One of our favorite end of summer, early fall recipes is this creamy cauliflower soup. It is an attempt at replicating a delicious soup we had in Belize at a unique jungle resort, after our brother’s wedding years ago. Although we never got any chef’s secrets while there, we think we came pretty close with the recipe we outline here.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup in a white bowl, garnished with golden croutons, bacon pieces, and fresh chives

The Ingredients

The base of this soup is of course, cauliflower. Other vegetables that play a role are celery, carrots, and some white onion. You will also need water, some Knorr chicken flavored bouillon, a bit of butter and flour, milk, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. I highly recommend fresh crumbled bacon, croutons, and fresh herbs (like chives) for garnishes.

How to Make this Creamy Cauliflower Soup

First, prep the vegetables by rinsing cauliflower, celery, and carrots. Chop cauliflower into florets. Slice celery. Peel and slice carrots. Dice onion.

Then, add vegetables and water to a stock pot with the 2 tsp of Knorr chicken bouillon.

Raw vegetables in the pot ready to cook

Boil for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Vegetables in the pot after boiling

Next, use a slotted spoon to scoop boiled vegetables into a large Cuisinart or food processor. Add about 1 cup of the water from the pot (which will be almost all of it, after a good amount boils out of the mixture), and then purée the vegetables and water. Alternatively, you can use a handheld immersion blender to blend the cooked veggies right there in the pot.

Once you have a mostly even consistency (some lumps or bigger pieces are ok!), add the pureed mixture back to the stock pot with the remaining chicken bouillon water. Now you can set the heat to low.

Separately, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Next, add the flour and whisk together and then add salt and pepper, while stirring. Gradually add milk to the flour mixture, whisking constantly. Then add shredded cheese and stir to melt over low heat.

Finally, add the cheese mixture to the stockpot, stirring to combine. Simmer until thickened for about 10 minutes.

Serve with bacon bits, croutons, and or fresh chives on top.

Serving Suggestions and Other Recipe Ideas

This soup is excellent even without the bacon, crouton, and herb toppers, but we highly recommend them!
This soup is filling and can stand alone as a main course or be served side by side with your favorite salad. Try it with this Harvest Salad.
If you love soups, here are a few of our other favorites: Roasted Tomato Soup, Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup, Italian Bean Soup, and Coconut Curry Soup