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
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This soup was absolutely delicious! We needed something soft (yet filling and healthy) since my daughter’s braces really hurt a lot today after her adjustment yesterday. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Will make again and again (when it’s cooler out).
This looks great, can I make it in advance? Wanting It for lunch at church the next day?
Lisa, I’ve had it as leftovers the next day and it still tasted great!
Do you think plain Almond Milk would work?
You can certainly give it a try but I worry that the almond milk may bring in unwanted sweetness to the soup.
Just made this soup. Excellent flavor! I substituted sausage for bacon and used celery seed instead of celery. I used 1/2 head of cauliflower and half of all veggies but 32 oz chicken broth. I did not have 2% milk so I used cottage cheese as mashed as possible. The soup is great. Will make it again . Thank you for the recipe.
I have to try this! even thought its suppose to be summer here in Canada, we have been getting rainy cold days I really want comfort food!
I’m on weight watchers & I need to know what the calories, fat, & fiber is. Thank You!
Unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information of my recipes. Please use online resources at your own discretion to obtain such information.
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I made this for supper last night, and it was a complete hit. My husband, who mostly refuses to eat vegetables, gave rave reviews about it. I left out the bacon since we didn’t have any, but it was still delicious.
I think your pictures are out of order. in the second one, you show califlower and bay leaf as the second step before the flour. In the last step, you say to add the califlower and bay leaf. Which is it?
Ann, the pictures are in correct order. The cauliflower and bay leaf should be added prior to the addition of the flour.
I just made this for dinner and it was soooooo GOOD! Thank you for posting such a delicious and easy recipe. For those of you who might care, I used “better batter” gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour (you have to use a little less) and I used non-fat milk powder/water for the milk. I also just added the fresh parsley directly to the finished soup. We ate the whole pot.
Next time I will add crusty bread! Thanks again.
Delicious! My husband really enjoyed this chowder even though he’s not a huge fan of cauliflower. Great recipe
I made this for dinner one night and my husband really liked it. It was filling and a really good stand in for potato soup. Knowing that it’s lower in carbs made it easier to eat with no guilt. Great recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂
If I want to spice this up a bit, any suggestions on seasonings other than salt and pepper? Looks yummy!
You can try adding red pepper flakes for a little bit of heat.
This soup was SO good! My whole family, including the picky ones, liked it. I didn’t change anything – perfect as is. I love your photos, too. Great site!
Delicious we really enjoyed it
Recipe for Dideh Thanks yummy
This looks so good! Do you think this would be a good base for a fish chowder?
Yes, this base would work great for a fish chowder, although I’m not too sure if the consistency would fit your taste – it’s not very thick as say, a clam chowder. Hope that helps!
If this is low-carb, shouldn’t we eliminate the flour and thicken it with something else? Maybe make it with heavy cream instead?
With a 1/4 cup flour in the recipe divided among 4 servings, each person would only be consuming 1 tablespoon flour, which is a very small amount. But feel free to omit as needed. I do not recommend using heavy cream as it is very high in saturated fats.
Perhaps instead of making a rue with the flour to cause thickening, adding some potato starch after some heating of the completed soup would do the job. Not too much or too fast or you get ‘riblets’ (small gobs of the flour); I find that making a thin paste first works pretty well.
Puree half the soup and this will thicken it nicely without the flour or cream
I made it today and it was awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I made mine with grated carrots, green peas, french beans and spinach in addition to the onions, carrots and celery. Used veg stock instead of chicken as I’m a vegetarian. And I added a dash of parsley and mix dried herbs. Oh and replaced butter with Olive Oil to make it a tiny bit healthier.
Super Yummy!
I have to say, this is really good! I just made it! The only thing is, maybe I had an unusually large head of Cauliflower because I think next time I will use maybe 1/2? Its almost a side dish and not so much a soup.
I think it just really depends on the size of your cauliflower head – for us, an average head of cauliflower was perfect for a soup. I recommend adjusting the amount accordingly.