This easy cauliflower cheese soup tastes deliciously cheesy and is packed with flavour and nutrients. Its creamy texture is also surprisingly healthy for a cozy soup that's perfect for busy weeknights,
It's also instant pot, crock pot, and soup maker friendly - not just for stovetops!
Do you know where this cauliflower cheese soup maker recipe comes from? Well, it's actually based on a classic British dish called cauliflower cheese.
Roasted cauliflower cheese is simply par-boiled cauliflower florets in a dish with a cheesy sauce poured over it and topped with additional cheese. It is then baked in the oven until golden and bubbling.
But it is also incredible in a blended soup form with added chicken stock, onions, and potato and has the best cheesy flavor! In fact, it is one of our favorite soups, EVER!
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✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Here are a few reasons why we think you'll love this cheesy cauliflower soup recipe!
- Low in fat and cholesterol
- It's Slimming World friendly
- It gets rave reviews in our house
- Easily adaptable as a broccoli cheese soup
- It's a simple soup made with simple ingredients
- A great meal that can be enjoyed any time of the day.
- Packed with nutrients from the cauliflower and cheese, such as sulforaphane and calcium
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable full recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, preparation instructions, and daily values at the bottom of this post.
Fresh cauliflower - this is a big head of cauliflower florets, including the stalk where most of the nutrition is! Or use about 400g (1lb) of frozen cauliflower
Oil - I use low calorie cooking oil spray called Fry Light, or you could use olive oil or melt butter to saute the onions
Onion - this is a brown onion, but you could use a bunch or green onions (spring onions) for a stronger taste
Potato - to make it thick and creamy without the need for adding flour, or replace with more cauliflower for low carb
Smoked paprika - or a dash of hot sauce. But if this is your first time, you could try your favourite spice or herb such as fresh thyme
Cheese - use any cream cheese or sharp cheddar cheese that easily melts or blends for a delicious creamy soup
Stock - you can use vegetable broth for vegetarians, chicken broth or stock cubes with 3 & ⅓ cup of water, or part water and milk for a chowder taste
Seasoning - salt and black pepper to taste
📋 Instructions
1. Sauté onion: add the oil to a large frying pan.
Then add the onions and paprika and saute over medium heat until softened.
2. Add the ingredients: Transfer to a large pan or soup maker.
Then add the cauliflower, potato, hot liquids, and seasoning.
3. Simmer the soup:
For pans: simmer on medium-low heat for 20-22 minutes
Soup makers: select smooth
Slow cookers: cook HIGH for 3-4 hours, or LOW for 6-7 hours
Instant pot: cook on high for 5 minutes, then quick release
4. Add cheese: Stir in your favourite cheese. We love to add sharp white cheddar or cheese triangles.
Then blend with a stick blender if needed and serve in warmed bowls with crusty bread.
You can find more ingredients you could add at this stage under 'Variations'.
Tip: you can reduce the cooking time by chopping up or shredding the cauliflower in a food processor
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make and still result in a great soup. Or why not try some for next time?
Cauliflower - swap for broccoli, cabbage, or other cruciferous vegetables
Stock - swap for vegetable for vegetarians or vegan bouillion. Or opt for gluten free if needed.
Cheese - swap for any easily melted or creamy soft cheese. Or use a plant-based dairy free cheese for vegan and nutritional yeast, or add coconut milk
Potato - swap for cannellini, chickpeas or kidney beans to thicken, or simply add extra cauliflower for a low carb, keto cauliflower cheese soup
Smoked paprika - swap for any herbs or spices you wish, or try a teaspoon of chipotle paste
⚖️ Variations
Here are some different ways you can get the best flavor to suit your tastebuds when making this cheesy cauliflower vegetable soup:
Hot and spicy - add some chilli or red pepper flakes or tabasco sauce
Moroccan twist - If you want to give the soup a Moroccan twist, you can add some cumin, coriander, turmeric, and ginger to the onion mixture. You can also sprinkle some toasted almonds on top for extra texture and flavour
Greek style - add minced cloves of garlic, cumin seeds, chickpeas instead of potatoes, Greek yogurt and lemon juice
Nutty flavour- you can also sautée wild mushrooms with the onions. Then add a mixture of heavy whipping cream and gruyère cheese for a more nutty taste
Hearty soup - If you want to make the soup more hearty and filling, you can add some cooked oily fish for extra Omega fatty acids, but you may prefer using parmesan instead of cheddar
Chowder - you could add corn kernels and not blend at the end for a chunky cauliflower and potato corn chowder
Deluxe - stir in some heavy cream along with a little extra cheese and top with bacon bits, crispy chorizo pieces and croutons
You might also like my my brocccoli and cheese soup version here.
