Cauliflower Potato Soup

Introduction

This cauliflower potato soup recipe is easy, healthy and full of flavour and nutrition!

The recipe requires just a few simple ingredients like onion, garlic, carrot, celery, cauliflower, potato and peas. It’s hearty and filling with tender bits of cauliflower and potato in every bite. The green peas add a layer of texture and brightness to the soup.

To make it, you’ll simply saute the veggies, add the broth, potato and cauliflower, simmer until tender, then blend half the soup for a chunky but thick and creamy finish.

This soup is perfect if you’re looking for a healthy, low-fat soup that tastes amazing and is under 30 minutes to prepare. Enjoy a bowl with a big slice of toasted sourdough bread for a comforting and satisfying plant-based meal.

After this recipe, don’t miss these fan-favourites: vegetable chowder, black bean soup, lemon lentil soup and kale and cauliflower soup.

Ingredients

When you’re ready to make the recipe, scroll down to find the complete lists of ingredients with measurements.

This soup is easy to make with basic ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Vegetable basics. For the base of this soup, I used onions, garlic, celery and carrot. The onion and garlic are must-haves but if you’re missing celery or carrot, you can use a bit more or less of either.
2. Vegetable broth. I used vegetable bouillon cubes but any store-bought or homemade broth works.
3. Cauliflower. You’ll need a few cups of fresh cauliflower for this soup. The amount does not have to be exact.
4. Potato. I used russet potato in this soup but red and Yukon gold potato also work well.
5. Herbs. I used dried parsley and thyme for seasoning but you can play around with seasonings to create different flavours. Sage, rosemary and oregano all work well. You could also add a bay leaf as it simmers, just make sure you remove it before blending.

Variations

1. Try sweet potato or butternut squash instead of potato.
2. Try corn in addition to or instead of peas.
3. Add 1 diced red pepper pepper.
4. To add heat, add 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or red chili flakes when you add the dried herbs.
5. To add protein and more fiber, add 1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas when you add the green peas or 1 cup red lentils when you add the potatoes with an additional 1 cup broth and cook until tender.
6. Add up to 2 cups cooked rice when you add the green peans. Try wild rice rice, brown rice or jasmine rice. This cauliflower wild rice soup is also amazing.
7. Add up to 2 tbsp nutritional yeast when you add the green peas for a “cheesy” flavour.

Step-by-Step Instructions

I made this soup stovetop but it can also be made in an Instant Pot. I’ll include the Instant Pot instructions after this section. Let’s go over the steps.

Step 1: Saute the veggies, then add the herbs.

The first step is to cook up the carrot, onion, garlic and celery for 6-7 minutes with a pinch of salt and pepper to create a flavourful base for the soup.

You can saute using a few splashes of water, vegetable broth or 1 tbsp of olive oil. I used 1/4 cup vegetable broth.

After those have softened and become fragrant, stir in the dried thyme and parsley and cook for a few more minutes.

Quick Tip: You can also use fresh herbs here for even more flavour. Substitute 2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme and parsley for the dried herbs.

Step 2: Add the chopped cauliflower, potato and broth.

Next is to add the chopped cauliflower, peeled and cubed potato and vegetable broth

Now that you’ve added everything to the pot, you’ll simmer it, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the potato and carrot are tender.

Quick tip: I like to stock organic vegetable bouillon cubes in my pantry so I’m always ready to make soups, stews and chili.

Step 3: Blend half the soup.

Once the soup is cooked, either use an immersion blender right in the pot, or carefully scoop about half of soup into a blender. Blend until smooth then pour it back into the pot with the unblended portion.

Step 4: Stir in the peas.

The final step is to stir in 1 cup of fresh or frozen green peas and season with salt and pepper.

That’s it! Serve your soup right away, topped with fresh chopped chives, parsley or green onions and a piece of crusty bread or toasted sourdough.

It’s super yummy as a light main meal or side to something like this cauliflower wrap, chickpea wrap or tempeh salad sandwich.

It also pairs well with salads like this Santa Fe salad, roasted cauliflower salad, squash quinoa salad or Tuscan kale salad. I think it would be really good with this chickpea loaf too.

Recipe FAQs

Instant Pot Method

Want to make this soup in an Instant Pot? No problem! It’s super easy. Here’s how:

1. Add the carrot, onion, garlic and celery to the Instant Pot with 1/4 cup broth or water and use the “Saute” setting to cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring often.
2. Stir in the herbs and cook a few more minutes.
3. Add everything except the peas and seal the lid, making sure the Venting Knob is set to “Sealing”.
4. Press “Pressure Cook” and set the timer to 10 minutes.
5. When the timer beeps to indicate cooking has finished, carefully move the Venting Knob to “Quick Release” to let the pressure out.
6. Once the Float Valve drops, open the lid and proceed with steps 5 and 6 in the recipe card below.