This Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Chowder is comfort food without all the calories. Made with roasted cauliflower, which adds deep, caramelized flavor while keeping the soup a little lighter.
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Chowder
When the weather gets cold, we love soup for dinner. This cauliflower soup is lovely, as I am a huge cauliflower fan, especially in my soups! It’s creamy like a chowder, without potatoes and cream. A few other chowders you may like, Seattle Smoked Salmon Chowder or this Cheddar Corn Chowder with Bacon.
I’m so excited to share this recipe from my friend Maria’s cookbook, The Two Peas in a Pod Cookbook. Her cookbook is beautiful, filled with recipes she, her husband and two boys enjoy. The book has tons of salads and vegetarian options as well as meat dishes. She even has an entire chapter on cookies!
Maria lives in Salt Lake City, where they get a lot of snow. So naturally, Maria makes lots of soup for her family, especially after they get off the slopes. I adapted her recipe slightly by reducing the butter a bit, but otherwise kept everything else the same. This soup super rich in flavor, wonderfully cheesy and low in carbs. If you want to make the soup a little thicker, you can puree some of it in the blender, and add it back to the soup.
More Soup Recipes You Will Love:
- Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Potato Leek Soup
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Red Lentil Soup with Spinach
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cored and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 dried bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, you can use gluten-free flour
- 3½ cups vegetable broth
- 1¼ cups milk
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, we prefer white cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Arrange the chopped cauliflower and garlic cloves on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss until well coated. Spread out the cauliflower and garlic in a single layer to avoid steaming.
- Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once, until the cauliflower is tender. Set aside to cool.
- When cool enough to handle, remove the garlic from its skin and finely chop.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until just beginning to soften.
- Add the carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chopped garlic, cauliflower, bay leaf, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix to combine.
- Cook until the flour disappears, about 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and cheese and continue mixing until the cheese is melted and the chowder is creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Discard the bay leaf. Ladle the chowder into bowls and serve warm.
- To make it thicker, you can puree some of the soup and mix it together.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Categories:
Absolutely delicious! Instead of milk I used almond milk.
This was delicious! Even my husband, who typically doesn’t love soups, really enjoyed the chowder. We didn’t have anymore shredded cheese, so subbed half a cream cheese package. It added more calories, I’m sure, but was very tasty. We also didn’t have broth, so added water with bouillon. One of our favorites now!
I love it! Will make again and again. I did mine in the the crock pot
Made this more the then once and just LOVE IT.
Has anybody tried making this vegan?
Delicious recipe! I didn’t have all the ingredients so I made some changes. I added two more cups of broth, 3/4 of half and half (didn’t have milk), 1/2 of a red bell pepper, and used smoked cheddar. This last one added a delicious smokiness that compliment the roasted cauliflower.
Really good. I used instant mashed potato instead of flour and it turned out great.
Amazing. I used almond milk and light butter so maybe a little less calories even? It’s just so good!
Thia was fantastic! I used chicken broth, adding a bit more than the recipe called for, as well as a bit more milk & cheese. I also added about a cup or so if chopped chicken as need to get a bit more protein in my meals. It made 8 very healthy servings and perfect on a very cold MN night.
Absolutely, delicious! Hubby called from work and said it was so cold outside, just after I happened upon this recipe. He loves cauliflower and he needed a good warm dinner, so I had to make it. So, so, good. I did have to add a little more salt, and I lightly browned the cauliflower by turning on the broiler at the end of the bake time but otherwise, I stuck to the recipe (which I rarely do.) Hubby said it got better and better the more he ate, lol. Thanks!
I made this recipe as written. I LOVE THIS! I could eat this soup every single day!
I loved this recipe! I used unsweetened almond milk for the milk and reduced fat Mexican style blend shredded cheese. I also roasted a head of garlic. Other than that, I made strictly following the recipe and it was delicious. Will definitely be making this again!
Nice hearty and creamy vegetarian soup for a cold winter evening. I misread the directions and ended up roasting the chopped onions with the cauliflower. The soup was very enjoyable served with homemade bread.
I added Canadian bacon and had to use chicken broth because I didn’t have vegetable broth. I roasted the garlic. This was delicious!
What kind of milk do you use? Does it matter?
The chowder was too mellow, rather bland. I added alot of Thai basil leaves and sprinkled seasoning called Bagel Not Included Everything + Citrus Sriracha and WOW! It really made it dance…so much more depth of flavor and just a kiss of heat. Delicious!
This was really good. I used almond flour and unsweetened almond milk instead. But still really good.
Gina, will this soup freeze well?
Sure
Dairy doesn’t thaw well after freezing. It will be edible but the texture will be different.
Can I use 1% milk?
