A cozy and delicious, dairy free, cauliflower soup, thickened with white beans for a luscious, creamy texture and extra protein to make a whole meal if you like! Serve Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup with crusty bread or homemade garlic croutons for a match made in heaven! And it's so pretty, isn't it?
How is this cauliflower soup heart healthy?
I know soup is a hit or miss when it comes to heart health. Most commercially available soups are very high in sodium. And the creamy soups are often high in saturated fat. I make it a point to make sure my soups are low in both! I start with my Homemade Vegetable Broth, which has no added salt at all. I make a big batch and freeze it in 2-4 cup portions so I always have some when I need it!
Cauliflower is big on nutrition! It's a cruciferous veggie, like broccoli and cabbage, and particularly high in vitamin C - an important nutrient heading into Fall and Winter! Vegetables in this group are high in antioxidant activity, so are able to help counter oxidative stress (caused by things like poor eating habits, air pollution, and normal everyday living), which can lead to cardiovascular disease, among other chronic diseases. While cruciferous vegetables are most known as anti-cancer veggies, they have a strong ability to reduce inflammation and DNA damage overall, which reduces your risk of heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, and many other disease (1).
I pump up the cauliflower by roasting it with a touch of olive oil - one of the most heart healthy oils, owing to its monounsaturated fat content - and blend it with a delicious mix of onions, celery, carrots, and garlic, for a high fiber, phenomenally delectable combo. Fiber is ultra important for heart health!
Let's not forget the beans. We all know beans are good for your heart (2) (you remember that childhood rhyme, right?!), and I try to sneak them in where ever I can. But they're a natural here. Blending them into the soup provides a creamy texture without actual cream, and bumps up the fiber and antioxidants even more!
Top it all off with some herbs and nutritional yeast for extra antioxidants and fabulous flavor!
FAQs and Substitutions
Yes! You can even skip the roasting if you want to make this soup really quick (but I do highly recommend roasting because it makes the soup so yummy!) You'll need a 2 pound bag of frozen cauliflower. To roast it, you don't even need to thaw it. Just toss with oil and roast it until it's to your liking.
Technically, yes. But it will mess with the color of the soup, and may look a little strange. It will still taste great though.
No. They are not the same thing. Baker's yeast is an active, live yeast and cannot be ingested without being inactivated by the cooking process. Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is used as a flavoring agent, mainly. It is also a good source of vitamin B12 for those that follow a strict vegan diet. If you can't find it, you can leave it out. It adds a slight cheesy flavor to the soup.
Yes, you can use a regular blender for this. Divide the soup into batches as needed, being careful not to overfill the blender. Be careful transferring the soup, as it is very hot!
I recommend serving this with a heel of crusty, whole grain bread and Roasted Kale Salad with Apple Maple Vinaigrette. If you want more heart healthy soups, don't forget to check out our Soup Archive!
If you make Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup, tell me in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 lbs florets)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 large celery stalks, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 ½ cups Homemade Vegetable Broth (or low/no sodium vegetable broth)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- (optional) 1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Wash cauliflower, and chop into medium sized florets (the smaller they are, the quicker they’ll cook). Stems are fine to include.
- Place the cauliflower on a baking sheet, and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Roast for 30-40 minutes, until starting to brown.
- Meanwhile, saute onions, celery, carrot, and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add cauliflower, beans, broth, and thyme to the pot. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer, for about 15 minutes, until vegetables are very soft.
- Add the nutritional yeast, if using, and use an immersion blender or blender to puree the soup until very smooth.
- Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Leave a Reply