Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup
This roasted cauliflower and white cheddar soup is a delicious, lightened up creamy soup that is full of flavor.
This soup, oh, this soup.
It’s roasted cauliflower and fragrant garlic, savory thyme and sharp white cheddar. Basically, it’s amazing.
And if you top it with croutons made from these out-of-this-world pretzel rolls, you’ll probably roll over and die from pure happiness (no time for homemade pretzel rolls? no worries, you can skip the croutons altogether or use store bought).
The creaminess comes from a bit of lowfat milk and pureeing half the soup.
Can I get a huge yippee for a creamy soup without heavy cream? Now, I’m not saying this soup is calorie-free (hello, white cheddar cheese), but it is a delicious, lightened up creamy soup that is probably in my top 5 favorite soups of all time.
Roasting the cauliflower and garlic brings out entire levels of flavor heretofore unknown and the subtle hints of thyme and rosemary compliment the cauli-cheese combo magnificently.
With all the decadence of holiday baking staring us in the face right now, this roasted cauliflower soup is the perfect weeknight meal to refresh your taste buds and work up an appetite for more cookies.
What To Serve With This:
This simple shredded chicken can be added if meat is desired
Store bought dinner rolls (or these homemade Soft Pretzel Rolls)
Fresh fruit with this Honey Yogurt Dip
One Year Ago: Toffee Crunch Cupcakes
Two Years Ago: Hot Pizza Dip Bites
Three Years Ago: Sinfully Sinless Tiramisu
Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 4 whole cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup diced yellow or white onion
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, or 2 teaspoon fresh, finely chopped
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup milk
- 6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnish
- Croutons for topping, optional
Instructions
- Wash and trim the cauliflower into bite-size pieces. Toss with the cloves of garlic and one tablespoon of the oil. Scrape the mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower is crisp-tender and golden in spots (it will cook a bit longer in a later step).
- Remove the garlic cloves, let them cool slightly, and finely chop.
- In a 4- or 5-quart saucepan, heat the remaining one tablespoon olive oil and add the onion, cooking until the onion is translucent, 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the chopped garlic, thyme and rosemary. Cook for another minute.
- Stir in the cauliflower and broth; bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Carefully ladle about half the soup (in batches, if needed) in a blender and puree until smooth. Stir the pureed soup back into the pot – be careful as hot soup in a blender can be a recipe for disaster if the blender is overfilled. Add the milk and the cheese,
- Stir and cook on low heat until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley and croutons, if using.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
95 Comments on “Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup”
This was the first of your recipes that I made several years ago and have been a fan ever since! I make a batch (sometimes double) and we devour it on our girls trip to the mountains/lake every year when we go in February. My daughter and I refer to it as “stick your face in it” soup, it’s so yummy we both could do just that! I just finished making another batch, girls trip starts tomorrow! One small addition – I add just a dash of ground nutmeg, it adds a nice sweetness to creamy dishes. Thank you again for sharing your amazing recipes! Love them all!
Thank you so much, Caroline! So happy you found your way here. And your new name for this soup made me laugh. 🙂
This was a fantastic soup. The small amount of rosemary really adds a nice, subtle flavor. We really enjoyed this soup and it came together easily. I used the immersion blender and blended to our preferred texture. I might reduce the cheese a bit next time and add a touch more milk. Honestly, it tasted amazing before adding milk or cheese! We will be making this one again – a great find – Mel does it again!!!
Great soup! Tonight was (another) Mel win! I made the cauliflower soup & paired it with Mel’s no knead peasant bread & followed with your chocolate chip pumpkin bread. All were amazing. I make your bread every week (or whenever we run out), but it was a first for this soup. (I will leave a separate post for the pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which was fabulous).
The only thing I did different with this soup was use my immersion blender. It’s a handy little device that I always think I should use more. It worked very well & I had a velvety wonderful soup. Thank you for another home run meal, Mel! I love your posts & Instagram & I want to thank you for all you do.♥️
Love this soup. I grew a lot of cauliflower this year and this is what I’m doing with it.
