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Curried Cauliflower Soup

September 16, 2018 by Cynthia 30 Comments

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Curried Cauliflower Soup  is not only creamy and delicious, it’s also Paleo, vegetarian, and gluten free!

Curried Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Onions is not only creamy and delicious, it's also Paleo, vegetarian, and gluten free! | WhatAGirlEats.com

Cauliflower. I doubt she’s anyone’s favorite vegetable. Tomatoes, asparagus, and her far more popular cousin, broccoli, usually get first billing. No one talks about their, ‘first head of heirloom cauliflower” for the season. No one waxes poetic about cauliflower. But I do like cauliflower, as long as I’ve jazzed it up a bit. I like it mashed with butter, but my favorite way is Indian style with toasted cumin seeds or curry and a bit of butter or ghee*. (This post was originally posted on August 15th, 2013, has been updated and contains affiliate links)

The latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated came out with a recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup. I love Cook’s Illustrated because they explain the extensive testing process for each recipe. But all I could think of was curried cauliflower soup…with crispy onion bits…and toasted cumin seeds…and a bit of drizzled ghee. Cook’s recommended cooking half the cauliflower first and then adding the remaining florets half way through, for more texture. Pulse it in your food processor or blender or puree it for a smoother soup.

The way the writer described the soup, it sounded as though he’d tasted the best thing in the world! It was worth a try. This curried cauliflower soup recipe uses just water, no chicken broth, which is my usually cooking stock. Using just water makes it vegetarian. Substituting the butter or ghee for another fat and it’s vegan as well. With no flour, it’s also gluten-free and Paleo! I think I’ve pretty much covered it all!

Spencer loves this curried cauliflower soup! OK, so he’s easy to please. But when he points the spoon at the bowl and nods his head because his mouth is full, that’s a good sign.

Indian Spice tin

I keep my Indian spices in this little tin. The colors of it are so wonderful. I use them all the time, not just for Indian food. Curry powder comes in hundreds of different blends, I used 2 tablespoons of a mild version and it was perfectly spiced for my 12 year old. Not too hot, just a nice finish. Use less or more depending on your taste. Crispy onions-I never make enough. I should make a note of that. If you’re looking for more vegetarian or vegan recipes, try Butternut Squash with Toasted Cashews, Wild Mushroom or Vichyssoise.

I  hope you enjoy this curried cauliflower soup recipe and add it to your fall soup rotation!

Some of the items used in this post are available at my Amazon store at no additional cost to you.





5 from 2 votes
Curried Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Onions is not only creamy and delicious, it's also Paleo, vegetarian, and gluten free! | WhatAGirlEats.com
Print
Curried Cauliflower Soup
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 

Curried Cauliflower Soup with fried onions and toasted cumin seeds. Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Magazine.

Course: Soup
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4 -6
Author: Cynthia
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower 2 pounds
  • 1 stick unsalted butter or ghee, (4 ounces) For vegan, use coconut oil.
  • 1 leek white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin and washed throughly.
  • 2 small onions halved and sliced thin, reserve half for crispy onions.
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons curry powder (less or more depending on your taste or the strength of your curry powder)
  • 1 Tablespoon whole cumin seeds optional
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 5 cups of water
Instructions
  1. Pull off outer leaves of cauliflower and trim stem. Using paring know, cut around core to remove; thinly slice core and reserve. Cut heaping 1 cup of 1/2-inch florets from head of cauliflower; set aside. Cut remaining cauliflower crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
  2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter or ghee in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, onion, curry powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; cook, stirring frequently, until leek and onion are softened but not browned, about 7 minutes.
  3. Increase heat to medium-high; add water, sliced core and HALF of the sliced cauliflower; and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
  4. Add remaining sliced cauliflower, return to simmer and continue to cook until cauliflower is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, saute remaining sliced onion in 3 tablespoons of butter or ghee, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy. Reserve.
  6. In same pan, add 2 more tablespoons butter and cook reserved cauliflower florets, stirring frequently until florets are golden brown and butter is browned and fragrant, about 6-8 minutes. Reserve florets in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper, save remaining butter in the pan for drizzling.
  7. Over a medium heat, toast whole cumin seeds, shaking pan for 1-2 minutes until they pop and crackle.
  8. Puree soup in batches in a blender or food processor. Add water if necessary if soup is too thick.
  9. Garnish each bowl with reserved florets, toasted onions and cumin seeds. Drizzle each bowl with melted browned butter.

