Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

I was looking at a head of cauliflower on Tuesday night thinking I’d roast it, but then I just wanted something I could eat with a spoon. This Cheesy Cauliflower Soup happened because I was too tired to stand at the stove flipping things.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The cheese roux gets whisked by hand, no fancy equipment
• You only blend half the soup so it stays chunky in a really good way
• Fresh thyme and rosemary make your kitchen smell like you know what you’re doing
• 6 cups of chicken broth means it’s actually filling, not just creamy milk pretending to be soup
• Potatoes and carrots bulk it up without making it taste like diet food
• Takes 35 minutes start to finish, and most of that is just waiting for things to simmer

The Story Behind This Recipe

I used to make cauliflower soup recipe versions that were either too thick or too watery. This one works because the cheese roux goes in after the vegetables cook, not before, so you can actually control the thickness instead of guessing. Last Tuesday I made it after work and realized halfway through that blending the entire pot makes it baby food texture, which I hate. So I only hit half of it with the immersion blender and left the rest alone. That’s the version I’m giving you here because it’s the one I’ll actually make again.

What You Need

You’ll start with 2 tablespoons of olive oil because it doesn’t burn as fast as butter when you’re sautéing the garlic and onion base. 3 cloves of garlic, minced, and 1 medium onion, chopped, go in first to build flavor from the bottom up.

The vegetables are where this easy cheesy soup gets its bulk. 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets, is obviously the star here. 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped, add sweetness that you don’t really taste but you’d miss if it wasn’t there. 2 stalks of celery, chopped, give it that savory backbone. 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed, are what make this actually filling instead of just vegetable water with cheese.

Fresh herbs matter more than I thought they would. 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves and 1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, chopped, make your kitchen smell like you’ve been cooking all day even though you haven’t. Don’t skip them for dried if you can help it. 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper season the broth as it cooks.

6 cups of chicken broth is non-negotiable because that’s what makes this soup instead of stew. For the roux you need 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 cup shredded cheese. I used cheddar but any melty cheese works here.

How to Make Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Heat your largest pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Drop in the garlic and onion and sauté them, stirring pretty often, for about 2 minutes until the onions go soft and translucent. Your kitchen should already smell good at this point, kind of sweet and savory at the same time.

Now dump in all your vegetables at once. The cauliflower florets, carrots, celery, potatoes, thyme, rosemary, salt and black pepper all go in together. Stir everything around so the herbs coat the vegetables and it looks like it’s supposed to be soup eventually. Pour in all 6 cups of chicken broth and let it come up to a gentle simmer. Don’t cover it. Let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the vegetables are fork-tender and your kitchen smells like actual comfort food soup.

While that’s bubbling away you need to make the cheese roux in a separate pan because adding it later is what lets you control how thick this gets. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over it and start whisking right away to make a paste. Pour in the milk slowly, like a thin stream, while you whisk constantly because lumps will form if you just dump it all in. Keep whisking until it thickens and looks velvety. Add the shredded cheese and stir it persistently until it melts completely and you’ve got this thick cheesy sauce.

Pour the cheese roux into your simmering soup gradually, stirring it in so it integrates evenly throughout the pot. Now comes the part that makes this cauliflower soup recipe actually work. Grab your immersion blender and blend only half the soup right there in the pot. Pulse it a few times until that portion gets creamy and thick but still has some texture. The other half stays chunky. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender or even a potato masher, just don’t blend the whole thing. When you stir the two halves together you get this mix of creamy base with actual vegetable chunks floating in it, which is what you want.

Let it simmer for another 5 minutes so the flavors marry and it thickens up more. You’ll see light steam rising and the consistency changes when you drag your spoon through it. Scatter more shredded cheese on top before you serve it. I ate mine with toast to soak up the broth.

