This Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup is a delicious, vegetable-rich bowl of goodness. The flavorful essence of roasted cauliflower and the umami flavors of leek, cremini mushroom, and cheddar cheese will have your guests coming back for seconds!
Growing up in Japan, I rarely ate any “roasted” food because Japanese cooking involves mostly cooking on the stovetop. Since I came to the U.S., I have fallen in love with roasting vegetables, and cauliflower is one of my top favorite ingredients for roasting. Roasted vegetables add a whole array of new flavor profiles and you can definitely use other vegetables of your choice as well.
I made this delicious and rich Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup with my favorite roasted cauliflower. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
This delicious vegetarian soup is very easy to make, but don’t let the simple ingredient deceive you. It has so many wonderful essences from the roasted cauliflower, and the leek and cremini mushrooms add to it with their umami flavors. All the ingredients blend really well together and I added shredded sharp cheddar cheese in the end to add a kick to the dish.
My family absolutely loved this soup and surprisingly my children asked for refills even though it’s all vegetables. I hope you will enjoy this soup as much as my family does.
Other Delicious Soup Recipes
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Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for roasting)
- 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for roasting)
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper (for roasting)
- 2 leeks (white and light green parts only)
- 5 mushrooms (I use cremini)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for sautéing the leeks)
- 1 tsp thyme (fresh)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 2 cups milk (I use whole milk)
- 3 cups vegetable stock/broth (you can substitute chicken broth)
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- ½–1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- chives (optional; for garnish)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (for garnish)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Roast the Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Cut 1 head cauliflower into florets and place them on a large baking sheet.
- Drizzle with 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- Toss so that the florets are lightly coated with the oil. Spread the florets out into a single layer on the baking sheet. Place the cauliflower in the oven, uncovered, for 20–30 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden brown.
- When the cauliflower is done roasting, set it aside.
To Prepare the Other Ingredients
- While the cauliflower is in the oven, cut ¼ inch off the bottom of 2 leeks, removing the roots completely. Then, slice the leeks in half lengthwise.
- Rinse each half under running water. Use your fingers to flex the leek and rinse any dirt or sand that may be clinging between the layers while still keeping the layers relatively intact. Line up the halves and cut into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pieces.
- Clean 5 mushrooms with a slightly damp paper towel or kitchen cloth to remove any dirt. Remember, mushrooms absorb water like sponges, and they won‘t brown nicely when cooked if they absorb too much water. If you have to clean a lot of mushrooms, quickly rinse with running water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Do not leave the mushrooms in water.
To Cook the Soup
- In a large pot (I use a Dutch oven), heat 2 Tbsp unsalted butter on medium heat. Crush 2 cloves garlic (or mince them) and add to the pot. Tear 1 bay leaf in half (for more aroma and flavor) and add to the pot.
- Once the ingredients become fragrant, add the chopped leek and ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and sauté until tender. The salt will help the leeks become tender faster.
- Once the leeks are tender, add the cremini mushrooms and 1 tsp thyme. Pinch the stem near the top with the fingers of one hand. Slide down the length of the stem with the fingers of the other hand from top to bottom and the leaves should break off where they meet the stem.
- When the mushrooms are tender, add 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour). Continuously stir the bottom of the pan so that the flour doesn‘t burn.
- When you don‘t see any bits of flour, gradually add 2 cups milk while stirring the bottom of the pan. Then, add 3 cups vegetable stock/broth.
- Add the roasted cauliflower and bring to a low simmer, NEVER a full boil. Once the soup reached to a low simmer, cover and simmer for 20 minutes (once again, don‘t let it boil!). Note: When you add milk to the soup, you don‘t want to boil the soup; otherwise the milk will curdle. Using full fat milk helps prevent curdling.
- Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf. Purée the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with an immersion blender (or you can transfer to a blender). If you use a regular blender, fill it no more than halfway with the hot soup (purée in batches). Place the lid on the blender and cover the hole with a towel. Start blending and slowly lift up the towel to let some of the steam escape.
- Add ½–1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Taste the soup and season with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. If you need to reheat the soup, bring the soup to a low simmer on medium-low heat, not a full boil. Serve and top with chopped chives and 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container or in the pot and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.
