I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Come closer now... come closer. Lean in. Are you ready? I'm going to whisper. (I like soup.) Don't tell anyone!
Okay, so I just made a big deal out of nothing. But the fact remains that I love soup, especially at this chilly time of year. And out of all the soups in my repertoire, the one that most says "comfort food” to me is my mom's time-tested cauliflower soup. It's brothy, savory, creamy, and filled with tender chunks of cauliflower and all the comforts of home. I've made it in my own household for years… and today I share it with you. Keep in mind that while this creamy soup recipe may appear to have a lot of steps, there's nothing difficult about it. Just get your ingredients ready and it’ll be a cinch. If you like a chunkier soup, add more cauliflower!
Can you use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock?
Sure! Use what you have. Vegetable stock or broth can be used in place of the chicken stock. If I'm using store-bought broth, I like to use the low-sodium kind so I can control the salt level in the soup.
Can you use pre-cut cauliflower for cauliflower soup?
Yes, my friends. Cutting a head of cauliflower into florets isn't hard, but it can be sort of messy. If you want to buy the pre-cut stuff from the grocery store to make your life easier (and less messy), be my guest! You'll need seven to eight cups.
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- Yields:
- 2 - 3 qt.
- Prep Time:
- 30 mins
- Cook Time:
- 30 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr
Ingredients
- 1/2 c.
salted butter, divided
- 1
medium onion, finely chopped
- 1
carrot,finely chopped
- 1
celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1
head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp.
chopped parsley (fresh or dried)
- 1 qt.
low-sodium chicken broth or stock
- 6 tbsp.
all-purpose flour
- 2 c.
whole milk
- 1 c.
half-and-half
- 1
to 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp.
kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp.
black pepper,plus more to taste
- 1 c.
sour cream, to serve
Directions
- Step1In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it starts to turn brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step2Add the carrots and celery and cook about 2 minutes more. Add the cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Step3Pour in the chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Step4In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour and milk. Slowly add the mixture to the butter, whisking constantly. Let it cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Step5Remove from the heat and stir in the half-and-half. Add the mixture to the simmering soup. Drop in a bay leaf or 2. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Taste for seasonings and add more salt or pepper, if you like.
- Step6Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add 2 to 3 ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in the remaining soup and stir. Or, serve in bowls and top each with sour cream. Serve immediately.
Tip:If you like a creamier soup, you can puree this. Or puree half if you like it creamy with some chunks!
Here’s what you’ll need:
The Cast of Characters: Cauliflower, Carrot, Onion, Celery, Chicken Broth or Stock, Milk, Half & Half, Butter, Flour, Salt, Pepper, Sour Cream, and Parsley (fresh or dried).
Wash 1 to 2 heads of cauliflower, depending on how chunky you’d like the soup to be. I use about a head and 1/3 of another head.
Just whack the head in half and get rid of the hard inner core and green parts.
Then just roughly chop the cauliflower.
You could be meticulous and cut the cauliflower into neat little florets…but why?
Next, finely dice one carrot. I just cut strips in the carrot, then rotate the strips 90 degrees and finely dice.
I do the same to the celery: just cut it into strips, then dice.
Same goes with the onion: first cut lines/strips…
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Then dice away!
Then say the following word: Mirepoix, pronounced “mi-reh-pwah.” That’s what this is.
Place a stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat and melt 4 tablespoons butter in the pan. When the butter’s melted, throw in the onions.
Stir them around for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they get a little color.
Throw in the carrots and celery…
And stir it around for a minute or so.
Now just throw in the cauliflower. If it’s finely diced, it should measure to about 2 quarts. If it’s large and weird like mine, more like 3 quarts.
Stir it around to combine…
Next, and please don’t hate me, add 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, if you have it. PLEASE, IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD AND YOU FIND YOURSELF LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE NEAR A SUPERMARKET THAT CARRIES FRESH PARSLEY, add it in.
If you don’t, however, use dried parsley flakes. In the end, you won’t even be able to tell.
Give it a good stir, reduce the heat to low…
And cover the pot. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice during the process.
When 15 minutes is over, pour in 1 quart of chicken broth. If you have homemade stock in your freezer, go for it. If you don’t, but it in the store. Just be sure to buy the low sodium variety so you’ll be able to control the salt content of the soup.
It’s all about control, people. Cauliflower and control.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and let the soup simmer.
While it’s simmering, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
In a separate bowl, pour 2 cups whole milk. I always use whole milk in soups because…well, because.
Add 6 tablespons flour to the milk…
Mix together with a whisk.
As soon as the butter in melted…
Pour the milk/flour mixture into the saucepan.
Stir to combine. Almost immediately, it’ll thicken into a nice white sauce.
Did you know you just made a white sauce? It’s true!
Well, I made it for you, but still. Your heart was in it.
Next, because the world is a crazy place, add 1 cup of half & half to the white sauce.
And now for the fun part: Pour the white sauce into the simmering soup mixture.
Yum. This SHORE smells good.
Now, just throw in a bay leaf or two.
And a little bit of salt. We’ll want to taste the soup before adding much salt.
Now just let the soup simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. It’ll fill your house with fanciful aromas and feelings.
Here’s my soup tureen. My old friend, Sissy, gave it to me when I got married and it made my heart go pitter-pat.
I love you, Sissy. Thank you for my soup tureen. It always make me think of you.
China check: Spode “Blue Italian”
Now, here’s the kicker: just before serving, throw 1 generous cup of sour cream into the serving bowl or tureen.
Add 2 to 3 ladles of hot soup into the serving bowl…
Give it a good stir, just to get the sour cream used to the soup.
Pour the rest of the soup into the serving bowl.
And let me tell you, if you don’t think this stuff is beyond yummy, you’ve got another thing comin’.
It makes me tingle. In a really, really good way.
And YOU can tingle, TOO! Just make this soup today.
Oh! And one more thing:
Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Pioneer Woman
