This creamy plant-based Loaded Cauliflower Potato Soup has all the right flavors with no cream, oil, or extra calories. Simple to make and ready in under 30 minutes, you’ll love this easy recipe.
If you like this recipe, you should also check out: 5-Ingredient Creamy Cauliflower Curry Soup, Vegan Cream of Broccoli Super Soup, Creamy Vegan Potato Leek Soup, and Simple 5-Ingredient Butternut Squash Apple Bisque Soup.
Does Cream Soup Require Dairy Cream?
This creamy vegan Loaded Cauliflower Potato Soup is a great example of mastering a cooking skill. Contrary to intuition, cream soups don’t necessarily involve cream. Rather “creaming” is a technique I first learned about in culinary school. As our chef instructor explained, creaming was not an ingredient. Rather, it was a method.
Creamed soup involves pureeing an ingredient in the soup. The goal is to create a smooth, creamy texture in your final dish. This technique has been around for hundreds of years, using different ingredients based on what’s available.
In Europe and America, two common creaming ingredients were potatoes and corn. For New England seafood chowder, it was often rice or potatoes. In India, they’ll often uses pulses like mashed lentils to cream-ify a soup. Contrary to what I assumed, this creaming technique rarely involved dairy. In fact, dairy cream would often thin and cool a hot soup. These are two things you really don’t want. Instead, the creaming technique helps add thickness and more intense flavor.
Vegan Ingredients for Smoky Flavor
For anyone who’s ever had a loaded baked potato, you know the traditional toppings: cheddar cheese, chives, sour cream, and bacon. This creamy, vegan Loaded Cauliflower Potato Soup mimics those flavors with healthy, plant-based alternatives.
To replace that signature smoky flavor bacon provides, smoked paprika is my go-to secret weapon. I love the slightly sweet, deeply smoky flavor it imparts, and I use it on everything from Baked Beans to Broccoli Salad.
For a crunchy, smoky garnish on this soup, I love using chopped smoked nuts. I used smokehouse almonds for this recipe. However, you can also use BBQ pistachios, smoked peanuts, or even smoked cashews. For a nut-free option, check out BBQ chickpeas or make a batch of Baked Spiced Crunchy Chickpeas.
Chef’ Katie’s Plant-Based Tips:
Immersion Blender: A rechargeable, cordless high-speed immersion blender is one of my must-have kitchen tools. It saves you the step of transfer hot liquid to a bar blender. Plus, it’s easy to clean and stores compactly.
Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional Yeast adds cheesy, umami flavor to many vegan recipes. Use it sauces, soups, stews, dressing, mashed potatoes, and stuffed sweet potatoes. Besides great flavor, it has healthy protein and essential vitamins like B-12.
Smoky Flavor: Smoked paprika offers delicious smoky-sweet flavor, reminiscent of bacon. I call it my “vegan secret weapon” because it can really help you adjust to eating more plants. I use it on roasted potatoes, grilled corn, and potato leek soup.
Vegan Bouillon Cubes: For adding flavor to plant-based soups, stews, braises, and sauces, I always keep a few of the Edward and Sons vegan bullion cubes on hand. They come in Beef, Chick’n, and Low-Sodium Veggie flavors. Plus, it’s easy to keep a few in your pantry.
Loaded Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup – Oil-Free, Plant-Based Vegan Recipe
You’ll love this Loaded Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup for so many reasons:
- Simple Whole Foods, Plant-Based Ingredients
- Healthy Cruciferous Vegetables
- Creamy Texture
- Gluten-Free, Oil-Free
- Freezer-Friendly
- Low Calorie
- Yield: about 7 cups
Loaded Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup – Oil-Free, Plant-Based Vegan Recipe
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 1 medium leek trimmed, cleaned, and sliced
- 3 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 1 big head of cauliflower or about 5 cups florets, cut into large chunks
- 1 Russet potato peeled and cut into large chunks
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 3 cups water or vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground black pepper to taste
For Topping:
- 2 tablespoons smoked almonds
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives
- Dash of smoked paprika
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine all of the soup ingredients (leeks through water), without any salt or pepper. Cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to an active simmer.
- Cook until the cauilflower is tender enough to puree, about 15-20 minutes. Check after 10 minutes, and if it looks like the water is running low, add some more to prevent burning on the bottom of the pan.
- While the soup simmers, prepare your toppings: rougly chop the almonds, chop the chives, and have your smoked paprika ready.
- When the cauliflower is completely tender, puree the soup. You can either transfer the soup to a bar blender and puree there. Or, use an immersion to puree in the cooking pot. Puree until completely smooth.
- Taste soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with smoked nuts, fresh chives and a dash of smopked paprika.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/6 recipe of soup + toppings. For fewer calories, omit the chopped nut topping.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 6.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 130 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 3 g | 5 % |
| Saturated Fat 1 g | 3 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 298 mg | 12 % |
| Potassium 978 mg | 28 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 22 g | 7 % |
| Dietary Fiber 7 g | 28 % |
| Sugars 6 g | |
| Protein 8 g | 16 % |
| Vitamin A | 124 % |
| Vitamin C | 217 % |
| Calcium | 16 % |
| Iron | 18 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Gear and Shopping List:
- Wonderful Pistachios, Smoky Barbecue Flavored Nuts
- Blue Diamond Almonds Smokehouse Flavored
- The Spice Way Smoked Paprika
- Bragg Premium Nutritional Yeast Seasoning
- Vitamix 5-Speed Immersion Blender
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