Vegan Cauliflower Soup (Lightened Up!)
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This delicious, easy vegan cauliflower soup is creamy yet incredibly light. It’s the perfect healthy soul-warming soup with only 126 calories per serving!
The recipe comes together in 30 minutes and requires simple ingredients!
New year, new delicious soups for you all. After weeks of holidays, I’ve been craving some much-needed healthy meals.
The best part about this vegan cauliflower soup? You need just superfood cauliflower and everyday staples to make a luscious soup that is warming, nourishing, and made without dairy or loads of fat to weigh you down.
And yes, only 126 calories for a big bowl!
The recipe starts with a flavorful base of onion, garlic, and olive oil. Then we add cauliflower, broth, thyme, and oat milk to provide sweetness and creaminess.
Once the cauliflower is tender, we blend it into a velvety smooth texture, season it to taste, and finish the soup with nutmeg and lemon juice to brighten things up.
BOOM, a wonderful creamy cauliflower soup is served with your favorite crackers, garlic crostini, croutons and crusty bread, absolutely perfect when you want something simple and healthy.
It also happens to be vegan, gluten-free, and ideal for a keto diet or for anyone who’s craving some lighter fall comfort food.
Seriously, what’s not to love? Make a batch of this lovely vegan cauliflower soup ahead of time to have on hand for the coming week.
List of the ingredients
- Cauliflower
- Onion & Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Vegetable broth
- Plant-based milk
- Thyme
- Nutmeg
- Lemon juice
- Salt & pepper
How to make vegan cauliflower soup
(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Wash, cut the cauliflower into small florets, and chop the stalk.
- Sauté the onion in olive oil until soft and translucent to bring out its best flavor.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the cauliflower, broth, plant-based milk (I used oat milk) and thyme, and cook until the cauliflower is soft (about 12 minutes).
- Let the soup cool slightly.
- Blend until smooth and velvety using a stand or hand blender.
- Stir in lemon juice and nutmeg. Season to taste as desired.
- Serve with crusty bread, black pepper focaccia, crostini or croutons, and extra lemon slices. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Vegan Cauliflower Soup ingredients
Cauliflower: This nutrition superstar is low on calories, carbs, and fat, but it’s full of flavor, and once it’s blended, it naturally adds thickness to the soup. And you can use either fresh or convenient frozen cauliflower for this easy recipe. It’s a no-brainer.
Onion and Garlic: To build a flavor base.
Extra virgin olive oil: The best for flavor and nutrition.
Low-sodium vegetable broth: To make the soup vegan. But you’re welcome to use your favorite broth, make sure to adjust the seasoning at the end of cooking as a different broth can taste quite salty.
Plant-based milk: I used oat milk and it’s perfect for this recipe, it adds extra creaminess, similar to what you get from whole milk, but without the fat and calories. Feel free to use your favorite plant-based milk for this vegan cauliflower soup.
Thyme, nutmeg, lemon juice: The combination of nutmeg and thyme adds a warm, earthy flavor that works very well with mild cauliflower. The fresh lemon juice helps to brighten and lift the overall flavor.
Salt & pepper: Season to taste while the soup is still warm.
How to customize your cauliflower soup
This cauliflower soup recipe is simple yet delicious, but it’s also great to customize with several add-ins:
- Add in leafy greens: You can load this up with baby spinach, kale, or arugula. Once the soup is blended, return it to a simmer, then stir in and cook your green leaves for a couple of minutes or just until wilted.
- Plant-based protein: Canned/cooked chickpeas, white beans, or lentils are great options for adding extra nutrition. You can add them after blending for more texture but remember to thin the soup with additional broth.
- Add rice or grains: To make your soup extra filling, feel free to add in some cooked farro, brown rice, quinoa, or other favorite grains, along with some broth, to get the desired consistency.
Storage Tips
This vegan cauliflower soup keeps well in the fridge for about 3-4 days. You can also freeze it to make meals ahead of time. I suggest dividing the soup into small portions, cooling it completely, and then transferring it to the freezer. I use glass containers for freezing my soup leftovers.
More amazing vegan soups?
Check out these delicious 30+ vegan soup recipes.
Here are some more of my favorites!
- Vegan lentil soup
- Vegan celeriac soup
- Tomato soup with potatoes
- Vegan potato soup
- Vegan sweet potato soup
- vegan split pea soup
- Mediterranean lentil soup
- Vegan broccoli soup
- Vegan spinach soup
If you make this vegan cauliflower soup, or if you have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it. I would love to hear from you!
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Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (approx 2 lb/ 1 kg) big cauliflower head, cut into florets and stalk roughly chopped
- 4 cups (960 ml) low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups (480 ml) plant-based milk (I used oat milk)
- 1 teaspoon thyme (or ¼ tsp dried thyme)
- salt and pepper, or to taste (see notes in the recipe)
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, sprinkle with some salt and pepper, and sauté until softened and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the cauliflower, broth, plant-based milk, thyme, and simmer, covered, for about 12 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft. Turn the heat off and let it cool slightly.
- Use a hand-held blender and puree until smooth, or carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary, then return to the pot and reheat. Stir in the nutmeg, lemon juice, salt (I used about 1 ¼ teaspoon), and pepper to taste, using more lemon juice or nutmeg as desired.
- Serve it warm with extra virgin olive and freshly ground black pepper if you like. Enjoy with crusty bread or golden croutons.
Notes
How to blend your soup in a stand blender
Firstly, make sure you know how your blender works. As a rule of thumb, if using a high-speed stand blender like a Vitamix, make sure you follow these simple rules to avoid a mess of hot soup all over yourself and kitchen:- Let the soup cool slightly.
- Use a ladle to transfer part of soup to the blender (and always work in batches if you want to blend all the soup). Be careful during this process, it’s still hot.
- Never fill a blender bowl to a brim, never pass the maximum fill line.
- Once you’ve transferred the soup to the blender, you’ll need to remove the cap in the lid to let the hot steam escape. Because hot soups create steam!
- Cover the open hole with a folded tea towel to protect yourself.
- Finally, blend until smooth and creamy, and carefully return the soup to the pot.
