This creamy cauliflower bacon soup is hearty and flavorful without being overly rich.
Creamy Cauliflower Bacon Soup
I’ve been on a major cauliflower kick recently. Maybe I’m weird but I love simply eating it raw dipped in a bit of white bean hummus or even some sweet chili sauce. It has such a great snappy texture and neutral flavor. It also makes some of the best soup. Every time I made cauliflower soup I declare it one of my favorites. The texture is thick, creamy and silky and it absorbs other flavors so well. It really is the perfect ingredient for making a “cream” soup without the cream.
You would never know that this soup has no cream. I did add some 2% milk at the end to thin it out but the recipe can easily be made dairy free by using soy or almond milk. The bacon fat adds a smoky richness that compliments the cauliflower perfectly. Garnishing the soup with more bacon adds that salty meaty flavor that really does make everything better.
Recipe Tip
Creamy Cauliflower Bacon Soup
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 cup 2% milk
- kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, render the fat from the bacon over low heat. Once there's a good amount of fat in the pan, turn the heat up slightly and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove it to drain on paper towels. Discard all but approximately 2-3 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- Add the chopped onion, garlic and celery to the pan with a pinch of salt and sweat the vegetables for several minutes on medium-low heat. Once they're soft, add the cauliflower and turn up the heat to medium. Cook the vegetables for a few more minutes, stirring periodically, until the cauliflower has softened up. Add the chicken stock and thyme. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover the pot and lower the heat. Allow the soup to simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
- Remove the thyme stems and carefully ladle the soup into a blender. Puree until silky. Return the soup to the pot and add the milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Reheat the reserved bacon briefly, dice finely and use it to garnish each bowl of soup.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
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I’m not completely sold on cauliflower except when it’s in a soup and this one sounds amazing!! The consistency looks so creamy and smooth, can’t wait to try it :)
You have some beautiful photos to just make you want to eat up that soup. I love this soup on a cold day and sprinkled with crispy bacon is just the best thing ever.
This looks so silky and amazing!
Love the combination here! So yummy! Thanks for featuring my soup, too! :)
Cauliflower is one of my faves too; it’s inexpensive, it’s super healthy, and it’s yummo!
This soup looks delish; I would never have guessed that there wasn’t any cream in it.
This is the third cauliflower soup I’ve seen today… I take that as a sign that I NEED to make this, now! Looks so good.
This is definitely my cup of soup! I need to make some too.
Cauliflower and bacon – how can you go wrong? The soups looks delicious and the photos are delightful !
Inappropriate short comment… yum. That is all:).
lovely soup and love your linguini :-) your blog is always wonderful
You always come up with the best recipes.. I love cauliflower and the thought of adding the smoky flavor of bacon is just fantastic! Well done!xx
This is right up my alley! I love cauliflower. Though I don’t eat it raw, I like to steam it for just a couple minutes to soften it slightly. This soup is perfect for this horrible cold weather. It looks so comforting.
what the nutrition on this soup?
I don’t know but I’m sure there are some good website utilities that you can use to calculate the information. I’m not personally familiar with any.
Looks delicious!! How do you think this would do frozen? I like to freeze individual portions of soup to have as a quick meal, and this would be perfect to bring to work.
I’m not sure but if you try it let me know what happens!
This looks delicious! I love simple creamy veg soups in the winter, and the bit of bacon is perfect!