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.
This was yummy. I steamed the cauliflower and sautéed the onions and other vegetables separately and use my vItamix to blend everything into soup. Will make this often!
Perfect! Thanks Frances
My mom had a major bone graft surgery in her mouth this morning and follows the Code Red diet. Your recipe is the only one I’ve found that I didn’t require food substitutes or modifications. It tastes perfect and I cooked the veggies a little longer to make them soft enough for her to eat. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for leaving a comment here Emily! I’m really glad this recipe was helpful, and I hope your mom starts feeling better soon.
Hi how much cauliflower in cups or grams? We have heads from the farmers market that range from 2 cups to 14 cups??
Hey Mir, you may use approx. 600-650 grams of cauliflower in the recipe.
Im just starting out eating Keto. I can not eat cauliflower. What veggie can i use iinstead of cauliflower… Please help…
You can use broccoli instead!
This is by far my favorite soup recipe! I’ve made it at least 10 times now and my fiance still raves about it every time. I usually do half celery and half carrots instead of all carrots and sometimes more cream cheese. When I was doing Keto, I used all celery and no carrots to lower the carb count and it was just as good. I have also managed to turn it into an instant pot freezer meal by pre-sauteing the garlic and onions and adding them to a ziplock bag with the carrots, celery, and the seasoning. I cooked the frozen ingredients on HP for 5 minutes with the vegetable broth. While that cooked I microwaved two steamer bags of cauliflower. One got blended with the veggies and one got added at the end for more chunk. Super easy and it tasted just as good as when I let it all simmer on the stove.
Wow!! So glad you liked it!
Do u have all the counts for this soup? Carbs fat etc. for Keto eaters
Hi how are you, just wondering my husband gets sick on garlic is there another spice I can substitute for garlic thanks
Hey Hope! You can just skip the garlic
In love with this soup. I added some Red pepper to give it a kick and it turned out delightful!
Niceee! Thanks for your feedback Holly
I’m going to use this recipe tonight and add shredded chicken to the mix in hopes of a good low-carb version of chicken and dumplings! Wish me luck! I’ll post an update tonight!
Love the additions you made. I hope you liked it Lisa!
Shows total carbs as 15.2g. What would net carbs be? Thanks