This cauliflower soup recipe is going to be the only way you make it from now on. It's a simple recipe using only 4 main ingredients, but with one simple trick, it transforms from your average soup to a rich and deeply flavourful soup! It's a must try.
What's so special about this recipe?
You may have noticed this cauliflower soup is actually brown, not white! Good observation. A brown colour just immediately signifies flavour for me. And it's brown because the base of the soup is deeply caramelized onions.
That's right, you have to let these onions cook low and slow until they're a deep golden brown. That will release their sweetness and add so much depth to this super simple soup. Then you add your cauliflower and you also let them caramelize nice and slow to extract their nutty flavour.
The final pillar of flavour for this soup is a great quality chicken stock. You can make your own like I did here, or you can use store-bought stock (in the form of stock cubes works too).
If you're like me, you like your soups simple and flavourful. My favourite is actually lentil soup, but this one is a very close second.
Ingredients you'll need
Like I promised, only 4 main ingredients. The bay leaves are totally optional here. And don't skimp on the amount of onions!
How to make this recipe
Okay - get ready. This soup is way too easy. Just be patient with it.
You start by peeling and finely dicing the onions, salting them, and cooking them in with the butter and olive oil on medium heat until they're beautifully golden brown. Give them time to get there, this is where you'll get a ton of flavour pay off.
Next, add the crushed garlic and mix it for a few minutes.
Next, add in the cauliflower, more salt and olive oil, and let those cook down and caramelize as well. This step will help draw out the nuttiness of the cauliflower.
Add in the the rest of the seasoning, the chicken stock, and some of the water and allow it to cook at a rolling boil on medium heat for 30 minutes.
Once the cauliflower is soft and cooked through, blend it up using an immersion blender, resulting in a beautiful smooth brown coloured soup! Adjust the seasoning and you're good to go!
If you're feeling fancy, I suggest you serve it with some fried cauliflower on top, a drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Expert Tips for the best cauliflower soup
- Make sure you allow the onions and cauliflower to cook down to a deep golden colour to get max flavour
- As another option, you can also roast the cauliflower in the oven while the onions are caramelizing. This saves a bit of time as well!
- Use a great quality chicken stock. I often have one that's homemade but store bought definitely works too.
Other recipes you'll love
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Cauliflower Soup with Caramelized Onions
Equipment
- Stove
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower large
- 3 onions medium
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2.5 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 5 cups water more as required
Instructions
- Start by peeling and finely dicing the onions
- To a soup pot, add the butter and half the olive oil and warm up. Add the onions in, season with half the salt, and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Stir every few minutes to avoid burning.
- Meanwhile, wash and chop the cauliflower into small sized florets
- Once onions are deeply golden, add the crushed garlic and stir for a few minutes
- Add in the cauliflower, the rest of the salt, and the rest of the olive oil. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the cauliflower develops colour. Stir every few minutes
- Add the black pepper, the bay leaves, the chicken broth and half the water
- Bring the pot to a rolling boil, half cover the pot and allow it to cook for 30 minutes, reducing to a simmer halfway through
- Monitor the level of water an add more as required
- Blend until smooth using an immersion blender (or a stand blender). Taste for seasoning and adjust the salt. Serve with fried cauliflower as garnish, a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil
Notes
- Make sure the onions cook down into a golden colour. This process requires a bit of patience and will give you ultimate flavour pay off!
- You can add in a bit of cream at the end after blending the soup if you like, to give it extra creaminess. It's totally fine without it though
- Try not to skip the chicken stock - this will give it added flavour (as opposed to using just water)
Comments
This recipe was gorgeous, came out silky smooth!
Made it for my parents who are Moroccan and said it reminded them of bessara (fava bean soup) and they loved it! I would reduce the salt next time though as came out a little salty for us, especially with the salt in the chicken stock. But was great otherwise! Thanks for the recipe!
Ah good point about the salt and everyone using a different stock, thanks for noting that! And I'm so pleased that you and your parents enjoyed it!
I loved the taste definately different from eating cauliflower tradionally with rice, and cauliflower gravy. I wanted to try something different and also add cauliflower to my diet so it worked out just perfect. Thank you for sharing!
That's great, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
It is actually very easy to make and tastes great! The first recipe I made from the site, looking forward to making many more easy ones! Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it!
Yummmm! So, I had plans to make this over the weekend and forgot to get veggie broth while at the store. This was an easy recipe to make vegan and overall easy to make.
I roasted some cauliflower and added a few small florets to the bowl, along with fresh chives and vegan Parmesan cheese.
Oh, Amina, it was incredibly delicious! 😋 I have to add this recipe to my running list of ALL the recipes I make of yours. I get so attached to my favorites that there’s no time to try new ones! Thank you for being such a great influencer!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it LindaLee! Thank you for the feedback!