Just made this recipe yesterday and it turned out wonderfully! Made it just as it was written, but used Lactaid Milk instead of regular, and added a few drops of hot sauce on top of each bowl for a little heat. The red drops of hot sauce looked pretty, too, along with the chives and olive oil. Thank you for the recipe!
Hello Carol! We are glad to hear you enjoyed this dish!
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us.
Happy Cooking!
Hello
Can I use glutinous rice flour in place of plain white flour?
Hello MsLinda. Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Yes. Glutinous rice flour would provide a similar texture.
We hope this helps!
Do you think this would work omitting the milk altogether and replacing with more broth?
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Yes, you can substitute more broth for the milk, but the creamy balance of flavor will be different.
We hope this helps!
I made the soup using the Japanese Naga-negi, it turn out lovely.
Very delish, although I cannot judge what the flavor maybe if I had used leeks!
Thanks for this recipe!
Hi Elizabeth! Awesome! We are glad to hear the Naga Negi worked well with the soup!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us.
Happy cooking!
Hi I live in Tokyo and leeks are really hard to get here, will the Japanese naganegi do as a substitute?
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Naganegi would have a different flavor, but it works well for this recipe as a substitute. You can use just the white and light green parts.
We hope this helps!
Hi thanks for the reply.
As you can see from the above posting, I went ahead and made the soup using naganegi, and because they are not as robust as leeks I used three stocks instead of the 2 leeks you state in your recipe.
It turned out very well and was delish!
Many thanks,
eli
Hi Eli, Thank you very much for sharing your cooking experience and tip with us!
We are glad to hear it turned out very well!😋 Happy Cooking!
This makes some nice soup for sure. I left a few pieces of cauliflower out when I did the puree and then I put them back in small pieces so it had some texture. I also used 1 cup milk and 1 cup coconut milk to cut back some additional calories. Tasted awesome.
Hi Lisa! Thank you very much for sharing your cooking tips with us!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed Cauliflower soup! Happy cooking.🙂
Hi Nami!
I love this recipe – can I freeze the soup for later?
Hi Vanessa, Sure. You can freeze them. When you reheat them, please whisk them well together until the mixture gets reform. We hope this helps! Thank you for trying this recipe!
ive been wondering why my cauliflower soup tastes bland. fortunately i came upon your recipe 🙂 May i use fresh shiitake mushroom instead of cremini? I have a lot on hand and would prefer they not go to waste. Thanks Nami!
Hi Maine, Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
It could be the type of vegetable broth that you use made the tastes bland. Adding a few shiitake mushrooms to the recipe may help instead of swapping with the cremini. Shiitake mushroom has a strong flavor, and if you are not careful, it will overwelling the taste of this Cauliflower Soup. We hope this helps.🙂
What a wonderful soup! The addition of the mushroom and leek give it a whole other level of umami. I went vegan and used cashew milk instead of whole milk. I was worried about it, as I accidentally allowed it to boil for maybe a minute. But all was good. No curdling. Thank you so much for sharing all your amazing recipes.
Hi Terry! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe (and converted to vegan version!). Thank you for your kind feedback!
Could I use unflavored coconut or almond milk in the recipe? We eat cheess but do not consume that much milk.
Thank you!
Amber
Hi Amber! Yes you can do that. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Can i freeze this soup?
Hi Martyna! Yes, you can. 🙂
I made this soup and it was a big hit for being both savory and the depth of flavors from a few ingredients I already had at home. The one change I made was roasting the cauliflower and garlic together before making into soup. I’m sure I’ll be making this one again!
Hi Annem! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to her you enjoyed this recipe! Your adjustment sounds really wonderful!! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
This sounds delicious! My (Japanese) mom will be visiting next week, and I am wondering whether I can make this ahead and freeze it?
Thank you very much in advance for your advice! 🙂 Antonia
Hi Antonia! Sure you can do that. Sorry it took me a long time to get back to you. 🙁 I’ve been a bit busy and failed to respond in time…
My picky nine year old tried this and ate the whole bowl. She’s been asking me for the recipe and here it is. Thanks for making such a great soup for us and sharing the recipe.
Hey Angel! I’m happy to hear she liked my soup! Have to share more instant pot recipes for us! Thanks for stopping by and for your kind feedback! Xoxo