Cauliflower Cheese Soup (Gluten Free)

There is no need for flour to make a roux in this Cauliflower & Cheese Soup ~ all that is needed is a beautiful head of cauliflower, potato, carrots, spices, broth and cream. 

Who knew our Broccoli and Cheddar Soup would become the #1 recipe on our blog within months of publishing it?!  It looks like you guys either like broccoli, cheddar or soup or all of the above.

Since there seems to be a great interest in this soup, we wanted to give you more options and a soup that’s been in the works over here for a while has been a cauliflower cheddar soup.

I really wanted this soup to be gluten free though.  I find sometimes when making a cream based soup that has flour added to it, it can either become a little gummy or you can taste the flour.

Why add flour if you don’t have to right?  So although I could have used our Broccoli and Cheddar soup recipe and just substitute the veggies,  I didn’t want to.

SO IF WE DIDN’T USE FLOUR HOW DID WE GET OUR SOUP SO THICK?

In order for this soup to get nice and thick (and it IS thick, do you see those pictures?) we did 3 things:

1. First we used potatoes and carrots.  When potatoes slowly cook in the soup they release starch which helps with thickening.
2. We used heavy cream – can you use whole milk or half and half?  Yes.
   Will it be as thick?  No.
3. We pureed the soup using an immersion blender.  If you don’t have one you can use a blender but please only fill it up half way and do it in batches.

Cream based soups really don’t need the thickening agent of the flour.  Pureeing the soup before adding the cream will usually do the trick.

If you prefer your soup to NOT be so thick or you just want some bits of cauliflower, you can puree only half or 3/4 of the soup leaving as many or as little chunks as you like.  Or you can add another 1/4 cup of chicken broth to thin it out a bit.

I prefer mine on the thick and smooth side so I pureed to my hearts content.

For these photos we obviously used an orange cheddar cheese.  There is no right or wrong cheese … like ever …. so if you want to keep the traditional ‘white’ creamy look of the cauliflower soup go ahead and use white cheddar.

Either way this soup is sure to please!

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

There is no need for flour to make a roux in this Cauliflower & Cheese Soup ~ all that is needed is a beautiful head of cauliflower, potato, carrots, spices, broth and cream.

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Organic Butter
• 1/2 Cup Organic Onion, diced
• 1/2 Cup Organic Carrot, diced
• 1/2 Cup Organic Celery, diced
• 2 Cloves Organic Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Sea Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
• Pinch of Nutmeg
• 2 1/2 Cups Organic Chicken Broth
• 1 Small Head Organic Cauliflower, cut into florets (6 cups)
• 1 Medium Organic Potato, peeled and diced (1 cup)
• 1/2 Cup Organic Heavy Cream
• 2 Cups Organic Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon dried Chives

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, carrot and celery, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of salt and a pinch of pepper. Saute for approx. 4 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook a minute longer. Add the spices and stir to combine.
2. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add another tsp of sea salt if you are using homemade chicken broth or low sodium.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the cauliflower and potato. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, approximately 10 min. Puree the soup using an immersion blender (or carefully blending in batches in a blender) until smooth.
4. Take the soup off the heat and add the heavy cream and cheese. Heat until the cheese is melted through. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper if necessary.  Add 1 Tablespoon dried chives.

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