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!
I have been making a lot of cozy soups to get us through these chilly nights. But instead of making my usual carb-loaded chowders that I love so much, I tried something a little bit lighter and a little more hearty. After all, Spring is officially here, sweater season is slowly coming to an end, and bikini season will be here before you know it.
Now I’ll be honest – I was very skeptical about using cauliflower in place of potatoes, but boy, was I in for a treat.
The cauliflower is an amazing low-carb substitute here, and it’s really such a perfect way to sneak in some veggies for those picky eaters. And to balance out all that veggie goodness, I just had to add some crisp bacon bits because at the end of the day, bacon just makes everything a thousand times better.
Either way, this is one cozy, hearty soup that the whole family will gobble up with zero complaints, promise!
Cauliflower Chowder
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
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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Do you think this would work with a gluten free flour?
Yes, substituting gluten-free flour would work just fine.
A good gluten free thickener is Arrowroot. It can be found in the spice section. I use this because corn starch is now gmo.
I just found this site today. If subbing Arrowroot for the flour do you use the same amount? Thanks.
My understanding is no. About 1 tsp. Arrowroot to 1 Tblsp. Flour
Tina – For GF, I used potato starch and it worked fine. You can also use Bob’s Red Mill Potato flakes. I order them online. They are great to keep on hand for GF cooking.
I made it with a gluten free flour blend plus some cornstarch. So delicious and healthy! I didn’t even add the bacon and it was great!
I don’t add any kind of thickener – I use my emulsifier blender and it makes a nice thick soup!
Nice soup. Thank you.
I’m crazy about this one- looks amazing!
This looks divine! I was scared I’d find a ridiculous ingredient list, but it was all super simple, phew! I love good chowders, and this one looks like no exception 😀 Happy Sunday! x
sorry…meant food, not foos… : )
Chung, this looks positively delish!! Must make it ASAP… Thanks for sharing, all of your foos looks fabulous!
Sounds delish! Do you have the nutritional information?
Unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information for my recipes. Please use online resources to obtain such information.
This looks so lush. I agree – you can have bacon on almost anything!
I can’t wait to make this – it’s snowing outside so it’s perfect timing!
Anisa – The Macadame. xx
http://www.creamstop.com
Looks delish! I’ve used cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes for years. Thanks and happy Sunday.
So the past few weeks, I’ve been going to town on cauli soup! I really just make it a bowl at a time with the veggies and cauli and my own rendition of broth and just bought another head of cauli today! I would love to try yours b/c it looks amazing! And the images, oh, so you! And so beautiful! 🙂
It’s official Chungah and my fellow foodies. I am addicted to this website! Lol
Looking forward to making your snack recipes this week and trying your cauliflower soup. Great easy nutritious and colorful recipes to hoard for yourself and to share with others