Today I’m bringing you a truly luscious soup to warm your soul. Soup season might just be my favorite season. You can enjoy an herb-filled chicken soup one day (hint: it’s #1 on the internet), a hearty stew the next, and a unique, ultra-creamy one like this roasted cauliflower soup after that.
I was inspired to make this super flavorful roasted garlic cauliflower soup after about my 100th time making my cheddar cauliflower broccoli soup, which is a true AK reader favorite. Why not simplify it, add a FULL head of delicious roasted garlic, and of course, keep that silky cheddar cheese?
The result is UNREAL. Perfectly thick and creamy with wonderful savory flavor from both roasted garlic and cauliflower, and salty, cheesy goodness from the cheddar. The key to the thickness? We’re skipping the heavy cream and even the flour and instead blending up all of those veggies!
Serve it up with your fav croutons, crackers, or crusty sourdough bread. Any way you do it, it’s guaranteed to be incredible.
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Roasted cauliflower soup lightened up to perfection
You’re going to LOVE the indulgent flavor and texture of this cauliflower soup. Many traditional cauliflower soup recipes are filled with heavy cream and even flour to help thicken them up, but we’re simply blending up our roasted veggies and stirring in some cheese to get the same thickness! It’s SO easy and completely veggie-forward.
Ingredients in this roasted cauliflower soup
This delicious, easy roasted cauliflower soup is made with super simple ingredients and the result is a true hug-in-a-bowl filled with flavor. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Veggies: you’ll need cauliflower, a full head of garlic, and onion in this soup, plus some olive oil for cooking them.
- Broth: we’re using vegetable broth to keep the recipe veggie-friendly, but feel free to use chicken broth if you’d like.
- Cheese: get that savory, indulgent flavor from sharp cheddar cheese!
- Seasonings: don’t forget plenty of salt and pepper throughout the recipe.
- For serving: I like to top my bowl with sliced green onion, a little extra shredded cheddar, and croutons or toasted sourdough bread. YUM. You could also top with fresh parsley, chives, or fresh thyme if you’d like!
Customize your cauliflower soup
Because the ingredients are so simple, this beautiful roasted garlic cauliflower soup is easy to customize with your fav add-ins! Here’s what I can recommend:
- Boost the veggies: feel free to cook down some carrots and/or celery with the onion, or even stir in some spinach or kale while simmering the soup. You could also try my Lightened Up Cheddar Cauliflower Broccoli Soup.
- Get extra savory: if you’re not vegetarian I think some cooked, chopped bacon would be amazing on top of the soup.
- Add a kick of heat: it may sound odd, but this soup is actually delicious with a little hot sauce or red pepper flakes on top of your bowl!
Can I make it vegan?
Sure! Simply stir in your favorite shredded dairy free cheddar cheese to keep it both vegan and dairy free.
Looking for a richer or thicker soup?
- For a richer soup: feel free to sub 1 cup of milk for 1 cup of broth for a little extra creaminess. You could also make the soup richer by adding 1/2 cup of half-and-half or heavy cream in place of 1/2 cup of the broth.
- For a thicker soup: start with 3 cups of broth instead of 4.
How to roast a whole head of garlic
The roasted garlic! It’s the key to the wonderful flavor in this soup. I know a whole head of garlic sounds like a lot, but when roasted it created a lovely, deep, sweet and savory flavor (you can even spread it on toast!) To roast it:
- Peel off the outer papery layers of the garlic head, leaving the skins on the individual cloves.
- Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the cloves so that you can see the individual cloves.
- Place the head in some tinfoil, drizzle the top with olive oil, and wrap it loosely in the foil.
- Then roast it up in your oven right along with the cauliflower!
Creamy roasted cauliflower soup in 5 steps
- Roast your veggies. Add your cauliflower florets to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper, and add the prepared garlic head to the baking sheet, then roast it all up at 400 degrees F until the cauliflower is nice and tender.
- Cook the onion. In a large pot, cook down the diced onion in olive oil.
- Blend the soup. Add the cooked onion to a blender with the roasted cauliflower, and squeeze the garlic cloves in as well. Add the broth, salt and black pepper and blend it until it’s nice and smooth. Then add it back to your pot over medium heat. You could also use an immersion blender to blend the soup right in your pot.
- Simmer & cheese it up. Bring the soup to a light simmer, then stir in the cheese and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Garnish & serve. Pour the soup into bowls and garnish with green onion & extra cheddar if you’d like! Enjoy as is or serve with croutons or your fav crusty bread.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: let the roasted cauliflower soup cool completely and place any leftovers in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
- To freeze: this soup should freeze well! Allow it to cool completely and place it in freezer safe containers in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, thaw the soup completely before reheating it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
More soup recipes you’ll love
- Vegan White Bean & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Cheddar Buffalo Cauliflower Soup
- Creamy White Bean Chicken Enchilada Soup
- The Best Minestrone Soup
- Easy Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup (using canned tomatoes)
Get all of my soup recipes here!
