Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Decadently delicious… Yes, that head of cauliflower can do that for you. This soup makes you feel like you’re eating a TREAT. Maybe it has something to do with that word “loaded”. Seriously, anything that says loaded has to be good right?

Loads of cheese, loads of bacon, maybe a little sour cream atop this creamy, thick, hearty deliciousness will have you forgetting it’s low carb when you slurp it all down. This is a twist on classic loaded potato soup. I call it faux-tato soup… this loaded cauliflower soup!!

This soup is your ultimate comfort feeling on some cold winter nights (though I am so hooked that it’s going to be a year round thing at the Beisers’). A giant bowlful and I am ready to curl up with my blanket on the sofa for some weekend movie. All cozy and warm. And yes, believe or not we do have some cold nights here in Florida.

What I love about this soup is how amazingly it takes on a rich texture with buttery flavor, all ramped up with generous sprinklings of toppings. This will give you all the comforts of potato soup without the extra carbs.

In fact, all those carbs are so unnecessary, as somehow the cauliflower brings out such an ultimate flavor. This is one of the few times I feel I had successfully traded out potatoes for good old cauli.

The second thing I love about this soup is that it can be whipped up quick. Perfect contender for something hearty, fulfilling and loved by every single member of your family. Yeah, my toddler guzzled it up. Make up a giant pot and you are all set up for a few days with tons of leftovers.

This is what you need for this cauliflower soup, aka faux-tato soup 🙂

• Cauliflower – Plenty. Why not, it’s so good. Make a big batch, it only tastes better as it lingers in your refrigerator.
• Bacon – Yay!
• Garlic – Plenty, chopped.
• Onion – Chopped.
• Chicken broth
• Sour cream
• Cream
• Cheddar cheese
• Thickener – Flour, or almond flour for a keto and gluten free option.
• Scallions – For garnishing.
• Thyme
• Salt and pepper

This keto bomb soup is ultra easy to make…

Here I will describe the stovetop method, but for slow cooker or Instant Pot directions, check the recipe card.

Wash cauliflower, cut out and discard the stem and cut it into medium to small size florets.

Fry the bacon, crumble and plate it out along with the rest of the garnishings, like grated fresh cheddar cheese and chopped scallions.

In the bacon drippings, start building up the soup by sautéing onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add in cauliflower florets along with salt, pepper and thyme. Give it a nice mix and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and cook till the cauliflower becomes tender, about 10 minutes or so. While it’s cooking, you can check out my list of the 35 best crockpot soup recipes.

Now to get that creamy, velvety texture you need to blend most of the cauliflower. We suggest blending 3/4 of the mixture, leaving behind ¼, as you would love biting into cauliflower florets later. You can either use an immersion blender (wait a little to cool it down first) or use a regular blender and work in batches.

Once blended pour the mixture back into the pot and keep on simmering. Add in sour cream, cream and cheddar cheese. Stir well. We further thickened it a tad bit by making a flour slurry with cream. It’s optional, but we couldn’t say no to a thick hearty consistency. To keep it keto, use almond flour.

And that’s its folks. All you need to do is ladle it onto your soup bowls and load it up with plenty of garnishings like chopped scallions, cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Doesn’t that look inviting?

Every bite is super yum when that velvety creamy cauliflower mash is heightened by bacon and cheese. I bet you are going to stick with our loaded cauliflower version whenever you crave for some thick tuber soup.

Leftovers

They are great. As it gets time to rest, the flavors get heightened. This is something to enjoy for days. Just refrigerate in your pot with the lid on. Heat it back up on the stovetop or microwave whenever you feel like one more bowl. 🙂

Cauliflower is trending big nowadays. It’s the new super food. It’s on everybody’s menu, in so many forms and ways. Till you get that in your basket next time you go grocery shopping, pin or bookmark this amazing soup and plan for a cozy evening with your loved ones.

It’s like a cauliflower’s dream come true. “All cauliflower ever wanted was for you to believe that it can do anything and everything a potato can do”. 🙂 This soup is a big testament to his dream. Make it happen… this loaded cauliflower soup in your kitchen. 🙂

Loaded Cauliflower Soup, in my Gypsy Bowl… enjoy!

Try some of these other great soups!
Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup
Greek White Bean Soup (Fasolada)
Bahamian Boiled Fish
Moroccan Lentil Soup
Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
Zuppa Toscana

Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

This loaded cauliflower soup is cozy in a bowl. Hearty, creamy soup loaded with cheese, scallions and bacon. You won't even miss the potatoes when slurping down this low carb treat!

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cauliflower heads, cut into medium sized florets
• 6 bacon strips
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 scallions, chopped, for garnish
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Fry bacon in a pot till crispy and remove to plate. Crumble it into pieces for garnish.
2. In bacon grease, add in onion and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add in cauliflower florets along with salt, pepper and thyme. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in chicken broth and cook for about 10 minutes till the cauliflower gets tender.
4. Blend 3/4 of the cauliflower mixture in a blender leaving 1/4 behind in the pot. Mix blended cauliflower back into the pot and keep on simmering 5 minutes. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender.
5. Add in sour cream, cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese and mix well.
6. It's ready to serve. Optionally, if you want thicker consistency, mix 2 Tbsp regular flour or almond flour with cream into a slurry. Gradually stir into the soup until you get the desired consistency.
7. Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with remaining cheddar cheese, bacon bits and chopped scallions. Serve hot.

Notes

Instant Pot Directions

1. Add bacon to Instant Pot and set to SAUTE. Cook bacon until crispy and remove to a plate. Crumble for garnishing later.
2. Add onion and garlic to the bacon drippings and sauté 3-4 minutes. Add cauliflower florets, salt and pepper, mix well and cook 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth and mix well. Seal the lid. On MANUAL setting, cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes.
4. Allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.
5. Blend 3/4 of the cauliflower mixture in a blender leaving 1/4 behind in the pot. Mix blended cauliflower back into the pot and keep on simmering 5 minutes. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender.
6. Add in sour cream, cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese and mix well.
7. It's ready to serve. If you want thicker consistency, mix 2 Tbsp regular flour or almond flour with cream into a slurry. Gradually stir into the soup until you get the desired consistency.
8. Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with remaining cheddar cheese, bacon bits and chopped scallions. Serve hot.

Slow Cooker Instructions

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 from stovetop directions.
2. Add some of the chicken broth to the pot. Stir well, making sure to mix and of the brown bits from the bottom of the pot into the soup.
3. Add contents of pot, along with remaining broth, to the slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook 4-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
5. Blend 3/4 of the cauliflower mixture in a blender leaving 1/4 behind in the pot. Mix blended cauliflower back into the pot and keep on simmering 5 minutes. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender.
6. Add in sour cream, cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese and mix well.
7. It's ready to serve. If you want thicker consistency, mix 2 Tbsp regular flour or almond flour with cream into a slurry. Gradually stir into the soup until you get the desired consistency.
8. Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with remaining cheddar cheese, bacon bits and chopped scallions. Serve hot.
   

Nutrition Information

Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 223Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 56mgSodium 885mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 8g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.