🔪 Equipment
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- Large stock pot or Dutch oven
- Immersion blender or:
- Soup maker
- Chopping board
- Chopping knife
- Weighing scales
- Potato peeler
- Measuring jug
- Measuring spoons
❄️ Storage
Storing leftover soup - allow your hot soup cool to room temperature, but it can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing - cool your creamy cauliflower soup to room temperature. Then instead of storing it in a large pot, try portioning it into freezer-safe soup containers and store for up to 3 months.
Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove over medium high heat.
💡Pro Tips
- When making it your first time, try making it with no spices, fresh herbs, or seasoning initially. Then stir some in at the end to taste to find the right balance for you
- You can reduce the gentle simmer time by shredding the cauliflower in a food processor before adding it to the soup pot
- Use a good quality mature cheddar cheese for the best flavour and creaminess. You can also add some Parmesan cheese for extra sharpness
- If you don't have a stick blender for a velvety soup, we sometimes use a potato masher in a large pan for a chunky texture of this soup
- For extra flavour, a great idea is to roast the cauliflower first until golden brown on a rimmed baking sheet drizzled with oil. Then add to a soup maker or pot
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Bread - for dunking, it is delicious with crusty damper bread.
Pizza breads - treat yourself to some wholemeal pitta pizzas on the side, or even stir in some chopped up savory pancakes!
Fried sandwiches: forget toast! Why not try pan-fried sandwiches like these easy croque monsieurs which are great for dipping?
Pizza rolls: for an Italian twist, dip some of these easy air fried pizza rolls or pizza buns made from scratch
Savoury muffins: for dunking bread into your soups on a weight loss plan, I recommend these tasty cheese and onion mashed potato muffins.
Crispy vegetables: top with fried crispy kale, roasted broccoli florets or chopped up roasted cheesy cauliflower bites
❓ FAQ
When making cauliflower cheese soup, I recommend you use either something creamy or one that melts easily. I tend to opt for low-fat cheese triangles or reduced fat grated cheddar cheese.
YES! You can freeze this cauliflower soup. Just a little tip though: try to label your soups before freezing. Many a time I haven't and I've forgotten what I've made. I like to store them in Sistema containers, too. I try to eat them within two months and defrost either in the fridge overnight or with my oven or microwave's defrost. And ensure heating through thoroughly before enjoying.
You can absolutely make a creamy cauliflower cheese soup in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker and it's much quicker! First, select the saute mode for the onions.
Then add the remaining ingredients except for the cheese, place the lid on top and and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Then quick release it before adding the cheese and blend until smooth.
➕ More Cauliflower Recipes
Looking for more cauliflower recipe ideas? Here's some more ways I like to add them to my diet:
➕ More Soup Recipes
How about trying some of our most popular soup recipes?
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📖 Recipe
Easy Creamy Cauliflower Cheese Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- Oil spray
- 400 g cauliflower or a small cauliflower
- 200 g potato or a large potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- ½ tsp paprika plus more to sprinkle as a garnish
- 100 g Reduced fat cheddar cheese Or 8 x Extra Light Laughing Cow Cheese triangles
- 3 vegetable stock cubes
- 800 ml water
- seasoning
Instructions
- First gently fry the onions and half teaspoon of paprika in frylight until softened.
- Then pour in the 800ml water, stock cubes, cauliflower, potatoes into a pan and simmer until everything is tender. FOR SOUP MAKERS: transfer everything in to you machine and select smooth.
- If not using a soup maker, whiz in a blender (hand blender would work fine too) or a processor in batches.
- Now add seasoning to taste and the cheese and blend for the final time.FOR SOUP MAKERS: Just use the blend button for this until smooth.
- Pour into bowls and sprinkle with paprika and enjoy!
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
- When making it your first time, try making it with no spices, fresh herbs, or seasoning initially. Then stir some in at the end to taste to find the right balance for you
- You can reduce the gentle simmer time by shredding the cauliflower in a food processor before adding it to the soup pot
- Use a good quality mature cheddar cheese for the best flavour and creaminess. You can also add some Parmesan cheese for extra sharpness
- If you don't have a stick blender for a velvety soup, we sometimes use a potato masher in a large pan for a chunky texture of this soup
- For extra flavour, a great idea is to roast the cauliflower first until golden brown on a rimmed baking sheet drizzled with oil. Then add to a soup maker or pot
Dawn
Just had this soup for my tea. I added blue cheese to it. It's amazing. I will definitely make this one again. So quick and easy.
Sandra Gilchrist
Just made this soup in my soup maker it was awesome I’m going to make more to freeze my hubby loves it to
M J Martin
Really lovely filling soup Made it the traditional way and added tiny bit of Stilton which was left in fridge
Anthony Byrne
Omg..this is the nicest homemade soup I’ve ever tasted,and I made it myself!?
Thanks to your recipe of course. I used about 5 slices of cheddar as that’s what I had available in the fridge. Fantastic recipe and so simple.