I hope you love this roasted cauliflower soup recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Roasted Garlic Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 4-5 cups cauliflower florets)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- 1 head garlic
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or sub chicken broth if not vegetarian)*
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 heaping cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- To garnish:
- Sliced green onion & extra cheddar on top
- Croutons or toasted sourdough bread/bread of choice for dipping/serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cook the veggies: Add cauliflower florets to the pan, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper; toss to combine. For the garlic: peel and discard the outer papery layers of the whole garlic head. Leave the skins intact of the individual cloves. Using a sharp knife, cut ¼ inch off from the top of the cloves so that the individual cloves of garlic are exposed. Place garlic in a medium piece of foil and drizzle the top of the garlic with olive oil then loosely wrap in the foil and place on the pan with the cauliflower. Roast cauliflower and garlic for 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway through, until cauliflower is nice and golden and caramelized.
- Cook the onion: While the cauliflower is cooking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pot and place over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add in diced onion and saute for 5-8 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Blend the soup: In a large blender add the onion, roasted cauliflower, roasted garlic, broth, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute, then add back to the pot and place over medium heat. Tip for the garlic: allow it to cool enough to touch then simply squeeze out the roasted garlic from the skin.
- Finish it off: Bring soup to a light simmer, then stir in the cheddar cheese. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Garnish with green onion and extra grated sharp cheddar cheese. Serve with crusty toasted sourdough or your favorite bread of choice. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on October 18th, 2022, and republished on February 18th, 2025.
I’ve made this soup three times in the last few months, and if I could give it more stars, I would! It takes a bit longer than the recipe directions state to separate the cauliflower into small enough pieces, but it’s worth it. I tried to follow the recipe exactly and find that the soup is delicious. I haven’t made any substitutions or additions, as it’s so tasty just as it is.
So glad you love it! It’s one of our favs for colder months, too 🙂
I am planning to make this soup, however, I do not understand why you would not include the stem of the cauliflower in the recipe as it cooks and blends well and has loads of nutrition and taste.
Feel free to include the stem if you’d like!
I make this cauliflower soup regularly. A favorite, I always pull the recipe for. Thank you so much!
So happy to hear that!
This is absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe exactly. I have made it many times. Thank you for sharing! ♥️
So happy to hear that!
Soup has a great taste, I just can’t seem to get rid of the slight gritty feel to it. I blended it for quite a while with a high quality blender but still that slight off texture.
Hi Tammy! I’m glad you like the taste but as for the texture, if you want a creamier soup next time, feel free to sub 1 cup milk for 1 cup broth! This should help 🙂
I use a Nutri Bullet to blend soups and other items as I find it blends to a much smoother consistency to traditional blenders or stick mixer.
Made this tonight to try to replicate a soup I had at an event a few weeks ago, which was roasted cauliflower, garlic, and white bean. Used 3 and a half cups of chicken broth instead of veggie, 1/2 cup of half and half, and subbed the cheese for a can of navy beans. I added the broth, cream, and beans to the pot with the cooked onions and simmered while waiting for the veggies to roast, then added the cauliflower and garlic, then blended with an immersion blender. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for! Would definitely be great with the cheese as called for. Next time, will add herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary) and red pepper flakes to up the flavour a touch.
Amazing! I’m glad those swaps worked out well!
Made this soup this evening – absolutely banging! 👌
So glad you loved it!
This was good when made as is, but I made it again and thought it was much better with just regular garlic sautéed with the onions, and I added some roasted sweet potato- . The roasted garlic was a bit overpowering in the recipe as written and I love garlic.
So interesting! I always find that roasting the garlic gives it a nice, sweet flavor that’s not as intense as regular or sautéed garlic. I’m glad the sweet potato helped!
This look delicious! I have some extra celery I’d like to use up. Do you think I can add to this soup?
Sure!
I went ahead and roasted the onion too in thick pieces with the garlic and cauliflower. Skipped a step, saved a pan from the dishwasher, and it was terrific too. Nice simple tasty recipe.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
A very tasty roasted cauliflower soup. I did mine in the air fryer & it was delicious. It was hearty enough that we didn’t need bread. We will be having this again.
Amazing! Glad it was a hit!
I just made this today. It was really delicious. Perfect for what will hopefully be the last few days of cold weather in Chicago
So glad you loved it! And YES hoping for continued warmer weather here 🙂
This soup was delicious. I was afraid it would be too garlicky, but the roasted garlic gave it the best flavor. Will definitely make again!
