Is anyone else as obsessed with soup as I am this time of year? I could eat it every single day. There is something so comforting about soup. Even though we have had a mild winter, no matter what, every day that it has been the slightest bit cold, I have craved some type of soup or stew.
Lately I have really been enjoying these simple to make creamy, but vegan pureed soups. Hearty, filling and so good for you! This soup might actually be my new favorite. It has so much delicious robust and deep flavor from the roasted cauliflower and garlic, with just a hint of heat from the red pepper flakes. It is creamy but still light and the depth of flavor is just incredible. What is even more incredible is how few ingredients it takes and how quick it is to make. I threw this together yesterday after lunch to be ready for dinner, and it was so quick and easy.
What is your favorite soup right now?
[print_this]Creamy Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower Soup
serves 4
1 large head (or 2 small) cauliflower (about 2 to 2 1/5 lbs) cut into 1-inch florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole head of garlic
1 medium onion, diced
4 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
sea salt and black pepper
fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 425ºF
Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the individual cloves intact and the bulb still whole. Cut off about 1/4 inch from the top of the cloves. Place the head of garlic in a small piece of foil, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil (just a teaspoon or two). Wrap the foil around the garlic head tightly.
Toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Add the pan of cauliflower to the top rack in your oven and the garlic head wrapped in foil, on the bottom rack. Bake both for about 30-40 minutes. You can gently toss the cauliflower around, once or twice in that time.
You want the cauliflower to be a golden to dark brown color and the garlic head to be very fragrant and soft to the touch. Allow the garlic to cool so you can touch it. With your hands or a small knife, squeeze each of the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a small bowl, It should look like a thick paste. Set the cauliflower and garlic aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil over a medium-high heat and add the diced onion. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add the cauliflower, roasted garlic, stock, Herbes de Provence and red pepper flakes. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
Purée with an immersion blender or in batches using a regular blender or food processor*, until smooth. Return puree to pot, bring to a simmer, salt and pepper to taste. Thin soup with more broth if desired. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with a pinch of fresh thyme.
* When puréeing hot soup in a blender or food processor, do so in small batches, filling the blender pitcher only about halfway. Put the lid on, but remove that small cap in the lid (if you have it) and hold the lid down tight with a towel, otherwise the steam will cause the lid to explode off, spewing hot liquid everywhere. This has never happened to me, but it can, so be careful.
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12 Responses
I make a very similar roasted cauliflower soup and it’s delicious! Roasted garlic gives an incredible richness to this soup.
[…] the two recipes & tweak it to my own palette. The two original recipes can be found here: Tasty Yummies and here: Whole Foods […]
I just made this soup today and it came out great!!! Very yummy!! I didn’t have herbs de provence so I “winged” and used Italian seasoning blend instead. I was thinking of making it again but next time adding Cannellini beans (as in your creamy broccoli soup, which is next on my list to try) for added thickness and protein. What do you think?
Angela, I did this recipe and added the beans to increase the protein and thickness (as per your idea – thanks!) and it came out delicious. I also added a healthy scoop (just used a small spoon) of Dijon mustard. I like things full of flavor. Very good!
Hey Kaylan thanks for trying this out and replying, I kept meaning to reply and say what a great idea it sounded like. Angela, I am so glad you loved it the first time and I really love the idea of adding the beans, I will for sure have to try it that way, such a brilliant way to add fiber, thickness and protein.
Thanks so much guys!
I’ve got a head of cauliflower in the fridge with this recipe’s name on it. Thanks for the inspiration. I, too, will have to tweak the recipe when it comes to the herbes de Provence (yes, I totally had to Google that!) and I’m tempted to add a little Dijon mustard as Kaylan suggested. Love your blog; I’m sure I’ll be visiting often.
WOW! I made this tonight… words cannot describe how amazing it is. Thank you so much for sharing. I didn’t have herbes de Provence, nor did I use red pepper flakes or thyme, but I made it with a homemade vegetable broth which was already pretty flavorful. I will be making this recipe again and again!!!
Hi Mandy, thanks so much for taking time to comment and for reading. I am so so glad to hear you liked the soup. I need to make a batch of my own vegetable broth actually. What are you fave things to add to yours? Thanks again.
I use 8 oz of baby bella mushrooms, 1 large onion, 1 lb of carrots, a whole head of garlic, 1 large sweet potato, a few ribs of celery, lots of oregano, a little bit of parsley, and salt and pepper. I cut everything in small-ish pieces and mince the garlic. Basically, it’s all prepared as if I’m making a soup and not a broth – the smaller you cut everything, the more the flavors will release. I always start by sautéing the mushrooms and onions until the onions caramelize – it adds some depth to the broth. I let it simmer for the better part of the day, maybe 6 hrs or so, but the longer you wait the better it tastes!
When all is said and done I strain it, then add enough broth to the mushy veggies to puree them into a yummy cream soup! I like that I get two things out of the pot of broth because I find it rather time consuming. Worth it though. I’ll never use commercially prepared broth again!
Fabulous! Thanks for sharing this.
PS – I have a batch of broth simmering right now as I type this. Guess what I’m making when the broth is ready? Your soup! I have been thinking about it since last time I made it. I wouldn’t let my husband have any of the last batch have, but I think I’ll share this time. Hahahah
I made this today, using 2 cauliflower heads (they were med/average size). It was pretty easy and smelled wonderful. I like how creamy it is, yet it doesn’t contain cream or potatoes. I love the combination of cauliflower with roasted garlic. I used about 3 1/2 cups no-chicken broth and only 1 tsp herbs de provence. No fresh thyme. About 1/2 tsp salt, to taste. The roasted garlic only took 20 min to roast. Yum! Thank you.