I love this recipe, thanks for inspiring me. I like to deglaze with a little white wine but other than that, it’s lovely
After trying Cafe Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup I went to pinterest to find a copycat recipe. This is not a copycat recipe, but the oven roasted cauliflower got my attention and I decided to give it a try. I was not Disappointed! The first time I made it I accidentally left the pot on the burner and over heated the cheese so it had a slight grainy texture, but the flavor was good so I knew I wanted to try it again. My second attempt went much better. I decided to make this recipe for St. Patrick’s Day and added spinach to the portion I put in the blender to turn it green. It tasted great and looked super festive.
You saved me, Mel! We had a bunch of family staying with us and needed a quick, satisfying meal that adults and kids would eat. Everyone LOVED it!! I doubled the recipe and every bite was polished off! Got a lot of compliments. So much flavor!!! We will make this one again and again!
I just made this tonight and it was delicious! I doubled the recipe and added some baked ham to it. I will definitely be making this again!! Thank you for a great recipe that is also healthy :).
Just made this for lunch. It’s good, and filling:) I added some Parmesan and a sprinkle of yellow cheddar on top of the white cheddar, for extra measure:) I blended the entire soup, but not finely, so it still has texture, but isn’t chunky (looks more like rice). I think I’m going to cook up some bacon for a little something on top:) I really LoVE Mel’s site, and every recipe has been awesome. This was okay, but I was expecting that since I don’t totally love cauliflower. I wanted another soup to my regulars, that was healthy and savory, and it delivered. It was also very quick, so I’ll probably make this again;)
Have you made this in the instant pot?
I haven’t (yet!)
Made this tonight and it was amazing. I did substitute the milk for almond milk.
It didn’t make a lot, so next time I will double it.
I’ve made this soup several times and we are having it for dinner tonight. We LOVE it! My granddaughter is a vegetarian and she loves it. Thanks, Mel
This soup is amazing. I added mushrooms and chicken, and I am in love.
Loved it! I had to add more broth as my cauliflower was huge. I pureed the whole soup but I kept some roasted cauliflower and chopped it to use as a garnish along with additional chopped fresh thyme.
Making this soup again tonight! We have to count carbs at our house, and this fills the need for a creamy, nutritious soup!
sounds delicious, think I’ll make it for dinner tonight.
This is a go to favorite quick easy and very versatile I have made it with romanesco as well as cauliflower yellow cheese white cheese even jack cheese whoever I have on hand always flavorful it freezes very well great for a quick lunch or soup and sandwich dinner even people who don’t like cauliflower like this soup! I purée half and leave half chunky so there is some texture. I also use cream ( I know bad for you but oh so good)
Thanks of the great recipe
I LOVE your website Mel and it is often my go-to for a recipe so I hate to leave a bad review but…. I made this soup following the recipe exactly and my whole family grimaced when they took a bite. They are pretty healthy eaters and like cauliflower. Maybe it was the combination of rosemary and/or thyme with the cauliflower but something didn’t work. Only the 2nd recipe of yours that I haven’t liked!
I know zero sbout cheeses. Could I use Swiss instead? I googled it but couldn’t find anything. I have some in the fridge sadly alone and needing to be used
Good question, Heather – I haven’t tried it myself, but I use Swiss in a broccoli cheese soup that I love (with a healthy amount of cheddar). Do you have another good-melting cheese you could use also (like Monterey Jack or yellow cheddar)?
I’ve made this soup a few times now, and it’s so very good. I think that because the ingredients are simple and few, fresh herbs are a must. Tonight I was short on rosemary by a teaspoon, so I substituted some finely chopped sage for the rest. It was awesome! Very hearty and earthy, and oh so satisfying. Thanks for all you do, Mel… this website is my go-to place for no fail recipes that my family always love!
Could I use frozen cauliflower in this, and would you thaw first and then roast? I have lots of frozen in my freezer from last summer’s garden.
Sure, I think frozen cauliflower could work just fine. I’d probably just roast it up from frozen – there might be a bit of extra liquid and you might need to add a few minutes but it should work fine.
A follow up question to using frozen cauliflower. How much would you use to equal a fresh head?
I would probably use about 8-10 cups.
I have never made cauliflower soup before but this sounded good. I used garlic white cheddar I recently bought from a visit to Amish country and topped it with texas toast croutons and bacon. It was Ahhhh…..Some! Thank you for sharing with us! Can’t wait to make for company! Your recipes are calling me back to try another! Have a warm soup day!
