This cozy chowder is packed with a myriad of delicious flavors. The star of the show: Roasted cauliflower. This chowder is so good it will even make the cauliflower-haters rethink their position.
I’ve traditionally been fairly lukewarm towards cauliflower and my preference has been raw over cooked (eg, with dip). But since discovering the transformative power that roasting has on cauliflower, I’m sold hook, line and sinker. A favorite side vegetable is cauliflower roasted with garlic, lemon and parmesan. Yes, roasting cauliflower does wonders to it. You agree?
This soup is simple and straightforward and you can do the prep work and get the soup going while the cauliflower is roasting. For texture, you can adjust however chunky or smooth you prefer the chowder by how much you puree it.
Ready for a bowl of hot Roasted Cauliflower Chowder?
Let’s get started!
Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets.
Place the florets on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with some olive oil and a very light sprinkling of salt.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and roast for 20-25 minutes or until nicely browned. Give the florets a toss with a spatula after about 15 minutes.
While the cauliflower is roasting, chop all the veggies.
Heat the butter in a stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and remaining vegetables and cook for another 5-7 minutes until softened. This will also bring out their sweetness.
Add the roasted cauliflower.
Add the stock, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Use a blender stick (or conventional blender) to puree the soup however smooth or chunky you prefer it.
Stir in the parsley and cream and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with a salad and/or some crusty bread.
Enjoy!
- 1 large head cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons butter (vegan/paleo: use olive oil)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 3 cups chicken broth (vegetarian/vegan: use vegetable broth)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 small bay leaf
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream (vegan/paleo: use cashew milk)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the cauliflower florets onto a lined baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned, turning with a spatula after 15 minutes.
- Heat the butter in a stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onion until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for another 5-7 minutes until softened. Add the roasted cauliflower, stock, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Use a blender stick (or conventional blender) to puree the soup however smooth or chunky you prefer it.
- Add the cream and parsley and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot with a salad and/or some crusty bread.
- Simmer on medium-low for 25 minutes. Stir in cream and parsley and heat through. Add salt to taste.
Wow! This looks incredible. Trying to reduce my family’s meat consumption for health/environmental reasons, so this will be perfect- perhaps with your rye bread on the side?! Thanks for another wonderful recipe :0)
Thanks, Katie! 🙂 We limit our meat intake as well and supplement our weekly meals with vegetarian dishes and occasional seafood. This soup will satisfy even the most devout carnivore 🙂
This is such a great winter soup!!! I’m cauli-crazy as they say 😉
I really like cauliflower, this soup sounds delicious!
OMG, this chowder looks incredible. I adore cauliflower, and love that this is an almost vegetarian recipe … have you tried it with veg broth instead of chicken?
Wow! This looks sinful which is why I adore cauliflower 😍
a) this soup is gorgeous!! b) you’re totally right — roasting brings out the best in cauliflower and c) I love all the other veggies you put in there too! NOURISHING!!
I posted my vegan cauliflower soup recipe today, and I totally agree, roasted cauliflower really transforms a dish! I have convinced non-cauliflower people to love it! And right now, I know I would LOVE this soup!
I want this for dinner tonight. I looks incredible!
I’m so into cauliflowers, and especially cauliflower soup! I like to make my mom’s Hungarian cauliflower soup when the temps drop. But now I have a mad craving for this lovely roasted chowder…it looks so good!!
I’m definitely ready for a bowl of this soup! I have guests coming to visit and I think I will try this out! It looks delicious and easy to make!
Love cauliflower soup! I could totally go for a bowl of this today as it’s snowing and SO cold!
I love cauliflower, and roasted is my favorite way to enjoy it. So I am in love with this soup!
It’s so cold here and all I want right now is a big bowl is this amazing soup!
This is right up my alley. thanks for sharing
I could go for a big bowl of this right now! Yum!
It’s the roasting of the cauliflower before you turned it into soup that gets my heart beating faster. I just love that extra depth of flavor you’ve achieved.
Oh my, Wow! This chowder looks amazing! I’m always on the search for new soup/chowder recipes and this one looks like a winner!
Thanks, Katerina, it’s a winner indeed!
Roasted cauliflower is my latest obsession! This chowder is happening soon!
What an incredible looking soup! I don’t cook with cauliflower nearly enough. This looks perfect!
Thanks, Angie! Roasted is one way I’m guaranteed to enjoy cauliflower!
Mmm I bet Roasted cauliflower chowder is so comforting! I could even get picky eaters to eat cauliflower like this!
We love it, Angie! Our three year old will eat it – still working on the 5 year old 😉
I couldn’t agree more. Roasting cauliflower is life changing! I’m not a fan of cooked or even raw cauliflower… but stuff them in the oven for a while and I can’t resist!! This chowder is simply gorgeous!!
So totally true, Rose, roasting is THE way to eat cauliflower!
It’s pretty unbelievable what happens to the flavor of cauliflower when you roast it. My guys would gobble it up even when they were very young and to this day love cauliflower as a result. This soup looks and sounds AMAZING!
It really is an incredible transformation, Valerie! There’s now way I can go back to boiled or steamed again!
This is seriously stunning. I could eat ten bowls of this. I need to try this stat.
Thanks, Kim! 🙂
I LOVE cauliflower but my husband is not a fan. However, when I roast it up he seems to really enjoy it 🙂 This chowder is the perfect recipe to win him over!
It’s so true, roasting really transforms the cauliflower!
This looks totally delicious! Love cauliflower and have to try this recipe soon 🙂
Thanks so much, Dawn! 🙂
I so need to try this! I’m always trying to find new ways to make veggies more edible for me. This looks like it could be a winner for me!
Roasting the cauliflower makes it waaaay more enjoyable, Erin!
The chowder looks so yummy – with all the colorful garnish! It is on my menu for next week as a one pot meal (as virtually all my meals). I like that it doesn’t require too many ingredients. And thanks for the healthy alternative to heavy cream!
Thanks, Edward, and happy cooking! 🙂
I want to eat that whole thing right now, these look so good!
Thanks so much, Archana!
The Paleo Style is HAPPENING! And I am throwing in hunks of chicken! YUM!!
Sounds awesome, GiGi, happy cooking and eating!
I made this tonight and it was great. I only use variations if I’m out of an ingredient. This time my red bell pepper was over the hill so I used 2 carrots. I had to use vegetable broth because I was out of chicken. Other than that I did everything exactly as the recipe stated. It was fantastic. I’m thinking of adding clams to it tomorrow:) yum
That’s terrific, Lisa, thanks so much!