Creamy Cauliflower Chowder (30 minute and Gluten Free)
on Nov 27, 2016, Updated Aug 27, 2020
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This Creamy Cauliflower Chowder is gluten free and is perfect without any flour or processed ingredients with one simple trick. Top with with some olive oil and bacon- and you have a bowl of heaven!
It’s simple – this creamy cauliflower chowder is everything in my life right now. Because I’m trying so hard to get rid of the holiday bloat that still seems to stick around. And this warm, comforting, creamy cauliflower chowder is my new happy place. When I can just get a bowl and watch Gilmore Girls all day.
Yes you heard that right. I turned into the girl who watches Gilmore Girls all day. And I think I’ve converted Denver too. But in my defense, I started because Netflix just kept throwing it up as a recommended watch. Which is cool, because I discovered it and now I love it. Especially when I’m working so it runs in the background and I go on with my day. Is that weird? Do you have a weird thing like that when you work? Watch Listen to Netflix in the background, sip on piping hot cauliflower chowder and basically make that your happy place.
So coming back to the deets here. And trying to keep away from the whole Netflix talk. This creamy cauliflower chowder is the best thing this winter is going to see. Its seriously addictive especially when you top it up with some extra virgin olive oil and lots of bacon. Yes, that olive oil is going to do all sorts of things to this cauliflower chowder. And bacon. What can I say about bacon that’s going to convince you. BACON is just awesome and it makes everything better. Even this cauliflower chowder, which is already awesome.
Now I’ve made cauliflower soup once before, and it was this super creamy, super smooth cauliflower soup. Which was amazing but this ones sort of chunky and creamy at the same time. Which just makes for perfection. You just blend a part of the chowder while it’s still cooking so that all that cauliflower makes a creamy base, but there’s still some small chunky bits for your to bite into and give it it’s chowder-ness.
So let’s put on the soup pot and give this creamy cauliflower chowder a go! And watch some Netflix on the side. I won’t tell if you won’t.
More Netflix and Chill Recipes:
- Creamy Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Lemon Mushroom Kale Linguine
- Creamy Chicken Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce
- 30 Minute Vegetarian Lasagna Skillet
Watch how to make Cauliflower Chowder Video Recipe
Creamy Cauliflower Chowder (30 minute and Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1/2 cup Onion, diced
- 5 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup Carrots, diced
- 1 Whole Head of Cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 1 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/4 cup Cream cheese
- Salt , to taste
- Olive Oil , and cooked bacon for topping
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat butter and add onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes till the onions are soft.
- Add carrots, cauliflower, vegetable broth, pepper, oregano and salt to the pot. Bring this to a boil, and slow the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or so till the cauliflower is tender.
- Switch off the flame and using a blender, blend the soup partly in the soup pot. If you don't have a hand blender, pour half the soup into a blender and pulse a few tips till creamy.
- Switch the flame back on and add a cup of water or broth along with the cream cheese. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and switch off the flame. Feel free to thin the soup further if you like with some more broth or milk. Top with olive oil and bacon and serve hot.
Notes
- Skip the bacon to make this dish vegetarian.
- Cauliflower prep is very important as it is very common to find tiny worms hidden inside the florets. To ensure your cauliflower is fully clean, submerge the florets in hot water with some salt for 20 minutes before using. Always buy cauliflower from a trusted vegetable vendor.
- It's important to cook the cauliflowers just right. They should be cooked until al dente, i.e., tender and soft but still have a slight bite.
- You can use vegan cream cheese instead to make this dish vegan friendly.
Is the number of carbs listed the number per serving? If so this can’t possibly be keto friendly
The nutritional info is for the entire batch and not per serving. 🙂
Made this tonight with some slight tweaks. I made it as directed with the exception of subbing heavy cream for milk. After the veggies were soft I threw it all in the blender to make it super smooth. After blending it, it was returned to the pot to reduce down a bit and thicken up. I used it as an “Alfredo” sauce over zoodles. It was fabulous! Thanks for the recipe!
OMG this would make such a good alfredo sauce! How did I never think of that?!
How is this for being able to freeze? Would you do anything different?
Diane you can just freeze the soup once its ready and when you want to use it, thaw it and bring it to a boil.
I just made this recipe. I did add red bell pepper with the onion wich gave it a coral color and a little bit of cumin and a little tumeric and wow!!! The bacon finishes it off! My vegetarian daughter had without and still enjoyed it very much. This one I will defenetly make again!!!
LOVE the addition of red bell peppers! Glad you liked it!
I really want to try this, but I’m concerned about the amounts. how is 3/4 cups of carrots and so much cauliflower cooked in only 1 cup of liquid? It would not even cover enough to be able to stir it to cook. Is maybe the amount of liquid off?
Hey Ali, this is a really thick chowder, and as the vegetables cook then leave a little water too.
I’m on the ketosis diet. What can I substitute the milk with? Heavy cream?
Yes, heavy cream will work perfectly Mel – I hope you try this out!
Does anyone know how many weight watchers smart points this soup is>
Really good! Did require quite a lot of salt to bring out the other flavours, but quite delicious, thanks so much for the recipe.
Thanks B!
traded out the milk for clam juice and added a can of chopped clams and left the garlic and carrots. sooo freaking good. Thank you for the base!!
That sounds amazing! I would want to eat it everyday. So glad you liked it!
Hey I would really love to eat this, could you please let me know the serving sizes and the nutrition facts? I don’t have MFP
This recipe has 188 calories per serving (without any toppings). You can use a calorie counter online for the complete nutrition breakup or log this recipe in My Fitness Pal. I hope you try it!