I’ve made this recipe a couple times now, and I think it might be my new favourite soup. SO nice and creamy, and reasonably healthy to boot! I’m not even a big fan of rosemary and thyme but the relatively small amounts work perfectly in this soup. I LOVE IT. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
Has anyone made this using vegetable stock?
i made it with vegetable stock and turned out jus as yummy!
Just finished making this & can’t wait for dinner! It took me so little time, dinner is ready a half hr early lol! Need to wait for hubby to get home.
I used one of the tips above & roasted the diced onion w the cauli. Then just sauteed the spices w the evoo before adding the cauli & broth. I didn’t bother to cook the cauli any more after roasting as for me it was already perfectly tender. For me, the roasted garlic really makes it! I am serving this w your brazilian cheese puffs, a family fave 🙂 Thank you for a super easy, fast & healthy dinner Mel!
I really want to try this soup but the only garlic in the house is jarred chopped garlic- do you think i could sub a small amt of it for the 4 whole cloves? I can;t get to town today and dreaming of having this soup for my lunch!
I would think that should be fine…. I would just keep in mind that the jarred garlic gets stronger the longer it sits in to flavor it….. I use jarred garlic frequently and just make sure to taste periodically…
Definitely Debbie! I’d suggest starting with just half a teaspoon and adding more if you need it.
Just made this for the second time in as many weeks. Love it!!!! My kids are very picky and they all ate this without complaints. It was like a dinner miracle! This time I roasted 2 heads of cauliflower and didn’t purée one of them. I also steamed some broccoli and carrots and added them to the soup at the end with the extra cauliflower. You know, just to trick my kids into eating a little healthier. Awesome!
Great recipes. I have shared with my friends…..
I have made at least 10 of your recipes so far and each one is delicious… Thanks for the great food and tips…
Eating it as I’m typing. Delish. Had to stop myself from eating the roasted cauliflower off the pan when it came out of the oven. Added 1/4 finely diced jalepeno and 1/4 tsp. each of cumin and turmeric. Only added 1 cup oft he cheddar. Wonderful.
I made the soup yesterday and it was a big hit with my husband and my kids! The pretzel rolls were the perfect compliment!!! I pureed the entire batch and it was so creamy and yummy!!
I made this tonight and it was so good! I blended it all smooth and then needed to add a bit more milk. I love that you roast the cauliflower instead of boiling it, I think that makes so much of a difference. So yum! I can’t wait to share it on my blog and try more of your recipes…Thanks for the soup!
I made this tonight for supper and my family loved it, so I’m blogging about it… but of course linking credit back to you 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
This soup was so delicious! In fact I’m reheating it right now to have for lunch!(lucky me) Love your web site!! Thanks!
Okay, I have never liked cauliflower, so I have NEVER bought it….ever! The beautiful pictures of this soup are what tempted me to try this recipe out for a small dinner party. OMG, did it turn out awesome!! Everyone loved it, including me. The “icing” on the “cake” (soup) was definitely the pretzel croutons!! I used store-bought pretzel buns. SOOOO good, that I couldn’t stop eating them right out of the oven 🙂 I also topped the soup with chives. THANK YOU for sharing this awesome soup! Oh, and while I was chopping up the cauli, I tried some of it raw, and i could not believe how much I liked it!!
This looks so good and I am definitely making it for my boyfriend and I this weekend. I want to make a special meal and have this soup as a starter. Do you have any type of chicken entree suggestions that would compliment the soup well? Thanks!
Hi Jessica – this Breaded Chicken in Lemon Garlic Sauce would be great, I think:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/breaded-garlic-chicken-in-lemon-butter-sauce.html
Hi! This recipe looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
Just to clarify…is it 6 oz of cheese, or 1 and a half cups of cheese? I’m confused because isn’t 1 and a half cups of cheese 12 oz? I want to make sure i follow the recipe correctly so it comes out as well as the oicture. Thanks!
Em – with cheese, the ounces is referring to the weight not the cup measure. So 8 ounces of cheese (weighed) usually gives about 2 cups of shredded cheese. Hope that helps!
