Cauliflower Chowder
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A creamy, low carb, hearty and cozy soup, loaded with so many good-for-you veggies. Perfect for those chilly nights!
Featured Comment
I’ve been making this recipe since it was first published – I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! I also can’t believe that I haven’t reviewed it until now. Follow the recipe and it’s perfect. No one is ever disappointed, there are never leftovers, and I can feel moderately good about getting more vegetables
why i love cauliflower chowder
- Perfect for soup season, ski season, post-holiday season, and blustery winter season
- Oh-so-velvety with all the sneaked in vegetables that even the pickiest of toddlers will love
- Packed with cauliflower, a great source of antioxidants that’s high in fiber and low in calories
tips and tricks for success
- Grab pre-cut cauliflower. To cut down on prep time even more, use pre-cut cauliflower florets.
- Blend, baby, blend. With the help of an immersion blender or a countertop blender, the soup will yield an even creamier, smoother consistency.
- Add garnishes. Garnishes are always optional but a fresh sprinkle of thyme leaves, some crispy bacon or roasted cauliflower will certainly take your soup to the next level, adding more flavor, texture and contrast.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Mix it up. Add carrots, corn, russet potatoes (this will help thicken up the chowder even more!) or even your favorite blend of seafood.
what to serve with cauliflower chowder
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Cauliflower Chowder: Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don’t have an immersion blender?
A countertop blender (such as a Vitamix or Blendtec) or food processor should do the trick! When using a countertop blender, cool the soup slightly and blend in batches.
How can I make this vegetarian?
You can omit the bacon and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Is this freezer-friendly?
We do not recommend freezing this as milk-based soups tend to separate when frozen.
Cauliflower Chowder
A creamy, low carb, hearty and cozy soup, loaded with so many good-for-you veggies. Perfect for those chilly nights!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup 2% milk
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving 1 tablespoon excess fat in the stockpot.
- Melt butter in the stockpot. Add garlic, onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in cauliflower and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until barely crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken broth and milk, and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower are tender, about 12-15 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and parsley, if desired.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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Loved this receipe. First time made for company and they loved it also, I stuck to the plan. Second time used up some cauliflower and brocilli and added in some zuchinni, added some cheddar cheese on the top. Thanks for the seed.
Great Soup. Made it yesterday was very comforting on a breezy fall day. 🙂
If you are doing LCHF diet you can reduce carb count by using full-fat milk, ditch the carrots & flour and puree a portion to thicken it. Adding chicken is also a great option.
Made it tonight, you killed it, girl! Doubled the cook time for everything but whatevs, it was a huge hit. Thanks!
I can’t figure where the trans fat is coming from in this recipe, unless you’re using margarine instead of butter.
Would this work in the crock pot?
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-converting-recipes-to-the-slow-cooker-189343.
Does it freeze well?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Looking forward to trying this!! I have exactly 4 pieces of bacon left over from breakfast today and left over chicken broth I need to use up….it must be destiny! My husband hates cauliflower so hopefully he will like this….sending it in his lunch so guess he won’t have too much of a choice:-) He doesn’t always pay attention anyway so maybe if I don’t actually say it has cauliflower he will never know!
Chungah, I just made this soup tonight and it didn’t thicken. Do you have any thoughts as to why it didn’t? I didn’t understand what you meant by whisking the flour when you added it to the the veggie mixture. I did stir, but am not sure if that would have really affected it.
Marie, the flour needs to be stirred in thoroughly along with the chicken broth and milk. If this is not done properly, the soup will not thicken.
What an amazing looking soup! It couldn’t be much better with the added bacon too.
I made this last night! I added some sharp cheddar cheese as well as Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. It was fantastic! Warm and filling without the carb-loaded guilt trip.
Another great dish from damdelicious! I minused the bacon and added fresh corn kernels. Amazing
This is a DIVINE, WONDERFUL, & DELICIOUS Recipe! I left out the carrrots, not a fan of carrots. I used regular butter and milk due to budget constraints and it turned out just fine! Thanks Chungah!
Laurie
Why can not get your recipe to print? It wants to print all the replys with the recipe
Internet Explorer has recently made some updates that are causing print problems. I recommend using a different browser, such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari. But if you can only use Internet Explore, you can highlight the recipe, left-click, and print from there. Easy peasy!
Tell your printer to print only the page you want.
Love this recipe. I made the soup today for lunch and everyone enjoyed it very much. Your time to help us in the kitchen is greatly appreciated!
I made this last night and my jaw hit the floor. I was hoping it would be yummy, but nothing prepared me for the love affair I was about to have with this soup! I want it again today! We only made half the recipe (in case it didn’t taste good, because thats happened before) Now I am upset that I didn’t make the whole amount!!! I added more salt and pepper so Im sure it wasn’t as healthy after that but boy was it delicious! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
My husband gave this two thumbs up, and he isn’t vegetarian in any sense of the word. I had only a small head of cauliflower, so should have adjusted the broth amount accordingly to achieve creamier chowder. Added ham to each bowl for more protein. Plan to add minced fresh jalapeno to the leftovers to give a little different flavor. Thanks for a new favorite recipe.
Thanks for giving the “print” option!
I made this soup tonight and LOVED it!!! Thank you for the recipe, it’s going into my favourite recipes book! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Soup is one way my kids will eat vegetables, and this cauliflower chowder has a good variety of veggies. Plus, it tastes great, especially with the bacon 🙂
If you’d like to see my post about it, here it is: http://busymomrecipes.com/dinner/cauliflower-chowder/