Description
This creamy cauliflower soup recipe is bursting with deliciousness and has a delightful “kick” of spice. It’s a wonderful go-to Whole Food Plant Based soup. No oil, no refined sugar, no processed ingredients, and it’s gluten free too!
This Rustic and Spicy Cauliflower Soup was inspired by Avocado Pesto.
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- Sprinkle sea salt
- Sprinkle pepper
- Sprinkle sweet paprika
Soup Base
- 1 small to medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons sea salt (+/- to taste)
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup Pacific organic vegetable broth*
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon freeze dried shallots
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Tiny hint of cayenne pepper (tiny dash)
Optional Topping Ingredients:
- Roasted white pearl onions
- Roasted cauliflower florets
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Place on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, and sweet paprika.
- Note: If topping the soup with roasted white pearl onions, place them on a separate baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and sweet paprika. Follow the same process for roasting as the cauliflower.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and roast for another 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, move the baking sheet to the top of the oven and broil the cauliflower for 7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Note: Reserve a few pieces to top individual servings.
- If roasting pearl onions, remove from the oven, and then after the cauliflower has been under the broiler, then do the same with the pearl onions.
Soup Base:
- In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, add the onions, carrots, and celery, and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender. (If needed to prevent sticking, add 1- 2 Tablespoons of vegetable broth or water).
- Add the salt and smoked paprika.
- Add the water and vegetable broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the shallots and garlic powder.
- Add the roasted cauliflower (remember to reserve a few pieces), bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-13 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. This make take about 3-5 minutes.
- Place the pot back on the burner and add the nutritional yeast and almond milk, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tiniest hint of cayenne pepper.
- Taste the seasonings. Add more if needed.
- Serve: Top individual servings with small roasted cauliflowers and/or roasted pearl onions. (Optional)
Notes
*Roasting vegetables without oil can sometimes be challenging. We have found that seasoning them on a baking sheet and covering tightly with aluminum foil for the 1st part of the roasting process, then removing the foil for the 2nd half helps prevent the vegetables from drying out too quickly. A quick broil at the end also gives the veggies a nice browning.
*Vegetable Broth: We used Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth because it does not have MSG, and has no highly processed ingredients; however, Pacific has a very strong flavor so our water to broth ratio is heavy on the water and low on the vegetable broth. If you are using a vegetable broth other than Pacific, please adjust the water to broth ratio accordingly.
*Freeze dried shallots: We love freeze dried shallots. They are so good and always add a nice element to a lot of Vegan WFPB recipes.