*Ghee is Indian clarified butter with the milk solids skimmed off. It has a much higher smoking point than regular butter. Unlike regular clarified butter, ghee is cooked for a much longer time giving it a rich nutty flavor. It can be purchased in Indian grocery stores, most health food stores and Trader Joe’s markets all over the country. Regular butter can be substituted, but needs to be watched more carefully to prevent burning.

Curried Cauliflower pin

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Filed Under: Entree, Food, Gluten Free, Keto, Savories, Soup, Vegetarian, Whole30 Tagged With: Curried Cauliflower Soup, gluten free cauliflower soup, Indian, Indian soup, keto, Paleo, Paleo Cauliflower recipe, Paleo soup, Soup, vegan soup, Vegetarian, Whole30

 

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Comments

  1. Melissia Daggett says

    August 16, 2013 at 6:42 am

    Cynthia, This sounds great!

    Reply
  2. Del's cooking twist says

    February 9, 2014 at 11:54 am

    Your soup looks delicious! I add it on top of my to do list this week!

    Reply
  3. Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says

    May 23, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    YUM, This sounds great! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂

    Its live now!

    Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    Reply
  4. Caroline says

    October 23, 2014 at 1:41 pm

    Cannot wait to try this soup! I love these flavors together and that topping of toasted cumin and onions looks amazing!

    Reply
  5. Katie @ Domestiphobia says

    March 24, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    Okay this sounds so good to me, I really want to try it. But I’m confused — how do you get the onions to crisp? When I saute onions in butter, they get soft. Is it the butter/onion ratio that does it? Is it a higher cooking temperature? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      March 27, 2015 at 5:19 pm

      Katie, I fry them in small batches so they don’t get too crowded. Also, if you don’t have ghee, use oil which has a higher smoking point than butter.

      Reply
  6. Taylor Kiser says

    September 19, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    I love the flavors of this curried cauliflower soup! Looks so delicious!

    Reply
  7. Maria says

    January 13, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    Great clean eating recipe!

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      January 13, 2017 at 5:53 pm

      Yes indeed!

      Reply
  8. Jordan says

    August 9, 2017 at 7:21 pm

    I actually haven’t made cauliflower soup before, but this sounds really good!!

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      August 24, 2017 at 4:26 pm

      It’s really delicious!

      Reply
  9. Marie | Yay! For Food says

    August 9, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    This sounds so tasty! I love curried cauliflower, but never tried it in soup form. I need to try that next time. The crispy fried onions and toasted cumin seeds is such a great idea too!

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      August 24, 2017 at 4:25 pm

      I love curried anything!

      Reply
  10. Lauren says

    August 9, 2017 at 10:48 pm

    A very poetic introduction to cauliflower.
    The soup is a great way to use the underappreciated vegetable.

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      August 24, 2017 at 4:25 pm

      haha! Well cauliflower is now sort of the darling of the veggie world isn’t it!?

      Reply
  11. Ginny says

    August 9, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    What a delicious sounding soup! I love your spices and the added leek. There are just so many plusses.

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      August 24, 2017 at 4:24 pm

      It’s such a great vegetarian soup.

      Reply
  12. Shashi at Savory Spin says

    August 10, 2017 at 3:22 am

    That Cook’s Illustrated article sure must have been a good read! Just like this curried cauliflower looks so insanely delicious!

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      August 24, 2017 at 4:23 pm

      Love Cook’s Illustrated! It is a really terrific soup!

      Reply
  13. zouhair fiorino najjar says

    September 17, 2017 at 8:06 am

    5 stars
    Most stunning and healthy recipe ..posted to all my social media accounts..Special thanks for the awesome Bowel..i have nice collection of old Chinese and Japanese bowls..pots ..rose holders and similar items..

    Reply
  14. Jeff the Chef says

    September 16, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    Yum! I’ve never had a soup like this!

    Reply
  15. Christina | Christina's Cucina says

    September 17, 2018 at 9:00 am

    5 stars
    I don’t like cauliflower, but I bet I’d like this with the curry flavor! Always looking for ways to eat different veg!

    Reply
    • Cynthia says

      September 17, 2018 at 6:37 pm

      ahh! you’re missing out!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Soup Recipes to Warm You Up This Winter | Shopwell Blog says:
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Cynthia WoodmanHi, I’m Cynthia McCloud Woodman. Welcome to my blog ​where I cook healthy food with a global spin!

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