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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Looking forward to making this. Do you saute the vegetables in the same pot you browned the bacon in?? Thanks!
Yes! Why dirty another pot? 🙂
I just ate it for lunch with my two year old. It was soooo good.
so good! I used vegan butter and homemade almond milk. I also added some soy sauce.
Fantastic chowder recipe, Chungah! It’s been fun to read how some people made the recipe to the letter and some made tweeks to suit their tastes. So many wonderful variations to a very yummy recipe. I added white beans and diced ham. Anyhoo…thanks for doing all the hard work! Btw, your photos are what really sold me. You know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words! 😉
Nice recipe, but the definition of a chowder is that it contains potatoes. So, this is a good cauliflower soup but by definition is not a chowder.
Hey Ranae! There are many variations of chowder that do not include potatos. Many do, but not all, and they are every bit a “chowder”. According to Wikipedia:
Chowder is a type of soup or stew often prepared with milk or cream and thickened with broken crackers, crushed ship biscuit, or a roux. Variations of chowder can be seafood or vegetable. Crackers such as oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. New England clam chowder is typically made with chopped clams and diced potatoes, in a mixed cream and milk base, often with a small amount of butter. Other common chowders include seafood chowder, which includes fish, clams, and many other types of shellfish; corn chowder, which uses corn instead of clams; a wide variety of fish chowders;[1] and potato chowder, which is often made with cheese. Fish chowder, corn chowder, and clam chowder are especially popular in New England and Atlantic Canada.
Happy cooking! 🙂
I am hosting a crock-pot group with a bunch of my friends this week and want to feature this recipe of yours, it looks amazing! I love that its vegetarian, and can easily be made GF and even vegan if desired!
One question though….any suggestions for making a crockpot version?
Thanks in advance!
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. Hope that helps!
Hi!I made this soup for the first time today, it was truly wonderful! I added a sprinkle of nutmeg to give it a little warmth, fantastic! Definitely a keeper! I am planning another version with sweetcorn and crab or prawns for a really luxury supper dish! Thankyou!
I’ve been meaning to tell you that my family loved this recipe. My hubby who was like, “where’s the meat?” when I told him what we were having for dinner enjoyed it too! I didn’t change or add anything to this recipe, I made it as written and it is now one of my favorite go to soups!!!
Just made this today for dinner and I have to say, one of the best soups hands down! I added peas and mushrooms for more heartiness.
Can this be made with Unsweetend Almond Milk? Without Bacon and Butter and perhap replace chicken broth with vegetable broth? It look so good, but I have started to remove meat product slowly from my diet.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This sounds wonderful! I was just wondering if you can use non fat milk?
Yes, absolutely.
This was so good! Thank you for sharing! Just one question… Does it keep? Like have you ever tried freezing it? Just making some meals for a friend and would like to include this recipe 🙂
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.
I’m sure it will — any soup will because once the vegetables are cooked they can be frozen. I freeze portions of virtually every soup I ever make.
I just made this tonight, and it’s SO good! Thanks for the great recipe!
Amazing delicious simple recipe. Thank you!
Alterations: roasted 2 small heads of cauliflower w salt/pepper/coconut oil at 425 for 20 min (cut in florets); did not use bacon or butter (sub olive oil), added red pepper flakes, turmeric and pepper; used GF oat flour; blended half of the soup in a blender; added poached chicken along with roasted pumpkin seeds at the end.
This cauliflower chowder is delicious. I’ve made it four times now and even my teenage boys love it.
Hi There!
I have a head of cauliflower sitting in my fridge and would love to make this tonight! Is there anyway I can incorporate some sweet corn into this recipe without messing with the integrity? I have made some of your other recipes and the instructions are always clear and to the T. I don’t want to mess it up. Thanks!
Yes, absolutely. You can add it with the cauliflower. Hope that helps!
I haven’t been feeling well…getting bored of traditional chicken noodle soup…and living cauliflower as much as i do, i googled and came upon this recipe. Absolutely fantastic. The flavour is lovely. Made it exactly as made. As much as i love bacon, it’s just as good without it on top…oh i fibbed…i didn’t have fresh parsley so i sprinkled some dried parsley on before i brought it to a boil – delish! 5 stars in my book.
Thank you for posting.
I found this to be a bit thin, so added 2 cups grated cheese! Not a low fat version, but delish
Thanks for posting.
This looks delicious–I can’t wait to try it! I am curious though. How did you figure out how much cauliflower to use to replace potatoes? I also want to try a different recipe that is a Cabbage Cheese soup, and it calls for 2 potatoes that I cannot have. I am hoping to replace them with cauliflower, but I can’t find any information on how to do this.
Dawn, you can simply add as much or as less as you’d like – it’s up to you!
Made this soup – its a perfect recipe! so glad to have it as part of my weekly enjoyment. Thank you you for sharing.