. Get as much air out as you can, seal, label, and freeze. You can freeze cauliflower soup for up to 2 months.
Thaw slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 24 hours.
Reheat the soup in a pot and once reheated, you can add in cream and cheese as per the recipe.
More Cauliflower Recipes To Try
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Cauliflower Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.25 lbs head of cauliflower
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Vidalia onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour*
- 3.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz block sharp white cheddar cheese
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare your veggies first. Dice onion and set aside. Cut cauliflower florets off and discard the bottom part of the stem ( you can use most of the stems in soup). Dice cauliflower onto small pieces. Set it aside as well. Peel garlic to be ready to press.
Grate cheese on a large cheese grater and set aside. - Preheat a medium pot over medium heat and add oil.
- Add diced onion and saute until transparent.
- Add pressed garlic, mix, and cook until fragrant.
- Add prepared cauliflower, mix well and saute for a few minutes. (Add a little more olive oil if needed.)
- Sprinkle flour over veggies and mix well.
- Start pouring in chicken stock, while slowly stirring. Add enough chicken stock to cover the cauliflower mixture.
- Add salt and pepper, stir, and bring the soup to a slow simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in grated white cheddar cheese and then heavy whipping cream. Slowly stir until cheese is melted and smooth. Take off heat.
Notes
- *Gluten Free Note: make it gluten free with one simple substitution. Instead of flour, you can use all purpose gluten-free flour. Personally, I prefer to use 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour.
Remaining ingredients should already be gluten free but double check the labels. - Storing: You can store cooled leftover cauliflower soup in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should last 3-4 days.
- Reheating: to reheat individual portion either in the microwave or in a small sauce pot on a stove. In the microwave, make sure to use proper bowl and reheat the soup in 30 second intervals just until heated through. On stove-top, reheat as much as you wish in a small pot over medium-low heat.
- For detailed freezing instructions, check the post!
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in August 2018.
Jeannie Rankin says
Made it for dinner, we loved it! I added a can of green chile’s
Added a little more flavor. We sure did enjoy it.
LyubaB says
Hi, Jeannie! So glad you enjoyed it! I love that you made it your own with the green chili’s I will have to try that 🙂
Pat says
I also made it GF with GF flour and I can’t
wait to have it for lunch. ( 70 degrees outside but
feels like fall already).
LyubaB says
I hope you enjoyed it 🙂
Beth says
I fixed this over the weekend. Hubby and I just love it. It was excellent and just perfect for a cold winter weekend.
lyuba says
I’m SO happy to hear that! This is one of my favorites to make for myself. I wish my hubby shared my love for cauliflower as much 🙂
Kamaria says
Can you use vegan cheese for this soup?
lyuba says
Hi Kamaria!
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner! From my experience with vegan cheese is it doesn’t melt well. Taste might be quite different but I’m sure you’re already use to the taste of vegan cheese. Try to find one that you know will melt better and you can definitely use it.
Deb says
Can you do this in a crockpot?
lyuba says
Hi Deb! I haven’t actually tried making it in a crock pot but it won’t save you any steps. It will actually take longer, this is a quick soup. What is the reason you want to try it in a crock pot?
Lyn says
I made this tonight and it needed some added seasoning for our taste. I added some thyme and seasoning salt, with some refd pepper. Without it, it was a bit bland.
lyuba says
It’s not a problem at all! Everyone has different salt and spice preference 🙂
Thank you for letting me know, Lyn!
Dian says
This looks amazing! If using cornflower instead of flour, do you still follow the same directions as flour? Thanks!
lyuba says
Hi Dian!
I’ve never used corn flour before. To make it gluten free, I use corn starch. You would do it a little differently with corn starch.
Skip the flour step and instead mix about 1.5-2 tbsp of corn starch with a couple of tablespoons of COLD stock in a little bowl. Set that aside.
Follow pouring in the stock step and cook. After cooking for about 15 minutes, stir in your corn starch mixture. Stir it slowly and keep cooking for a few more minutes. You will see soup thicken. Stir as needed.
I hope this helps!
Leslie says
What do you mean by “Pressed garlic?” Do you mean press it down on a board & place them in the pot? Or could you just grate the garlic & place in the pot? Sorry for the silly question….never have seen that phrase before!!
lyuba says
Hi Leslie!
No question is a silly question 🙂
By “pressed” I mean press it with a garlic press.
You can also smash it on the board and mince it or grate it on a grater 🙂
Stacey says
I made it using roasted cauliflower with some balsamic and roasted garlic….TO. DIE. FOR.
lyuba says
Oh so much more flavor! Awesome, thank you!
Mandy says
What is the serving size for the nutrition facts? Is that for the whole batch?
lyuba says
Hi Mandy,
There are about 4 servings in the recipe. It’s about 1.5 cups of soup per servings. The nutritional fact is per servings so for about 1.5 cups.
susan says
Sounds yummy! Saving for cooler weather 😉
lyuba says
And I hope you will love it, Susan!
Jenn says
OHMYGOSH Lyuba this looks AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to try a bowl!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Jenn! I hope you like it 🙂