Made this for dinner tonight…SO good! I used an immersion blender to puree the cauliflower and it worked great, no transferring between pot and blender and back. Great flavor from simple healthy ingredients!
I’m not a fan of rosemary or thyme, do you think just some salt & pepper with a little garlic powder would be jut as good? My family & I LOVE roasted cauliflower so this sounds perfect for us!!!
Melissa – well, the flavors will obviously be a bit different but I think as long as it is well seasoned with spices you enjoy, it has a good chance of being great. Good luck!
Made the soup, the Pretzel rolls, and the croutons this weekend. All are delicious! My rolls turned out almost as pretty as yours, but not quite.
Is there a flavor difference between white cheddar and orange cheddar? Thanks!
Hi Dawn – I think there is a flavor difference – white cheddar has a creamier, sharper flavor in my opinion (of course it also depends on what brand you are using). Also, orange cheddar tends to be greasier when it melts and white cheddar has a smoother, less greasy consistency.
Awesome! I love cauliflower but even so I hesitated making this soup as I wasn’t sure that it wouldn’t be overwhelming. It is totally a keeper.
I made this tonight for the first time. The flavor was amazing, but the consistency did not go over well with my kids. It was similar to cream of wheat or malt-o-meal consistency-kind of grainy. Is this normal? Should I have cooked the cauliflower longer? Open to any suggestions! Thanks! 🙂
Judith – cooking the cauliflower longer so it is really soft may help. The consistency is slightly grainy due to the cauliflower but it should still have an overriding creaminess. Definitely not as smooth and creamy as say, a clam chowder or cheesy broccoli soup (since this isn’t a roux-based soup) but still quite creamy in its own right. Hope that helps a little.
I made this and must say it dramatically improves as the days go on. My advice is make it a day ahead, the flavors really intensify on the 2nd and 3rd day. Also, make sure the rosemary is finely chopped or crushed. My hubs didn’t like “things” in his soup, ugh. Still another good recipe!! Love your site, frequent flyer 🙂
Just made the second batch of this soup in two weeks–it’s my new favorite! The first time, I made it as written; tonight, I was feeling impatient and just roasted the onion (cut in large pieces) along with the garlic, cauliflower, and herbs; while the vegetables roasted, I brought the stock to a simmer. This saved time and a whole tablespoon of olive oil, and probably sacrificed the flavor only a smidgeon. I also added a dash of smoked paprika. (Both times, I pureed everything until smooth–makes it easier to disguise the vegetables for my sometime veggie-phobe husband.) Thank you, Mel, for another winner!
Mel, your barbie-loving gal pal here. I am excited because when I saw this soup posted I thought it liked divinely delicious but was sure with the creaminess there must be some flour in it. Nope! If I nix the croutons is totally gluten-free which is awesome! Keep up the good work. Love ya.
For the first time in my life, all fourty plus years, I just bought cauliflower! My 10 year old self was screaming don’t do it, but I did and the soup was delish! I let my picky eater add some crumbled bacon and extra cheese and he has agreed to eat it two more times this winter! Thank you!
Mel, have you ever posted nutritional facts with your recipes? I thought I did see them once or twice, but it would definitely be helpful for those of us that might be trying to diet. 🙂
Hi Jessica – I haven’t ever posted nutritional facts. Sorry! There are several online nutritional calculators that might help if you are looking for information on specific recipes.
Sounds delish. I am going to buy a cauliflower today and try this. Do you think it will freeze okay?
Zena – I haven’t frozen this so you’ll have to experiment, but my guess is that it should do ok in the freezer.
DELICIOUS!! I ate quite a bit of the roasted cauliflower before I could get it into the soup. This is truly a winner. It’s also good without the cheese.
Made your soup last night and it was a hit! My husband could eat it quick enough! Really great! Thanks for sharing.
Making this for tonight! Can you make it a day ahead? I was going to make it now and heat it up for. Christmas eve dinner. Think that would be ok? Have a great Christmas!!!
Christy – sorry for the late response; I swore off all things computer for a few days to enjoy the holidays. I hope this soup worked out for you. I definitely think you could make it ahead of time and heat it up the next day. Happy new year!
