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!
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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!
Video
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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Really interested in this recipe but I can hardly call myself “comfortable” in the kitchen, so I am gonna ask:
After taking the crispy bacon out of the dutch over, you said to add butter. Is the assumption that you’re adding butter to the bacon grease in the pan to add flavor to the veggies, or should the bacon grease be drained and THEN add the butter?
Thanks for your time to answer this.
I prefer to leave the bacon grease in the pan but you can, of course, drain it. It’s completely up to you.
I love the look of this recipe but my doctor is always yelling at me to avoid saturated fats. Does anyone have any recommendations to reduce the saturated fat levels of this soup?
Honestly I don’t like cauliflower, but I love soup. I never thought that even soup can be done with cauliflower. The thought of having cauliflower soup is quite weird but this look quite different and colorful. I would love to try this once.
I attempted this recipe for the first time this week with a few little changes as I only had chicken soup and no stock and i took out the celery as i cant stand it and threw in some corn kernels instead.
Oh my gosh, this was seriously divine. Its just so tasty and delish and filling. I certainly didnt need any meat to go with it and in fact left out the bacon bits in the end. So for me to like something this much that doesn’t have a meat component is very rare.
My eldest son came over for dinner tonight and scoffed the left overs (about half the recipe) in one sitting and called it seriously good (and he detests meatless dinners lol).
So definitely a winner in my books
That’s so great! Thank you for your feedback!
This soup is so good! I did have to alter the recipe a little to accommodate our diet. I skipped the bacon, used ghee instead of butter, Pamela’s all purpose Gluten-Free flour, vegetable broth and coconut milk… all in the same quantities as specified in the recipe. I tripled the carrots and celery and used a very large head of cauliflower and added 1 TBSP of tapioca flour as well because I thought it wasn’t thickening. I ended up having to add 1 cup extra broth at the end as it was very thick! Ha… should have waited for it to cook a little longer! Anyways, this turned out amazing and even my 2 year old gobbled it up. I will definitely make this again! Thanks for the delicious recipe… another winner in our books!
Love it! Thanks for sharing Heather!
Thank u!
About how much is equal to one serving?
About 1-2 cups.
Do u take the bay leaf out? Know this sounds stupid but at my age don’t know if u eat it or not. Thanks. For all of your wonderful recipes.
Yes, the bay leaf is removed prior to serving.
This soup looks really good! I like the idea that it is low in sodium too.I love your blog!!
Hi! I always go to your website for recipes & recommend Damn Delicious to my friends. I’m looking forward to making this soup. Question: are you leaving the bacon fat in the Dutch oven when adding the butter?
Thank you! Lisa
Yes! 🙂
High marks from the wife and kiddos! Simple to make and tasty as well
I made this twice this Fall, once being for thanksgiving. It was a big hit! Being a vegetarian, I swapped out bacon for smoky crimini mushrooms, chopped small. I used homemade veggie broth instead of chicken, and as one person suggested, I roasted the cauliflower first. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Twice a week, I pick something from your website to cook. And EVERY time, it’s delicious. You have inspired me to love cooking, and your recipes remind me that HEALTHY does not have to mean BLAND…
I was so excited to eat this, I went and bought the ingredients on my lunch break! Can’t wait to cook it tonight (on this ridiculously cold 29 degree Austin night).
Can’t wait for the next one 🙂
I made this a couple of nights ago – delicious! I did add chicken to it for more protein, used cream instead of 2% (we’re on a low-carb high fat diet for my husband’s diabetes), left out the flour and used an immersion blender to puree some of the vegetables. So creamy and good! In fact, so good that I’m making a fish chowder tomorrow based on the same recipe!
Unfortunately my family found this incredibly bland. Do you leave the bacon fat in the pan after cooking (when you add in the vegetables)?
Yes! Why clean the pan? There’s so much flavor with those browned up bits!
How could I make this gluten free?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This soup is delicious! I’ve made it a few times before and put it in my recipe book, then forgot about it. Today I came across it again so I made some ….Yummy, it was so good! I didn’t use bacon and only had skim milk but it was wonderful! Thanks for a great recipe.
I made it and it was delicious. The bacon grease added amazing flavor and because of the cauliflower base, I don’t even feel super guilty. I’m definitely going to make this often.
I tried this chowder and it’s so delicious that I’ll make it again. My husband who doesn’t like chunks of vegetables asked me to pass it in the blender to make a cream instead and it was so good also. Therefore, I’ll use this soup often and might also serve it to my guests. Thanks so much.
I made your soup today and it was very good. I will definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.