“Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & Cheddar

The days of soup recipes are numbered. With spring finally starting yesterday the excitement of warmer weather is in the air. Before I get overly excited though I want to share this delicious “Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & Cheddar with you.

As I’m sitting here typing this I have the window open, the sun is shining in, and I can see little buds starting to form on the trees. After living through my first Colorado winter, spring is a warm and welcoming sight. To be honest the winter here wasn’t too bad. There were definitely some butt cold days where we dipped down below zero, but that just made a 30 degree day feel warm and balmy. Coming from Arizona if we ever see a temperature as low as 32 degrees it’s a rare occasion. Here though, I’ve adapted to waking up to temperatures in the low 20’s and it’s actually not so bad. Now that I have the proper attire for running in cold weather I don’t mind it (except when the wind is blowing and pelting me in the face with snow). I used to have a fit if I had to run in any temperature below 40 degrees, but my skin is thickened and I’m suddenly ok with anything around 20 degrees. I’m not going to lie though, I’m ready for warmer temperatures. I can’t wait to spend every weekend outside hiking on new trails, going for bike rides, barbecuing, and camping. This spring and summer are going to be epic! So as I prepare to light up the grill and feast on fresh salads I’ll share one more delicious soup with you, “Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & Cheddar.

This soup has it all! It’s thick like potato soup, but without all the carbs and it’s creamy like I added lots of dairy to it, but I didn’t (that’s the magical part about cauliflower).  This soup can also easily be transformed in to one that vegetarians and vegans will love, simply by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock and omitting the bacon and cheddar from the top (caramelized onions would make a wonderful alternative).

This soup has minimal ingredients which makes it easy to make. I started by softening one onion and two stalks of celery in a large pot. I then added in some garlic and cooked it for another 30 seconds. Once they were soft I added in half a cup of white wine. I then dumped in two pounds of cauliflower chopped into florets (this is approximately one large head of cauliflower), chicken stock, salt, pepper, and some fresh parsley and thyme. That’s it! I covered the pot and cooked it over medium high heat for about 30 minutes, until the cauliflower was soft. I then used my immersion stick to puree the soup. If you want you can leave the soup at that, but I knew my husband would appreciate some chopped bacon and a sprinkling of cheddar on top (bacon and cheese always makes soup more man friendly). Even my husband who doesn’t think that soup is a meal agreed that this one was good. So before you put on your shorts, bust out the steaks, and light up the grill, cozy up one more time next to the fire with a bowl of this “Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & Cheddar.

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“Creamy” Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & Cheddar

Yield: 4-5 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 t. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 pounds cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 t. fresh thyme
• 2 T. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 t. white pepper
• 2-3 t. kosher salt depending on taste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and diced (optional)
• White cheddar cheese for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
2. When the pot is hot add in the diced onion and celery.
3. Cook the celery and onion until they have softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Add in the minced garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
5. Add in the white wine and cook about 3 more minutes, until most of the wine has reduced.
6. Add in the cauliflower, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and chicken broth.
7. Bring to a boil and then cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium.
8. Let the soup cook for about 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is very soft.
9. Using an immersion stick blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy.
10. Taste the soup to see if it needs more salt or pepper.
11. Serve the soup immediately topped with the diced bacon and cheddar cheese if desired.

Notes

To make the soup vegetarian or vegan simply use vegetable broth instead of chicken and omit the bacon and cheddar on top.

More Soup Recipes to Cozy Up With:

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

Green Chile Pork Stew

Butternut Squash Carrot Soup

Southwest Chicken Soup