Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup is nicknamed Christmas Tree Soup in my home. It’s the first course of our Christmas dinner every year, because this lovely soup tastes every bit as wonderful as it looks. It’s creamy and flavorful, a melt in your mouth experience. Of course, the Christmas garnishes are fun, but I make it throughout the winter and serve it at lunch or as a simple dinner with crusty bread and a salad.
Did I mention this incredibly rich soup is also healthy? No, I’ll keep that a secret. Enjoy!
Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets 1 bulb of garlic olive oil 1 T butter 1 onion, diced 1 rib of celery, diced 1 large spring of rosemary, plus smaller ones for garnish 1 bay leaf sea salt white pepper 2 c vegetable stock 1 can evaporated skim milk juice of ½ a lemon star anise for garnish
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1 bulb of garlic
- olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 1 large spring of rosemary, plus smaller ones for garnish
- 1 bay leaf
- sea salt
- white pepper
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- * 1 can evaporated skim milk (vegan option below)
- juice of ½ a lemon
- star anise for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil. Spread the cauliflower florets over the sheet. Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over it. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and touch of white pepper. Toss everything so it is well-coated, then spread them all out again.
- Cut off just the top of your bulb of garlic. Place it in a small scrap of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt. Wrap it all up and put it on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turn the cauliflower, then bake for 15-20 minutes more. Don't worry if you see golden spots. This tastes great and will not effect the creamy color of your soup. Trust me.
- As soon as it's cool enough to handle (be brave!) unwrap the garlic. Gently squeeze out that amazing paste, not wasting a drop.
- Heat a soup pot over a medium flame. Add 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Add onions and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for 2 minutes. Add celery and another pinch of sea salt. Saute for another 2 minutes, until softened. Add garlic, cauliflower, large sprig of rosemary, bay leaf and vegetable stock and a pinch of white pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add milk and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove bay leaf and rosemary.
- Transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. You may have to do this in batches. Leave room for steam to escape by removing the small circle on the lid and pressing a kitchen towel on top. Taste and adjust seasonings one more time. If soup is too thick, add more stock. If it is too thin, heat it up again and let it reduce. If you want, you can strain soup to perfection. Personally, I love it as is.
- To serve, ladle soup into bowls and place a spring of rosemary and a star anise in each bowl. Bask in the adulation of your guests. Enjoy!
Notes
VEGAN OPTION
It's easy to make this recipe vegan by swapping olive oil for butter, and replacing the evaporated milk with ½ c raw cashews blitzed in a blender with 3/4 c veggie stock. It's still creamy and delicious. In fact, I might prefer it this way.
It's easy to make this recipe vegan by swapping olive oil for butter, and replacing the evaporated milk with ½ c raw cashews blitzed in a blender with 3/4 c veggie stock. It's still creamy and delicious. In fact, I might prefer it this way.
Oh… my gosh, that looks SO DELICIOUS. I’m all about anything garlic, so count me in! Also – the little tree accent is so adorable. 🙂
xo Kathryn
oh how pretty! love how you decorated it- and yes..no one needs to know that it’s healthy..shhh haha
I found Sunday dinner! YUM I love Cauliflower and you add garlic and it’s a soup its just screaming EAT ME!!! Thanks so much for sharing.. I can’t wait to make this.
Yummy! Though I am not a vegetarian, but I love these soups. I just want to add toasted bacon to the top 🙂
I love roasted cauliflower! I will definitely give this a try!
xo
jen
I like roasted cauliflower but have never had it made into a soup. Going to have to give this a try.
I’m always looking for great cauliflower recipes..and this soup looks fantastic! Also as we lead up to Christmas some healthy recipes with all those cookies is exactly what my kitchen is calling for!
I agree, Dawn. We fight over cauliflower in my home. This soup is so tasty because it’s roasted first. Yummmm!
Oh, then you have to try it! It’s so lovely!
Thanks, Lora! the best thing is that the presentation is so easy. The soup is delicious too!
Oh good, Sarah! It really is an amazing soup!
This sounds delicious! Definitely saving this recipe.
This looks delicious and I love the way you styled/presented it. I’d love to be served that pretty dish 🙂
I think this recipe will be a great way to get my boys to eat vegetables. They love soup. This one is so simple and nummy looking. Thanks for the great recipe!
This sounds so yummy! Definitely putting this on my must make list!
Wowie. Love this. I was looking for cauliflower based recipes for my girl. Landed right here. This is so yum and healthy. Thank you so much!!
This looks and sounds amazing! Pinned it and going to try it! 😋
Pinning this for later! It sounds absolutely amazing!
I have to try this recipe. I love cauliflower and garlic so I bet I would really enjoy this soup. Thanks for sharing!
I have to make this! I love roasted cauliflower. This sounds amazing.
Oh YUM! This soup looks incredibly good. Paired with a loaf of crusty bread, and you have a perfect simple cold weather supper.
I will be making this VERY soon!
This looks delicious! I love cauliflower, but have never made a soup with it!
I’ve never had cauliflower soup! I’ll definitely have to give this one a try!
I know what I am making this week! I just bought some cauliflower too!
Meghan | BeyondBasicBlog.com
Cauliflower is king! I swear it makes everything better, especially soups. I look forward to making this soon!
I will definitely make this with the vegan option! I love cauliflower soup! I also love how you placed the garnishes. Very festive.
This looks really good. I’ll have to try this, my daughter loves soup!
One Awesome Momma
this looks and sounds delish!
I have to do this recipe, tomorrow I am going to publix to buy the ingredients