What I Did Wrong the First Time

I made the roux first and let it sit while the vegetables cooked, thinking I’d save time. It separated into this grainy mess by the time I tried to stir it in and I had to remake the whole thing. The roux needs to go directly from your saucepan into the hot soup while it’s still smooth and fluid, not after it’s been sitting there cooling down and breaking. Make the vegetables first, then do the roux right before you need it.

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

By Emma

Prep:

10 min

Cook:

25 min

Total:

35 min

Servings:

8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or your choice)

Method

1. 1 Heat a large pot over medium heat and pour in olive oil. Toss in minced garlic and diced onion; sauté, stirring often, until the onions soften and start to turn translucent, about 2 minutes. The kitchen should smell sweet and savory by now.
2. 2 Add chopped cauliflower florets, carrots, celery, potatoes, thyme, rosemary, salt, and black pepper into the pot. Stir everything thoroughly to combine so the herbs coat the vegetables evenly. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Let everything cook, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes until vegetables yield easily to a fork and release their aroma.
3. 3 While the soup simmers, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle flour over the melted butter, whisking constantly to create a paste. Slowly pour in milk in a thin stream while whisking vigorously to avoid lumps. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens slightly and turns velvety. Add shredded cheese and stir persistently until it melts fully and the roux thickens into a cheesy sauce.
4. 4 Gradually pour the cheese roux into the simmering soup. Stir deliberately to integrate the creamy mixture evenly throughout the pot.
5. 5 Switch to an immersion blender and work through half of the soup directly in the pot. Pulse a few times until that portion thickens and becomes creamy but still retains a bit of texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transferring half the soup to a traditional blender or using a potato masher works fine. Stir the blended and unblended parts together to marry the thickened base with the chunks.
6. 6 Let the soup bubble gently for an additional 5 minutes to marry flavors and thicken more. Watch for light steam rising and the slight change in consistency when you stir, indicating it's ready.
7. 7 Finish by scattering more shredded cheese on top. Serve hot with fresh bread or crisp toasted baguette slices to soak up every drop of this hearty and creamy cauliflower concoction.

Nutritional information

Calories

210

Protein

8g

Carbs

18g

Fat

12g

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Tips for the Best Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

The cheese in the roux melts smoother if you shred it yourself from a block instead of buying pre-shredded. The pre-shredded stuff has that coating on it that makes it clumpy when it hits hot liquid, and you’ll see little bits that never quite melt all the way.

When you’re blending half the soup, angle the immersion blender toward one side of the pot and work in that half only. If you just randomly pulse around the whole pot you’ll end up with everything semi-blended instead of having that chunky-creamy contrast this cauliflower soup recipe needs.

Your potatoes will break down a little during the simmer and that’s actually helping thicken the broth naturally. If they fall apart more than you wanted, it just makes the base thicker without changing the flavor. I stopped worrying about keeping them in perfect cubes.

The soup tastes better the next day after the cheese flavor really works its way through everything. I noticed this when I had leftovers for lunch on Wednesday and it was noticeably richer than Tuesday night.

Serving Ideas

I put mine in a bread bowl from the bakery because the soup soaks into the bread and makes it taste like cheesy toast from the inside out.

Crumbled bacon on top adds that salty crunch that makes this easy cheesy soup feel more like a meal instead of just vegetables. Or those fried onion strings from the can if you have them lying around.

A handful of fresh parsley chopped up right before serving brightens the whole thing. The soup is pretty heavy so that fresh green taste cuts through the cheese in a way I didn’t expect to like but I did.

Variations

You can swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth if you want this meatless. The flavor gets lighter and more vegetable-forward but it still works because the cheese roux carries most of the richness anyway.

Half cauliflower and half broccoli is the move if you’ve got both in your fridge. The broccoli cooks at the same rate and adds a slightly different flavor that keeps it from being one-note. I did this by accident once when I didn’t have enough cauliflower.

Using Gruyere instead of cheddar makes it taste fancier without doing any extra work. It melts smoother and has that nutty thing going on that works with the rosemary. More expensive though, so I only do it when I’m pretending I have my life together.

