Curl up with a steaming hot bowl of Vegan Cauliflower Soup, an ultra-creamy and flavorful comfort food made with 10 simple ingredients. Easy to make in one pot in less than 30 minutes!
Celebrate soup season with more comforting vegan soup recipes, like my Vegan Mushroom Soup with Wild Rice, Vegan Minestrone Soup, White Bean Soup, and The Best Lentil Soup!
I’ll forever be a fan of cauliflower because it’s just so versatile! It doesn’t take much to turn this humble veggie into vegan buffalo wings or an eye-popping main dish for dinner. You can also savor the roasted florets all on their own! It’s always good, no matter how it’s prepared.
This recipe for Vegan Cauliflower Soup showcases the best that cauliflower has to offer, all in a luxurious comfort food. Cauliflower florets are combined with 9 everyday ingredients, cooked on the stove, and then blended until the soup is super smooth and loaded with flavor. If you can resist eating it straight from the pot, I encourage you to curl up with a bowl on a chilly evening!
Why you’ll love this creamed cauliflower soup
- A luxurious comfort food – Creamy, herbaceous, and savory, a steaming hot bowl of vegan cauliflower soup has everything you could possibly need in a warming winter comfort food.
- Creamy without the cream – This soup feels like it was made with dairy but I promise that’s just the magic of blended cauliflower and cashews!
- An easy and flexible one-pot recipe – The handful of simple ingredients are fun to mix and match, and cooked together in a pot before being blended into a smooth soup. It’s that easy!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Cauliflower – Pick up a large cauliflower head and break it into florets for the soup. Or, to save time, use 1 ½ pounds of pre-chopped cauliflower florets instead. Even frozen cauliflower florets will work—no thawing needed!
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Cashews – Blending raw cashews in cauliflower soup thickens it up and makes it extra creamy. Blanched almonds or macadamia nuts should work as a substitute for the cashews. For a nut-free substitute, use an equal amount of raw sunflower seeds, a can of cannellini beans, or stir in a can of full-fat coconut milk at the end.
- Vegetable broth – Any quality vegetable broth or vegetable bouillon will work well.
- Herbs and spices – Dried or fresh thyme and rosemary give the cauliflower its wonderfully comforting winter flavors, while salt and black pepper help balance the soup.
- Lemon juice
How to make vegan cauliflower soup
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Remove the outer leaves and stem from the cauliflower head, then discard or save them for homemade vegetable stock. Chop the cauliflower head into florets.
Saute the onion in a large pot until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Want a bright pop of flavor? Once the aromatics are cooked, deglaze the pot with a splash of white wine!
Stir the cauliflower florets, cashews, vegetable broth, thyme, and rosemary into the pot. Heat to a boil, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender.
Blend the soup in batches until it’s smooth. Pour it back into the pot.
I recommend blending the soup in a high-powered blender as opposed to an immersion blender. Most immersion blenders aren’t powerful enough to liquefy the cashews, thus leaving your soup gritty!
Stir the lemon juice into the cauliflower soup. Taste and season with more lemon juice, salt, and/or pepper as needed.
Ladle the warm soup into bowls, top with your desired toppings, and serve with crusty bread on the side for dunking. Enjoy!
Serving suggestions
Don’t skip the toppings! They make each bowl of cauliflower soup that much more mouthwatering. I recommend topping it with homemade croutons, roasted cauliflower florets, kale chips, fresh rosemary or thyme, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper, a sprinkle of vegan parmesan, fresh chives, or a drizzle of cashew cream.
For a well-rounded meal, pair your soup with a slice or two of crusty bread (my Dutch Oven Bread is my favorite!) for dunking, a simple salad, or a hearty sandwich.
Frequently asked questions
Sure! Just like in my Roasted Cauliflower Soup recipe, roasting the florets will deepen the flavors in this soup.
Lay the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and toss them in a little olive oil until well coated. Roast the cauliflower in a 400ºF oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender and golden in places. Add them to the pot as normal but reduce the simmering time to just 5 minutes before blending.
Turn this into a vegan cauliflower and potato soup recipe by cooking two peeled and chopped white potatoes alongside the cauliflower florets in the pot. Once blended, they should make the soup even creamier!
Chopped celery and carrots are also welcome here, although the soup may not be as white after blending. Or, if you want a touch of green, stir a handful of chopped kale into the soup at the end.
The leftover cauliflower soup will keep for 3 to 4 days. Once it’s cool, transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge.
Yes, vegan cauliflower soup freezes well for up to 1 month. Store it in a freezer-safe airtight container or ziplock bag to keep it fresh, then thaw the leftovers in the fridge overnight before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
Easy Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower about 8 cups florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sweet or yellow onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 Tbs fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 tsp fresh
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare your cauliflower: Rinse the cauliflower, then remove the stem and outer leaves. Chop the cauliflower into florets. Set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- To the pot, add the cauliflower florets, cashews, vegetable broth, thyme, rosemary and stir. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
- Transfer the soup in batches to a high powered blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot.
- Add the lemon juice and salt + pepper as desired, and serve warm with crusty bread for dipping.
Notes
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This soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, and can also be frozen.
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You can roast the cauliflower first if you’d prefer. 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until tender and golden in places.
- Nut free – If you can’t use cashews or don’t want to, you can simply stir in a can of full fat coconut milk or a bit of vegan creamer (unsweetened) near the end of cooking. Blending a can of drained and rinsed white beans also adds creaminess to the soup instead of cashews.
I added chopped potatoes and it was great.
I love cauliflower soup, have tried several recipes, yet I enjoy this one the most because it’s an open canvas for me to make it my own. I use almond milk instead of coconut cream, and I add in half a cup of white beans for texture. After blending it, I simmer it until it’s close to the thickness I want, recognizing it will continue to thicken as it cools.
Excellent recipe Nora! Oh btw, clicking on “more about” you leads to a dead go daddy page.
Thanks for sharing the changes you made (and the tip about the dead page) and for your wonderful review, Frank! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup.
This soup was so delicious! Can’t believe how few ingredients it had.
Only change I made was adding a splash of white wine after the garlic (since I was already drinking some)
I left a few chunks (since my immersion blender is at the end of its life RIP) and I used white pepper at the end since it’s pretty (do they taste different? I don’t know)
Thanks!! Your soups are always so incredible, I don’t know what I’d do without your site l <3
Hi Rebecca! I’m so glad that you are enjoying the soups, and that you love the cauliflower soup! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful review and comments!
A real winner. Thanks. Is there a reason why you just mix in the coconut milk, instead of putting in the blender with the cauliflower and veg broth?
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I use an immersion blender most often because it’s so easy, then just stir in the coconut milk. If you want to put it in a blender, there is no reason you can’t blend the coconut milk in, It just doesn’t matter much either way because the coconut milk doesn’t need to be blended, just stirred in. Hope that helps!
Made this tonight, super easy, fast and delicious.
Perfect soup for a head of cauliflower I had and wasn’t sure what to do with. I was hesitant about the coconut milk, but it gives the soup a nice, rich texture. At my husband’s request, I added corn and sliced mushrooms. Very tasty.
I’m so glad you liked it!!
What a delicious soup & unbelievably easy to make! I kept staring at my cauliflower not knowing what to do with it & as I browsed through your recipes I found the perfect recipe.
Thanks again ?
You’re welcome! So glad you liked it!
Can I make this on the instant pot? How long should I pressure cook this. Thanks
Sure, you could. I would probably pressure cook it for just 5 minutes, it shouldn’t take long.