Roasting the garlic helps to give it a delicious flavor without being overpowering! Glad you loved it 🙂
Sorry to hear that! Can you let me know what you didn’t like about it? Was it the texture? Flavor? I’d love to help troubleshoot as it’s loved by so many.
I want to start off by saying I always first go to your site for recipe ideas! I’m a big AK fan! However, I am wondering if I made a mistake with this soup? The texture seemed off… I did three cups broth and one cup skim milk. The texture reminded me of applesauce. Is this the right texture or did I maybe do something wrong? I used a food processor and I did fill it up over the recommended amount, so I wasn’t sure if that was possibly the issue? Thank you!
Hi! The more you blend the soup the smoother it will be, and if it seems overly thick you can absolutely add more broth. Just like a regular broccoli cheddar soup this one should be thick and creamy, but you’ll still be able to tell it has veggies and a little bit of texture!
Yuck – I have no idea how this has 5 star reviews. It tasted like, looked like, and had the consistency of wallpaper paste. I literally threw it in the garbage instead of feeding it to my family.
Sorry to hear that! I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong here as the roasted veggies and cheddar cheese shouldn’t taste strange together. Did you blend it up really well to get it creamy?
I didn’t have a bunch of cauliflower and forgot to add the cheese, but otherwise made the recipe as stated and loved it.
I’m glad it still turned out well!
wow, this recipe is a keeper for sure! I have made it twice and it is a hit wth “fancy” dinners for guests as well as for my family. Everyone is quiet at the first spoonful and then the “ummmmm this is delicious” begins. I used some organic chicken stock and some smoked cheddar which elevated the flavour even more. love this soup as the days get colder and shorter …thanks so much
Amazing! So happy it’s a hit 🙂
I can barely cook but I made this and it’s DELICIOUS!!
Really liked this soup! I needed to use up some cauliflower and shredded 3-cheddar blend, Plan your time so the cauliflower gets a nice brown on the roasting pan side. I used an immersion blender and liked how it let me control the texture. DH doesn’t like many puréed soups, and I left it more coarse and chunky which suited him well! I especially like how the soup gets its thickness from the puréed veg, and that the fat sources have nutrient density. I’ll definitely make this again, thanks for a great recipe!
Amazing! One of our favs, too, for chilly months 🙂
Absolutely phenomenal recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Lovely lovely lovely!
Delicious soup. I’m restricted to soft foods until I have some major dental work done, Not only was it scrumptious but efficient for me as well! I’m a home cook (love it) & very particular.
I’m so glad you found this one — get well soon!
This recipe is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I have shared it with my whole client network at http://www.organicfootprints.co.za I added some cumin spice to my cauli when roasting it and used chicken stock. Such an interesting recipe with no milk and cheese only. I have made it 3 times already and even did a version with broccoli. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I will definitely follow your page for more ideas… ENJOY!
This soup is so incredible, I have made this recipe 5 times in the last 3 months it’s so good! All my friends love it and ask for the recipe. I like to add an extra half glove of garlic and heavier salt and pepper. 10/10a must try
So happy to hear that!
Love this recipe and use frequently all the ingredients listed for other recipes. We love it and definitely will cook it often, Thank you.
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
I made the roasted garlic creamy cauliflower soup with extra vegetables using cream
What a wonderful recipe
I made a lot of it and none went to waste
Complements galore
Well done
You are making me look good
Cheers Barrie
Amazing! So glad this was a hit!
Concept sounded good, I wanted to believe I’d like it, but I just wasn’t really feeling it.
Sorry to hear that! Was it the flavor? Texture?
I am absolutely thrilled that I finally found an amazing cauliflower soup recipe! I simplified by not roasting the cauliflower or garlic, or blending the soup, but left it chunky instead. 4 shakes of crushed red pepper gave it the flavor I was hoping for – I L O V E it!!!
Perfect! Glad you loved it!
Delicious soup my whole family loved it. No leftovers will definitely make again..
Made this a few times but I think I really made the best batch tonight. Added a sweet potato for extra nutrition, color and thickness. Also started the garlic 15 mins before the cauliflower cause I felt it needed to be softer. Then did 2 cups veggie broth and 1 cup milk because I like a thicker soup. It came out so delicious!
Perfect! So glad you love this one!
I added 2 large carrots and the onion to the cauliflower to roast. I also used half and half instead of milk. And added ground time. I followed the recipe loosely because I used 3 heads of cauliflower and wanted mine a little more “brothy”. However the end result was my 4 and 6 year old picky eaters LOVED it!! I will definitely be making this again!!
Correction to above, I added thyme 🤪 not time. I also used my old food processor so the cauliflower wasn’t blended smooth, it still had texture. And it was delicious!