Cauliflower Soup

Traditional cauliflower soup is often made with butter, cheese, heavy cream, and nutmeg.

But Louise and I use creamy tahini, cumin, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil instead.

I love serving this creamy cauliflower soup to guests with warm pita bread, no-knead focaccia, or crostini.

It’s excellent for Mediterranean-themed dinners, or as meal-prep as it stores for days in the fridge.

Recipes like our whole roasted cauliflower, roasted cauliflower salad, and lentil cauliflower salad inspired ud to re-create the flavors in a soup.

If you love Mediterranean diet recipes, and you are trying to reduce your cream and butter intake, this soup is for you.

Finally, this recipe is ridiculously easy to make in 3 simple steps– YAY!

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Cauliflower

Use a large head of fresh cauliflower if you can. It has a richer flavor than frozen cauliflower, producing a denser and creamier soup.

If you use frozen cauliflower, we recommend reducing the amount of vegetable broth by half a cup (so from 3 cups down to 2 1/2).

Extra virgin olive oil

We recommend extra virgin olive oil because it has a richer and fruitier flavor than regular olive oil.

Also, its heart is healthy and stable at high temperatures thanks to its high polyphenol content that protects it from oxidation.

Onion

Use white or yellow onion. Substitute a large shallot for the onion.

Garlic

We use fresh garlic. You can grate, mince, or press the garlic.

Cumin

Ground cumin has a fragrant, earthy, and slightly citrusy aroma that goes wonderfully with cauliflower.

The soup won’t taste too much of cumin and we are sure you’ll love it combined with the other ingredients.

Vegetable broth

That’s our liquid of choice for blending the cauliflower.

Tahini

Tahini or tahina (طحينة in Arabic) is an Eastern Mediterranean, Levantine, and Middle-Eastern sesame seed paste with a rich, nutty flavor and a creamy texture.

It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and packed with healthy fats and minerals. In this recipe, tahini is the perfect substitute for butter, cheese, and cream.

We recommend choosing a tahini made with 100% hulled sesame seeds, a runny consistency, and light color for best results.

Lemon juice

Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds brightness and freshness and elevates the other flavors.

Parsley

We recommend flat-leaf parsley, the variety that is commonly used in Mediterranean recipes, with cauliflower.

Other fresh herbs you can use are fresh cilantro and curly parsley.

Olives

It’s hard to describe how delicious olives are with this roasted cauliflower soup. They are the perfect topping.

We recommend Greek Kalamata Olives, Italian Taggiasche, or Gaeta Olives.

Serves well with

• Warm pita bread or toasted pita chips.
• Homemade croutons or air fryer croutons.
• Crostini or homemade no-knead focaccia.
• Flatbread with garlic and oil.
• Crispy roasted chickpeas or air-fried chickpeas.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Roast the cauliflower

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower, rinse the head, pat it dry, and chop it into pieces.

Add it to a baking sheet and toss it with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

Roast for 30 minutes or until golden and fork tender.

Make the flavor base

While the cauliflower bakes, make the flavor base. This step is essential as it will add delicious flavor to your roasted cauliflower soup.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes or until translucent. Stir occasionally.

Add grated garlic and ground cumin, and sauté for one more minute or until fragrant.

Now pour in the vegetable broth and simmer for 5 minutes, then turn the heat off and wait for the cauliflower to finish cooking.

Blend the soup

Add most of the roasted cauliflower to the pot with the broth, but set aside a few florets to use as topping.

Blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

Note: If you use a standing blender, we recommend waiting a few minutes for the cauliflower to cool down slightly before blending it in batches that fit your blender.

Add the tahini and blend for one more minute until it’s fully incorporated.

Now stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice, then taste and adjust for salt and acidity, adding more lemon juice if necessary.

You can warm the soup by letting it simmer for two to three minutes if necessary.

We recommend topping the soup with a piece of roasted cauliflower, fresh parsley, olives, and garlic-flavored oil.

To make the flavored oil, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan.

Add thinly sliced garlic and the olives (optionally, add red pepper flakes for some heat) and fry for about a minute. Don’t let the garlic brown.

You can serve this roasted cauliflower soup as a starter or as a main course with bread and side dishes.

It can even be part of a mezze platter with other Mediterranean-tasting recipes.

Serve it with a side

• Fresh and crunchy chickpea salad.
• Mediterranean orzo salad.
• Bulgur tabouli or lentil tabouli
• Mediterranean farro salad or barley salad.
• Creamy tahini salad with crispy chickpeas.

Salads

Chickpea Salad

Pasta

Orzo Salad

Salads

Tabouli (Tabbouleh)

Salads

Mediterranean Farro Salad

Make ahead: roasted cauliflower soup with tahini is an excellent meal prep recipe, as it lasts for days in the fridge and months in the freezer.

Refrigerator: Let the soup cool down at room temperature, then transfer it into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s best to store it without topping.

Freezer: Let it cool down completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze it for up to 3 months.

Thaw & Reheat: Defrost over several hours in the fridge. Warm it in a saucepan on the stovetop for 5 minutes or in the microwave for 2 minutes.

For more cauliflower inspiration, check out our:

• Roasted cauliflower or air fryer cauliflower.
• Lemon cauliflower pasta.
• Cauliflower salad with creamy tahini dressing.
• Mediterranean-inspired cauliflower lentil salad.
• Aloo gobi with potatoes and cauliflower.
• Chickpea and cauliflower curry.
• Red pepper pasta with roasted cauliflower.
• Cauliflower rice.

Or take a look at these easy and wholesome cauliflower recipes.

Salads

Cauliflower Salad

Mains

Aloo Gobi (Potato Cauliflower Curry)

Soups

Cauliflower curry

Salads

Cauliflower Lentil Salad