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Vegan roasted cauliflower cheese soup

Name: Vegan cauliflower cheese soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 3
Ingredients: Cauliflower; Vegan cheese; Vegetable stock

abbietaylor7
Nov 3, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Dec 6, 2023

A super easy to make creamy roasted cauliflower cheese soup recipe perfect for a hug in a bowl on a cold winter night and completely dairy free. Perfect served up with some crusty bread for the ultimate hearty meal.

Creamy cheesy cauliflower soup topped with crunchy croutons, baked cauliflower florets and garlic olive oil.

So we all love the classic dish of cauliflower cheese so why not make this dish into a comforting soup to warm us up in the cold winter months. Cauliflower is an incredibly creamy vegetable already so it makes for the best dairy free soup that doesn't lack on creaminess. The whole cauliflower is used in this soup so it is a no waste recipe, once all of the cauliflower is blended up no one would ever tell what stalks and leaves are in there plus this ensures none of that extra nutrients go in your food waste bin! The roasted cauliflower paired with roasted garlic and a sharp vegan cheese are a match made in heaven. This soup only takes an hour to make or you could even pop everything into a slow cooker for a completely fuss free and cheap week night winter dinner. This is my all time favourite vegan cauliflower soup recipe!

Ingredients and substitutes-

Cauliflower- This recipe uses the whole cauliflower, leaves and stalks for a no waste recipe which also ensures that you don’t miss out on any of the nutrients that the usually discarded bits hold.
Garlic- this recipe uses a whole bulb which may sound like a lot however when garlic is roasted its flavour mellows. By all means reduce the amount of garlic if you’re not as much of a garlic girl (or guy) as me!!
Cashews- The cashew nuts are boiled in with the other ingredients to soften them and then once blended they make the soup creamy without adding any processed vegan cream. Think of cashews as a ‘whole food’ single cream.
Vegan cheese- A strong cheese works well in this dish and make sure you get one that melts, we all know the reputation of vegan cheese! I used Applewood smoked cheese for a smoky added flavour however Vegan mature cathedral city would work.

Top Tips!

Blending-

the cashew nuts will soften when boiled however they need to be blended with a high speed blender (700w or more) to ensure a lump free soup.

Croutons-

feel free to use shop bought croutons if you don’t have any bread going out the day you make your soup.

Storage-

the soup will store in the fridge for a few days or you can freeze for up to 3 months. This makes it a fab batch cook meal to pull out when you’re really not feeling like cooking but need a hug in a bowl for your dinner.

And now for the recipe!

Creamy vegan cauliflower cheese soup

Serves- 3 Time- 1 hour

Ingredients-

1 whole cauliflower with leaves
1 medium size onion
A whole garlic bulb
1L vegetable stock
100g Vegan cheese + 50g for topping
50g raw cashew nuts

For the croutons-

2 slices of stale bread
Olive oil to coat
Salt and pepper to taste

Method-

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Chop up the whole cauliflower including the leaves and stalks and add to a large baking dish.

3. Peel the onion and cut into four even sized pieces, take the top off of the whole garlic bulb and leave the skin on. Now add these to the tray nestled in between the cauliflower pieces.

4. Coat everything in olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper.

5. Bake this for 45 minutes

6. Whilst baking you can prep your croutons by cutting the stale bread into even cubes and coating in oil, salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

7. Once baked and the cauliflower is soft all the way through (test the thickest part on the tray) put the cauliflower pieces into a big sauce pan. You can save some pieces to garnish the soup if you wish.

8. Add your croutons into the oven until golden. (should be less than 10 minutes be careful not to burn them)

9. Squeeze out the cooked garlic from the skins and add that along with the onion and cashews in with the cauliflower.

10. Pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Once boiling simmer for 10 minutes.

11. Now with a stick blender blend the soup to your preferred consistency.

12. Now add the cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper and simmer until the cheese is melted.

13. Serve up in bowls topped with the croutons, a few bits of the baked cauliflower and a sprinkle of cheese, Enjoy!

FAQ-

· Can I use frozen cauliflower?- Feel free to use frozen cauliflower there will be no need to bake this as it is already quite soft just add straight to the saucepan. You may want to put less stock in as the cauliflower will let out a fair bit of water due to being frozen.

· Can I make this nut free?- Yes you can- the cashew nuts provide the dish with a creamier texture so you may want to add some vegan cream or extra cheese to make it creamy enough.

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