Any suggestions for a cheddar allergy substitute?
A dairy free cheddar like Violife.
This soup is delicious and simple. We tweaked the recipe by adding 4c chopped baby spinach and 1/3c turkey sausage crumbles. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure!
This chowder was excellent! The only change that I made was to thicken the soup with one cup of rinsed, drained cannellini beans pureed in some of the broth instead of using flour.
I plan to make this delicious, easy recipe again and again!
Delicious! So creamy and the roasted garlic adds a nice flavor. I used fresh thyme and I think it added a nice herb flavor.
I made this tonight for the first time. Absolutely delicious. I plan to make this for my vegetarian daughter and son when they visit. My husband also wants this to be on our soup rotation list.
Another great recipe! I loved this soup – the roasted garlic I think really elevates this. I skipped the celery because it’s not my favorite personally and threw in a chicken breast for a little protein and used oat milk instead of regular milk. It was divine. Thank you so much I’m adding to my rotation!
This is one of my favorites. I am plant based, so I skip the oil/butter and use veggie broth for sautéing. I use Oat milk vs animal milk. love the texture of this Chowder. I’ve made a number of times, winter and summer!
Yummy again! Thank you for always providing great yummy foods that aren’t all fat and sugar. For anyone wanting to cut more points…I used Almond milk, 1.5 tbls of butter, and low fat cheddar cheese and it was still yummy!! I divided it into 4 servings instead of 6 and according to my WW calc that made it 5 points. So more soup and one less point. You always have the best recipes!
This is delicious…the herbs are a perfect combination! I had to substitute with heavy cream as I ran out of milk…used mild shredded cheddar…and added a little extra roasted garlic. I had to fend off my husband from eating the roasted cauliflower while I was cooking 😉
I’ve been a Skinnytaste fan for years. I own every cookbook and 95% of the time when I cook, it’s a Gina recipe. But I have never commented before. This. Recipe. Blew. My. Mind. The roasted cauliflower and thyme gave it more flavor than I thought possible. Will make this for the rest of my days. It’s really that good!
This soup is delicious!!! My young grandsons loved it too!
I’ve made this soup many times and love it. I’ve been using whole milk as the recipe does not specify what kind. Can you please clarify if it’s skim, 2% or whole? Thank you!
Excellent soup, thank you Gina!! I used Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and so happy to find a yummy vegetarian dish. My cauliflower was small, especially after roasting it in the oven – the florets shrank to what seemed like 1/2 cup (well, and my hubby munched on a few florets without permision :)) – so I took frozen riced cauiflower, spread it on a baking sheet with salt/pepper/olive oil and used this in the soup as well!!
This was fast and tasty. Easy to get down veggies. I added hot pepper flakes because it needed something extra. We used more thyme, salt and pepper. I would make this again. Nice not to have meat.
This is hands down one of the best soups ever! So satisfying and delicious, and very filling. I will be making this regularly!
I was scrolling through your recipes and as a picture of this chowder. Cauliflower is my new favourite vegetable so I thought, I’m going to make this. Wow, was it good!!! My new favourite soup! It was so satisfying with the chunks of cauliflower and the flavour was absolutely amazing! I lost count how many times both my husband and I said…mmmmmmm……I also love that it’s vegetarian. Thank you Gina for another fantastic recipe. 😀
Delish and easy to make!
I’ve made this recipe a few times and my family and I love it!
Thank you for another great recipe! So many of your recipes have become family favorites and this will be added to that list- delicious! Have you tried making this in the Instant Pot? If so would you share the time adjustments? Thank you.
Made exact to the recipe, added a bit more salt and pepper at the end. It was fun to make and so delicious! Hearty and flavorful for a cold January lunch. .
This soup is so delicious! I’ve made it 3x in the past couple of weeks, definitely a new household favorite. So simple to make & comes together quickly. This might be my new favorite Skinnytaste recipe!
Oh Gina !
This is absolutely DELICIOUS. Followed the recipe to the letter and would never change a thing, my new favorite 😙👌
This was awesome!! It tastes so comforting and rich, but really is pretty light calorie wise! My husband really liked it as did my picky little ones, and they never get excited about meatless meals. The only change I made was I used 3 cups of vegetable broth – and then realized I didn’t have any more left, so for the extra half cup of liquid I did 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/4 cup water. I also did closer to a tsp of thyme. My head of cauliflower was rather small so next time I will make sure I buy a bigger one cause it’s great.
Loved this soup! Lot’s of flavor and healthy too! We did use the white cheddar and pureed some of the roasted cauliflower for a thicker broth.
Sorry …. I did not like the taste at all…
This is so yummy! I made with almond milk and added crushed red pepper for a little heat. I topped with bacon bits and green onion.