I’m making this for dinner tomorrow night! Pretzel croutons, over the top!! I LOVE your “Best Of” recipe folder. I’m curious, what are you other favorite soups in the top five? It’s soup season! =)
Wow this was wonderful, i made it today and my husband and 12 year old son loved it!! Thanks
I made this last night with the help of my 11-year old son (who has never tried cauliflower before) and it was so good! He had a great idea of adding some heat so we added a little cayenne pepper which worked out really well. We just added it to our servings so that the heat is adjustable. Thanks for this great recipe. I’m really enjoying your site!
Made this again tonight with a few additions….lean ground turkey and cream of mushroom soup (Pacific organic). My family could not stop eating it; served with pumpkin fritters. Perfect Fall meal!
I made this soup for dinner last night. I prefer and different soup; but all three kids ate it up super fast and wanted more. I told them next time we will have to arm wrestle to see which recipe to use. It is a keeper!
Yummm . . .this was supper tonight! Yep, most of our favorites are “Mel originals” and this one is no exception. I couldn’t quit eating the pretzel roll croutons and was afraid there wouldn’t be any left to dunk in the soup. Unbelievably delicious even though there is no cream or butter within.
Just had my first taste. OMG I thought I was in heaven. It is awsome. I made croutons with pretzel bread sticks, melted butter, garlic powder and Romano cheese.
The most favorite soup to ever cross my lips is the Cauliflower White Cheddar soup from the Grand Luxe restaurant. I have only had it once because there isn’t a Grand Luxe in my state! I will be trying this immediately. Pretzel roll croutons…genius!
Oh man, this is sitting on the stove waiting to be eaten, and the “quality control” bits I’ve snitched have confirmed another winner from Mel. The only change I made was to use an immersion blender (a lifesaver and way easier than a regular blender). I also chose to make foccaccia, which seems much easier than the pretzel rolls (sensing a theme here?). But to have the exact amounts of cheese and cauli in the fridge seemed serendipitous and I’m so glad I tried this one. Thanks, Mel!
This seems silly to ask, but do you just bake your croutons? My mom always used to drench them in butter and fry them. How do you do yours?
Jenny – I bake them in the oven – at the bottom of this post I give a quick how-to:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/05/gourmet-green-salad.html
Can’t wait! It is so stinkin’ cold I need a good soup. Unfortunately we just ate our cauliflower yesterday. I guess I had better go to the grocery store.
How do you think broccoli would do in this? I’m guessing it would work?
Michelle – definitely worth a try with broccoli!
my son loves creamy soups and is gluten free, so love that this one is! will add to my recipes for next week – yum!
This looks delicious! Let me tell you, life becomes so much happier when you learn that butter, heavy cream, cheese, bacon are all so good for your body!! We need healthy fats!! The key is getting them from good sources, like grass fed butter and cream. It’s loaded with vitamins and healthy things. Then everything tastes better too! 😀
This is so on the list for meals next week. This recipe sounds absolutely delicious! Thank you for saving me from the recipe blahs once again!
It will be perfect for a cold day.
Pinning this right away, while I laugh about the roll over and die with the pretzels croutons… die happy, I have to agree! 😉
I am drooling over the first photo in particular…
This looks delicious! Creamy vegetable soups are among my favorites and I make them often. Can’t wait to make this variation.
Can’t wait to try this soup! I love that it doesn’t have any added cream!
I just made cheesy cauliflower soup with cheddar last week. It is one of my favorites, and I can’t wait to try your version!
Top 5 favorite soup recipes! Oh, Mel. I am so excited simply because it is a Mel original and most of our favorites are the “Mel originals.” And I just happen to have your pretzel rolls in the freezer waiting to be transformed into out-of-thsi-world croutons. As the snow is getting deeper and heavier here and I’m getting anxious about my commute, stopping for cauliflower at the end of the workday is “the light at the end of the tunnel” to brighten my day. Thank you, my cyber friend!
You’ve already made me craving it. Pretzel rolls croutons? Who would have ever thought. Sounds like dinner to me!
PRETZEL ROLL CROUTONS?? What?!?!? This needs to happen immediately.
This looks absolutely delicious, Mel! I am going to get the ingredients to make this for dinner tonight!