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.
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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.
Could this be done in a crock pot?
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!
This was very tasty. I made it a couple weeks ago. Since I’m the only one in my home that eats soup I ended up freezing some. It froze just fine.
I like turkey bacon instead of pork bacon.also I think that sea salt is preferable to kosher salt. It has minerals that kosher does not have. Last, I would make sure to use low-sodium broth. The flavor is as good and less salt is healthier for people with high blood pressure and those trying to prevent it.
Thanks for the recipe. Hubby will try it out tomorrow.
I made this last night and it will now be one of our favorite cauliflower recipes! Really delicious. I substituted coconut milk for cow’s milk and didn’t use the flour at all. I pureed about 1/2 to make it thick. Really good! Thank you!
I made this today for lunch! Tasty! The bacon really finishes it off.
Lovely recipe!
Thank you.
I’m going to try this but substitute the milk with coconut milk – sounds delicious!
With a couple small adjustments, this came out great! I only used 1 tbsp butter and pureed about 1/4 of the whole pot to thicken. We didn’t have bacon and it tasted pretty plain on it’s own, so I added 1/2 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar. Super good! Each serving came to 1 1/3 cups. Macros with these adjustments are approx. 144 calories, 5g fat, 19g carbs and 7g protein for anyone interested. We added chunks of chicken to our bowls and dinner was perfect!
Great winter soup. Rather than cook the veggies, onion and garlic in butter, I reserved a T of bacon grease and used that. I topped the soup with the bacon crumbles and shredded cheddar cheese. My wife told me that I will be making this again real soon.
Making this right now as I type this!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Not even ready but already tastes suuuuper good 🙂 Never made even one recipe from your collection that was not a hit <3
Made this tonight and basically followed directions. It was SOOOOO GOOD!!! Only changes I made were cauliflower in food processor to make it fine (left a some a bit chunkier) and added some cayenne. So delicious that I can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow and I would be proud to serve to company. I discovered this blog Christmas 2014 and have been making delicious things from your recipes since! Thank you so very much for sharing your great ideas and talent for making wonderful food!
I love cauliflower and don’t really care for potatoes, so this soup is like a dream come true for me! I’m eating a leftover bowl from last night’s dinner, and I just love it so much. I ended up adding a bit of the extra bacon grease to the veggie mixture while cooking, and I have no regrets.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I don’t know about u but drives me crazy when everyone wants to change blogger’s recipes!
My only question is I live alone so wondering how well this freezes? Thank you
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.