One of my favorite soups is this Creamy Potato and Kale Soup and I applied some of the same recipe ideas to this Roasted Cauliflower Chowder. It's another delicious and comforting, soup with a divine, silky texture that warms you from the inside and brings you comfort on a cold winter evening. And, it's fancy enough for guests, as well.
This recipe uses other veggies like carrot, onions, and chickpeas, potatoes and soaked cashews to bring its delicious creamy consistency without using any dairy. The nutritional yeast is another added ingredient that adds a little bit of “cheesy” flavor, as well as B-vitamins, which is essential in making sure you get enough of on a plant-based diet.
What adds depth of flavor to this soup, is that the cauliflower and other veggies get roasted before it’s blended with the other ingredients. A good high-speed blender is essential in getting the right consistency. You can find a high-quality blender at an affordable price these days; a little Magic Bullet is also a powerful little gadget that helps you create creamy soups in under 5 min without making a big mess.
Cauliflower is another amazing cruciferous vegetable that is high in fiber, vitamins, and helpful minerals to books your body’s immune function. It has components that fight cancer and lowers bad cholesterol, improved digestion, and detoxification. Cauliflower is a great vegetable to add to your diet in order to aid weight loss, as its so low in caloric and fat content. Anti-inflammatory, aids in eye health, as well as brain health. You can feel fuller longer, and feel so nourished with this dynamic vegetable.
Lately, people are getting fancy with this veg; crumbling it into “rice”, using it as a main component for tacos, and blending it into a vegan cheese sauce. My favorite way is simply roasting it, tossing it with herbs and pumpkin seeds, as well as blending it into this decadent soup.
This soup is a beautiful welcoming dish for a winter holiday dinner, like for Christmas Eve. When I have people over for the holidays, I love serving this soup. Garnish with chives and paprika for a simple, added touch. Feel free to add some toasted and chipotle spiced pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for an added dimension of crunch.
I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Roasted Cauliflower Chowder! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
Servings | people |
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked in hot water for at least an hour
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 regular size potato peeled and cut into cubes
- 2 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1/2 cup chick peas
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1/3 tsp cayenne pepper or Tabasco
Ingredients
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- Add cashews to a bowl, cover with hot water and let soak for at least 1 hour.
- While cashews are soaking, preheat the oven to 425ºF. Chop cauliflower into florets. Arrange on a baking sheet along with the carrots, potatoes, and season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the top off the garlic bulb so that some of the cloves are slightly exposed. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap bulb in tin foil and place on sheet with vegetables.
- Roast for 20–25 minutes until the cauliflower is starting to brown and the vegetables are soft. Allow the veggies to cool then add them to a high powered blender. Squeeze the garlic out of it's skin and add it to the blender, as well.
- Drain and rinse the cashews, adding them to the blender along with the chick peas and nutritional yeast.
- Pour in vegetable stock, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and additional salt and pepper, and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
- Pour into a large pot and simmer to heat through, adding more water as necessary to thin.
Where do the carrots come into the recipe? I don’t see them in the instructions.
Oops, you’re right. I left them out of the instructions… All fixed, now. The easiest is to roast the carrots with along with the cauliflower and potatoes. If there’s little room left in the oven for them, you could also cook them in a little stock on the stove and later add them to the blender with the other veggies. Thanks for letting me know 🙂