I was worried it would leave me wanting more, but this is a perfect cool fall day soup. VERY delicious and filling!!!
Great recipe as written! The roasting makes it!
Great flavor and easy to make!
Im normally not a big fan of cauliflower so I was leery of making it, but it was delicious! My favorite recipe from last weeks meal plan
This soup was delicious! It was perfect dinner for a chilly, rainy, evening.
Followed recipe exactly – Delighted with result! Absolutely delicious. Perfect thickness (thicker leftovers), great flavors. Filling!
Made this last night. So delicious!
DELICIOUS!!!
One of my favorites!!!
This chowder is so delicious! I can’t wait to make it again.
Made this last night. When I first read over soup, sounded kind of weird and hard. But it was a really delicious and easy to make soup. It comes together faster than I expected. One of the really really greats, thanks again.
My gosh this was delicious. I did purée a bit for the texture. My husband husband was so crazy about it I had to set aside enough for my two lunches because I thought he was going to eat the whole pot!!
Lol! Glad you both enjoyed it!
Loved this soup! Perfect for fall.
This soup was soooo good! I did put about 2 cups in the blender to thicken. It was perfect. Definitely will make it again.
So excited to make this! How would you store leftovers? Looking to pack for lunches through the week but wondering how many days I can get out of it in the fridge
Gina! This soup was delicious. So much rich flavor in this creamy chowder. Thank you for always teaching us how to build flavor with simple healthier techniques.
As soon as I saw this recipe I wanted to try it but because I’m trying so very hard to keep my carb intake low, I was a little disappointed in the carbs per serving for the recipe. Since Keto is still somewhat new to me, I decided to apply what I’ve learned so far and make this more Keto/Atkins friendly. I reduced the onion to 1/2 cup, used only 3 oz of chopped baby carrots, used 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum instead of flour and used unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk. I could have used heavy cream but I also wanted to keep the calories lower. My nutrional info for 1 serving is: 11g Carbs – 3g Fiber= 7 net carbs. Protein=5g, Calories=145, Fat=10g, Sugar=6g, Cholesterol=19.5g. Not too bad!! The only change I’d personally make is to be sure to get a low sodium vegetable broth. I used what I had and it wasn’t low sodium. The soup is delicious even with the slight tweaks and it’s so easy to make.
That was the best cauliflower soup I have ever had. Full of flavor. I added 1 chicken breast that i air fryed. This is a keeper.. Warmed us up on the first cold fall day. Corn bread on the side too yummy.
I made this. It was the best soup I ever made. I cut the cauliflower very fine and doubled the amount of onion. I added a red pepper when roasting because I had it. Followed the directions, did purée some and it was the best, best. Thank you.
When I type in the nutritional information into WW it says that the recipe is 8 smart points
Hi Cait, are you using the recipe builder? The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, now you know why.
Thank you for the explanation. It was so helpful!
This is AMAZING! My 8 year old ate two bowls (which is totally unlike her)! I can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Awesome
This looks dlish. Can’t wait to make it. What brand of veggie broth do you recommend?
OMG!! I made it for dinner tonight! So happy I had all of the ingredients already! It hit the spot on my palette and in my tummy! So yummy!
Could this be frozen? It would be perfect for my lunch. Couldn’t eat 6 days in a row. Not sure my husband would eat for supper.
Honestly I don’t usually freeze soup that has milk in it.
How about freezing portions before you add milk and cheese? Add when you thaw.
I haven’t tried, please let me know how it comes out if you do!
Does this freeze well?
Do you think this would be good with sausage added?
I also wondered how this would be with chicken as well. If I do chicken, I would change from vegetable broth to chicken broth. I may as well try it this weekend.
Can leftovers be frozen?
What type of milk? Skim, 2%, whole?
Thoughts on a milk substitute such as almond or coconut?
I have success in almost every recipe subbing regular milk for a non-dairy milk I most often use unsweetened cashew or almond milk!
Can you make it without cheese and it still be creamy?
Any other options to use besides flour?
Could I replace the flour and milk with almond flour and heavy cream to lower the carbohydrates for this recipe? Thank you for such wonderful recipes, I love your site!
Sure I think pureeing cauliflower at the end and adding cream would make a great low-carb version.
To make this dairy free, would skipping the cheese alter it too much do you think? I would use almond milk too
I have not tested
Can I make this in the crockpot?
I think it would get too mushy.
I am so glad you are enjoying our cookbook! Come ski and I will make you a bowl of chowder to warm up:) Thanks for the support! Love you! xo
Saw this on the paleo running mama’s website and made it last night! Not the prettiest soup but it’s good!