Thick and creamy roasted cauliflower is the perfect, comforting, vegetarian fall dinner. Ridiculously easy, and so rich you’d never guess it was packed with veggies!
I never thought I liked cauliflower. I mean I didn’t hate it, and it’s not like eggplant which I avoid at all cost (ew, weird, gross veggie–stay far, far away!), but I certainly didn’t go out of my way to seek it out. Then I had this ridiculously good fried cauliflower at Pita Jungle. Oooooomg, it’s like the stuff dreams are made of. But then I tried that cauliflower pizza crust that the entire internet seems to be in love with? Gag worthy. Seriously, just…no.
I was ready to give up on it again, but then I made this soup. I was craving broccoli cheese soup, and for some reason this seemed like a good alternative? Anyway, I was about to break up with cauliflower forever after that pizza crust, but (s)he? is back on my bff list because this soup? It’s totally dreamy–rich and creamy with not a single ounce of cream. It’s healthy, filling, and totally satisfying.
This is a simple, no fuss recipe that’s basically fool proof. Heat, stir, blend, serve, and voila! Oh, and don’t even get me started on the leftovers. Even THICKER, and the flavor develops more as the soup sits. This is a HUGE batch, so you will have delicious leftovers to keep your warm all week long. And I pinky promise–the veggie haters in your life will never know it’s cauliflower. I fooled a lot of people in my family with this one. 😉
Thick and creamy roasted cauliflower is the perfect, comforting, vegetarian fall dinner. Ridiculously easy, and so rich you'd never guess it was packed with veggies!
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- salt and pepper
- 4 shallots, finely minced
- 1 extra large onion, finely chopped
- 7 cups vegetable broth
- 5 yukon gold potatoes, quartered
- 1 tbsp honey dijon mustard
- 3-4 dashes of your favorite hot sauce (I use Chalulah)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated fontina cheese (or cheese of choice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Add cauliflower and garlic to a very large baking dish. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and season with a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Bake until browned and softened, about 30 minutes.
- In a large pot, heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and shallot, and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook until tender and fragrant, about 7 minutes.
- Add broth and potatoes. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add cooked cauliflower and garlic scraping baking dish well into the pot. Add mustard and hot sauce.
- Puree using an immersion blender, high quality stand blender (will likely need to do in batches), or food processor (will also likely require multiple batches. Return to heat and stir in cheese. Add extra salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately. Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week
Notes
You could also make this in your crockpot--just add cooked cauliflower and garlic in addition to all remaining ingredients (except the cheese) to your crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Blend, then stir in cheese.