Sharp white cheddar instead of regular makes this comfort food soup taste sharper and less kid-friendly. I liked it better than the mild stuff but my roommate said it was too much cheese flavor, which I didn’t know was possible.

FAQ

Can I use frozen cauliflower instead of fresh? Yeah, but thaw it first and squeeze out the extra water or your soup will be watery. Frozen cauliflower holds more moisture than fresh and it’ll thin out your broth if you just dump it in frozen.

Do I have to make the roux separately? You don’t have to but I tried making it right in the soup pot once and couldn’t control the thickness. It got lumpy where the flour hit the broth and I had to fish out the chunks. Making it separate means you can see what you’re doing.

Can I use a regular blender instead of an immersion blender? Transfer half the soup to your blender, blend it until it’s creamy and pour it back in. Let the steam vent out of the top or the pressure will blow the lid off, which I learned the hard way when I had soup on my ceiling.

What if I don’t have fresh herbs? Use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary instead. The flavor won’t be as bright but it’ll still smell good. Add them when you add the vegetables so they have time to rehydrate in the broth.

How do I store leftovers? Put it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The soup gets thicker as it sits because the starches from the potatoes keep working. Add a splash of broth or milk when you reheat it.

Can I freeze this soup? The texture gets grainy when you freeze and thaw cheese-based soups because the dairy separates. I tried it once and it looked broken when I reheated it. You can whisk it back together but it’s never quite the same.

Why is my soup too thin? Let it simmer longer uncovered so some of the liquid evaporates, or blend more than half of it. The blended vegetables act as a natural thickener. You can also make another small batch of roux and stir it in.

Why is my soup too thick? Thin it out with more chicken broth or milk, adding it 1/4 cup at a time until you get the consistency you want. I’ve done this when I left it simmering too long and too much liquid cooked off.

What kind of potatoes work best? Yukon Gold or russet both work fine. Russets break down more and make it thicker, Yukon Golds hold their shape better. I’ve used both and honestly couldn’t tell much difference once everything was mixed together.

Can I use a different kind of milk? Whole milk makes the roux creamiest but 2% works too. Don’t use skim because there’s not enough fat to make the roux smooth. I haven’t tried non-dairy milk so I can’t tell you if that works.

How do I know when the vegetables are done? Stick a fork in a potato cube. If it slides in easily without resistance they’re ready. The cauliflower will be soft but not mushy at the same time the potatoes finish.

Can I add more cheese? You can stir in another 1/2 cup when you add the roux if you want it cheesier. More than that and it starts to taste like melted cheese with vegetables in it instead of soup, which might be what you’re going for.

What if my roux is lumpy? You probably added the milk too fast. Pour it through a fine mesh strainer into the soup to catch the lumps. Or whisk it really aggressively for like 2 minutes and sometimes they break up.

Do I need to peel the carrots and potatoes? The potatoes yeah, because potato skin gets weird and chewy in soup. Carrots you can skip peeling if they’re organic and you scrub them really well. I’m lazy about the carrots half the time.

Can I use vegetable oil instead of olive oil? It works but you lose that little bit of olive oil flavor at the beginning. Doesn’t make a huge difference since there’s so much else going on. Use whatever oil you have that won’t smoke at medium heat.

How do I reheat this without it separating? Warm it slowly over medium-low heat, stirring pretty often. Don’t microwave it on high or the cheese will break and get oily. I do 2-minute intervals at 50% power in the microwave, stirring between each one.

Why does the recipe say to not cover the pot? Covering it traps too much steam and the vegetables end up boiling instead of simmering. You want some of the liquid to reduce so the flavor concentrates. Also the steam running down the lid drips back in and makes it watery.

Can I make this in a slow cooker? Put everything except the roux ingredients in the slow cooker on low for 4 hours. Make the roux on the stove right before serving and stir it in, then blend half. I haven’t done this myself but my neighbor said it worked when she tried it.