Creamy Cauliflower Chowder (30 minute and Gluten Free)

By Richa

4.95 from 19 votes

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.

Creamy Cauliflower Chowder is a healthy, easy, comfort food recipe and ready in under 30 minutes. It's gluten free, low carb and keto friendly.

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.

Creamy Cauliflower Chowder is a healthy, easy, comfort food recipe and ready in under 30 minutes. It's gluten free, low carb and keto friendly.

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.

Creamy Cauliflower Chowder is a healthy, easy, comfort food recipe and ready in under 30 minutes. It's gluten free, low carb and keto friendly.

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:

Watch how to make Cauliflower Chowder Video Recipe

Creamy Cauliflower Chowder topped with bacon, olive oil and served in a bowl.
4.95 from 19 votes

Creamy Cauliflower Chowder (30 minute and Gluten Free)

By: Richa
Creamy Cauliflower Chowder is a healthy, easy, comfort food recipe and ready in under 30 minutes. It's gluten free, low carb and keto friendly.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 Portions
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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

  1. Skip the bacon to make this dish vegetarian. 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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. 
  4. You can use vegan cream cheese instead to make this dish vegan friendly. 

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 454mg, Potassium: 530mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 3051IU, Vitamin C: 72mg, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 1mg
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111 Comments

  2. 5 stars
    I love this, it really reminds me of a potato soup that I used to make, but much healthier. I even got my husband to eat it which is saying a lot!

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    This was delicious. Just a little too strong on the onion for me. I want to make this for my sister but, she can’t have dairy. Could I just substitute almond milk for the cream cheese?
    Also I added shrimp and chopped celery So good

    Reply

  4. This is THE best soup I have honestly ever had in my life. My boyfriend and I first made it last fall and we talked about it all summer long and counted down the days until it got cold enough to make it again. The only change we make is we use an entire thing of cream cheese (because cream cheese makes everything better).

    Reply

  5. I love how quick this was to make. I replaced the butter with avocado oil and added a pinch of nutmeg and a few good shakes of cyannane pepper for heat!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Really great recipe. I did not have carrots so I used 1/2 cup of chopped up Broccoli. I also added 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar to it. Using the hand mixer didn’t work out so I used my Nutribullet to puree. That worked out great.

    Reply

      1. 5 stars
        This is SOOOOO delicious! Thank you for the idea!!! I think people are often surprised by the carb count in veggies. I made a couple changes to lower the carb intake a little. I used Almond Soup Base instead of Veggie broth- 0 carbs. I omitted the carrots. I also used frozen cauliflower but that was only to make it one step easier. I’m going to make this for work and not tell anyone the ingredients until they dive in!!!

      2. Those are great tips Kate! Thanks for sharing them here. I’m sure other people will love to make these substitutions.

  8. I’m a little confused. So do you really use 2 1/2 cups of veggie broth/water? Or is the total only 1 1/2 cups and you separate it between step 2 and 4?

    Reply

    1. Hey Lisa, I’m sorry that’s not clear. It’s a total of 2.5 cups of veggie broth/water which is divided between step 2 (1.5 cups) and step 4 (1 cup).

      Reply

    1. Hey Sharon – the carbs are probably coming from the carrots which you can absolutely skip in the recipe if you like.

      Reply