Creamy Cauliflower Soup — No Cream, Using the Whole Head
Yvonne Ammann VegetarianRoughly chop the cauliflower including the stalk, sweat with onion and a potato in butter, barely cover with stock, simmer 20 minutes, blend smooth. The potato thickens, the cauliflower makes it velvety — no cream needed. Season with nutmeg, cheese or curry.
Cauliflower soup is the creamiest soup that needs no cream — blended cauliflower turns velvety by itself. The whole head goes in, including the stalk that otherwise ends up in the bin and that nobody can spot in the soup. It costs under two francs, takes 30 minutes, and with cheese stirred in, even children who refuse cauliflower eat it.
Ingredients
- 1 piece Cauliflower (about 800 g, with stalk)
- 1 piece Potato (floury)
- 1 piece Onion
- 30 g Butter
- 8 dl Vegetable stock
- 1 dl Milk
- Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- ½ bunch Chives
- 60 g Gruyère (grated) (optional)
Method
- 1
Prepare
Break the cauliflower into florets, peel and dice the stalk — it goes in too. Set aside a few small florets for garnish. Peel and dice the potato, chop the onion.
- 2
Sweat
Melt the butter in a pot, soften the onion 3 minutes, add the cauliflower and potato and sweat 3 minutes.
- 3
Simmer
Add the stock — the vegetables should be just covered —, bring to the boil and simmer covered for 20 minutes until everything is soft. Meanwhile brown the garnish florets in a pan with a little butter for 5 minutes.
- 4
Blend
Add the milk and blend with a stick blender for 1 to 2 minutes until velvety. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Stir in the cheese if using.
- 5
Serve
With the roasted florets, chives and a drizzle of olive oil or butter. Bread alongside.
Tips
- Three variations: 60 g Gruyère stirred in (cheese soup, for children), 1 tbsp curry powder toasted with the onion and coconut milk instead of milk (curried cauliflower soup), 100 g crispy bacon on top (hearty).
- Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes well. Thin with a little milk or stock when reheating — it thickens as it stands.
- For more flavour, roast half the cauliflower for 20 minutes in the oven until browned, then cook it in. The roasted notes turn the mild soup into a robust one.
What can I substitute?
Coconut milk and oat drink make it vegan — then replace the butter with olive oil. Cream for the Sunday version.
Same soup, different vegetable. Broccoli turns it green and needs only 15 minutes. Celeriac is more savoury.
Oats thicken just as well. Without either the soup is thinner, but cauliflower alone is already quite creamy.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Can you eat the cauliflower stalk?
Yes. Peeled, the stalk is as tender as the florets, just slightly sweeter. Blended into the soup, nobody notices it. The small green leaves can go in too. That way one cauliflower makes soup for four instead of three.
Why is my cauliflower soup not creamy?
Too much stock or not blended long enough. The vegetables should be just covered, not swimming — thin afterwards if needed. And blend a full two minutes with the stick blender; the creaminess only comes once every fibre is broken down.
How much cauliflower per person?
200 g per person for a soup as a main with bread. An 800 g cauliflower with stalk serves four. As a starter, half that.
How much does cauliflower soup cost per person?
Under 1 CHF per person. A Swiss cauliflower costs 2 to 3 CHF at Migros and Coop and is in season June to November — in winter from France or Italy.
How you collect recipes
Paste a link
Copy the address of any recipe page — including this one. Ingredients, amounts and steps are recognised automatically.
Photograph a cookbook
Take a photo of a page from your cookbook. Even handwritten recipes from your grandmother get read.
Pull from Cookidoo
Got a Thermomix? Your Cookidoo recipes come into your collection with one click.
