My loaded cauliflower soup is thick and rich, and topped with bacon bits for that extra goodness. As cauliflower is naturally low in carbohydrates, this soup is great for people on a low carb, or keto diet. Whereas I don’t prescribe either, I can tell you this soup is good for you!
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Loaded Cauliflower Soup ♥
Let’s talk about cauliflower
Cauliflower is from the mustard family, together with broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, kale and kohlrabi. In most cases, only the head is eaten. However, for this soup recipe I used the stems and leaves in order to use the entire vegetable. The word cauliflower comes from the Italian cavolo (cabbage) fiore (flower). You might see various colours in modern cuisine such as orange, green, and purple, but these are hybrids. Cauliflower is mostly water and contains very little carbohydrates. It is high in vitamin C and also provides some B vitamins and vitamin K.
Cooking with cauliflower
Most often we cook cauliflower on the braai enclosed in tin foil. Just add a little bit of butter, season generously, and place onto the fire. This basically steams it which you could also do on the stove top using a bain-marie, or in the microwave. I also like to use cauliflower as a trivet for roast chicken, which results in the most amazing cauliflower mash you can imagine. Or if you are not roasting anything, use the steamed cauliflower and mash just like you would do if you were using potatoes. Cauliflower can be grilled, fried, pickled for preservation or eaten raw. You can blitz cauliflower until fine and use as a rice substitute. Here I have boiled the cauliflower to make a thick soup, perfect for a complete meal.
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Loaded Cauliflower Soup ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Loaded Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 150 g diced bacon
- 15 mls olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled, cut in half and diced
- 50 g celery, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 750 mls chicken stock, divided
- 650 g whole cauliflower, stems and leaves included, chopped *
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
Method
- Place the bacon into a cold, large saucepan and cook over a medium temperature until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is golden brown
- Set aside to use as a topping for the soup
- Add the oil to the saucepan and heat
- Add the onion, lower the temperature and sauté until soft
- Add the celery and sauté until soft
- Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant
- Add 250ml chicken stock and increase the temperature to deglaze the saucepan
- Add the rest of the stock, the cauliflower and bay leaf anf season generously
- Bring to the boil then reduce the temperature and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
- When you can easily stab the cauliflower florets with a sharp knife use a stick blender to purée
- Adjust the seasoning and leave on the stove top to keep warm while you reheat the bacon in a frying pan
- Serve the soup loaded with the bacon **
Notes
** other toppings you can use are grated strong cheese; chopped chives; chopped spring onions; sour cream or crumbled blue cheese
See the links below for blog posts I published on February 6:
- 2019: January 2019 Showcasing In My Kitchen
- 2017: Sun-dried Tomato Jam
- 2014: Chilli Sauce
- 2012: Quinoa Coated Hake Goujons
- 2011: Grapes For The Regional and Seasonal Challenge
Shallcopy!!!!!!
Enjoy!
I eat a lot of cauliflower and love it in soup.
It has to be one of our favourite vegetables 🙂
Tandy, you have so many interesting ideas for using cauliflower which is a vegetable that I happen to love. The soup looks beautiful with the contrast of your black and white designed bowl.
Thank you Judee! I know not quite kosher, or vegan, but this soup is easy to adapt 🙂
I’ll keep this recipe, Tandy. Autumn is coming.
It is a great soup for lunch when you are short of time 🙂
Great combination of delicate cauliflower and rich smoky bacon; and I like that you’ve used the entire cauliflower here! I need to be working on my zero-waste cooking skills 🙂
I really try use everything 🙂
Oddly enough, I never had cauliflower growing up — I never even saw it. As it turned out, I “discovered” it in adulthood and love it. Yet I haven’t had it in ages. This soup sounds wonderful. Hugs.
That is so strange – was it not a vegetable grown where you were raised?
I absolutely love cauliflower, unlike one of our friends who when I mentioned loving everything (except kale!!!) from the brassica family, told me that she didn’t care if they were from the Addams Family! hehehe …
haha, I shall tell Hannah that cauliflower is from the Addams Family – she might eat more cauliflower as she loves the show 🙂
One of my favourite veggies… Nice soup 😊
Thank you Carol 🙂
I think the beauty of this soup is the cauliflower takes on the flavors that it is given. The result s a hearty beautiful soup. Love it!
Velva
Thank you Velva 🙂
Beautiful! I would have to add some cream, tho. That’s just me!
I can relate to that need 😉