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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Your south just made my mouth water. The combination sounds and looks amazing! Thanks for sharing Jennifer!
I love cream of cauliflower soup but the addition of the bacon topping must really give it extra flavor.
Mmm this looks delicious! Great combo of the two, ill have to try this next chance I get!
Delicious! I made this for dinner tonight but made it, inadvertently, very decadent. The first change was pure laziness (left all the bacon grease in the pan) and the second was because I didn’t realize until the moment that the milk was needed that I’d forgotten to grab it at the store today- so I used half and half. Lovely! I may have ruined myself for your healthier version though…
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! There’s nothing wrong with a bit of decadence every now and then :)
Nothing says comfort to me more than a big bowl of delicious soup! I love cauliflower too! I throw cauliflower into my leek and potato soup and use it all the time in pasta and casseroles too. . I am definitely trying this recipe!! love this!
I LOVE this soup! Definitely trying this soon! Cauliflower is one of my favorites…and with bacon..unstoppable!
I made this soup tonight, my family loved it! It was delicious! Great recipe, thank you!
I’m so glad to hear!
Found this going around Pintrest. Made it for dinner tonight. My husband and kids went back for seconds. A definite win! I love recipes that are full of veggies but don’t taste like it!
Yay! I’m so glad everyone liked it!
This soup sounds delicious! I have all the ingredients on hand so I know what’s for dinner tomorrow!
Great idea to to view other recipes on your site! This soup looks amazing!!
i’ve never tried cauliflower in a soup but this sounds good.
Could you also use frozen cauliflower?
Hmmm… I’m not sure. I think you could use frozen cauliflower in a pinch but since it’s such a prominent ingredient, I really recommend using fresh cauliflower if possible. Frozen vegetables are fine for eating and for adding into recipes whole, but they do lose water when frozen/defrosted, so I think that could potentially change the texture of the soup. The soup should be very creamy at the end and I suspect that using frozen cauliflower might make it slightly grainy. But I could be wrong!
Yum! I’m totally making this! Any substitutes for the thyme?
Thanks! You can just omit it :)
Hmmm… Perhaps this is a way to get my husband some veggies that he would never touch otherwise. I love cauliflower and this just sounds heavenly!
Yum and that bacon!!