This is the best vegan cauliflower soup without any dairy substitutes. No cream or milk of any type is needed to make it thick and creamy. What do you need then? Potatoes! If you blend this cauliflower potato soup, it will essentially have a mousse-like texture. Did I convince you to give it a try?

If you also love creamy vegan soups as much as we do, try this vegan spinach soup, this Hokkaido pumpkin soup, or this vegan corn chowder.
What can you expect from this recipe?
This vegan cauliflower soup is actually a pretty light and creamy soup. Of course, it tastes like cauliflower since the potatoes and the carrots are only there to thicken the soup and enhance its flavor. However, compared to a roasted cauliflower soup it doesn’t taste that strong. Making a soup after roasting the cauliflower will result in a quite intense and aromatic soup. If you tried that and didn’t like it, you should give cauliflower soups another chance with this easy and simple recipe.
Ingredients
To make this creamy cauliflower soup, you will need only 7 ingredients. Nothing fancy or hard to get. And as promised you don’t need any dairy substitutes. No, not even coconut milk. Why? Because the starch content of the potatoes is a perfect thickener. It is actually one of the 20 ways to thicken a soup actually. So here is your shopping list. See the recipe card for exact quantities.
- cauliflower
- potatoes
- carrots
- onion
- garlic
- vegetable broth
- ground cumin seeds -> Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable and may cause bloating for some people. For as long as I remember our family loved adding cumin to help with indigestion. Not to mention the flavor cumin adds matches perfectly with the cauliflower.
How to make vegan cauliflower soup?
Prepare the ingredients
- Take the leaves off the cauliflower and cut them into florets. If the florets are big, you can cut them in half or into quarters. No need to discard the stem, if it looks fresh and healthy, cut it as small as 1×1 inch (approx. 2×2 cm). A quick note: the stem is harder so it needs a longer time to be tender. Make sure you cut them much smaller than florets.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic.
- Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes and carrots. You can shorten the cooking time by dicing the potatoes and carrots smaller like 1×1 inch (approx. 2×2 cm). You will blend them at the end so they don’t need to be nicely chopped, they just need to be small and even.
Making the soup
- Preheat a stockpot or a large pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, chopped onion, and garlic. Cook them until soft and glassy.
- When they are ready, add the diced carrots and chopped potatoes and stir for a minute.
- Add cauliflower florets and chopped stem and stir for another minute.
- Pour the vegetable broth and add the seasoning: ground cumin, black pepper, and sea salt.
- Lower the heat if needed and simmer until veggies are soft. It will take approx. 15-20 minutes depending on how small you actually chopped them.
- Use a blender and blend it until it is smooth.
Top tips to make it perfectly
- Chop vegetables evenly and small – The smaller you cut the veggies, the shorter will be the cooking time.
- Vitamix vs Regular Blender – You can certainly use a hand blender (aka stick blender), a food processor, or a regular blender. They all make a creamy sauce. However, if you want to get an unbelievably smooth, mousse-like cream soup use a high-power blender like Vitamix*. (When we made the video and the step photos we had only an immersion blender, but now we have a Vitamix, and “Oh My God” – as would Janice say in Friends. The difference is bewildering.)
What to serve with it?
We definitely have some ideas for you to try. Veggie balls and vegan patties like eggplant meatballs, chickpea meatballs, mushroom meatballs, IKEA veggie balls, or these meatiest vegan meatballs are always a good choice to add to creamy soups. It adds a much-needed extra protein, not to mention that it turns the meal into a complete main course for weeknight dinner.
If you are looking for topping ideas, here are our favorites. Let us know in the comments, what is your favorite garnish for a bowl of creamy cauliflower soup?
- crusty bread to dunk in it
- croutons, crackers, or breadsticks (I like these gluten-free breadsticks*)
- seeds, chopped nuts, or trail mix
- pan-fried osyter mushrooms
- roasted asparagus
- vegan bacon bits
- canned legumes (any beans or lentils) like white beans, or red kidney beans
- fresh herbs like chives or scallion
- red pepper flakes if you want it to be a bit fiery
FAQs and substitutions
Is it nutritious?
Why do a lot of people like cauliflower? It is a cruciferous vegetable after all. Well, it is low in calories but high in nutrients. Not surprising at all why it became such a huge hit in the vegan/vegetarian diet.
According to this Healthline article cauliflower contains a bit of almost every vitamin and mineral that you need. In short, it is low in calories, high in fiber, loaded with Vitamin C and K, and a great source of antioxidants.
You can get to know this veggie through a lot of vegan recipes like cauliflower mince as ground beef, cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower mac-and-cheese, cauliflower mash, or cauliflower hummus.
What other veggies can you add?
If you want to keep the cauliflower taste, we recommend adding only other root vegetables like 1 turnip, 1 parsnip, 1 rutabaga, or 1 celeriac (celery root) as they will not alter the taste that much.
Can you use another type of onion?
Yes, you can use yellow, white, or red onion even leek.
How to store it?
It keeps well in the refrigerator for approx. 3-4 days. Store it in the fridge separately from any garnish or topping. Reheat it on the stove-top or in the microwave.
Can you freeze it?
Yes, you can store them in a freezer and thaw them as you need them. However, based on my experience after thawing dishes with potatoes in them, the texture of the dish may slightly alter. In this case, not that much since the cauliflower is the main ingredient and not the potatoes.
This cream of cauliflower soup recipe is vegan/vegetarian and gluten-free, so meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It also fits within the paleo diet. This recipe is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you cook the vegetables directly in veggie broth.
More vegan cauliflower recipes
- Cauliflower Steak with Green Peppercorn Sauce
- Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce
- Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese (with cauliflower walnut mince)
More vegan soup recipes
You can browse through our vegan soup recipes gallery or choose one from these 30 deliciously creamy vegan soups or check out
- Cream of Spinach Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Ginger Carrot Sweet Potato Soup
- Roasted Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup
- Cold Watermelon Soup
Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup (With Potato & No Cream)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion (medium)
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 3 Potatoes (medium)
- 2 Carrots (medium)
- 1 head Cauliflower
- 10 cup Veggie broth
- 1 tsp Ground cumin seeds
- ½ tsp Salt and pepper (each or to taste)
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients
- Take the leaves off the cauliflower and cut them into florets. If the florets are big, you can cut them in half or into quarters. Use the stem if it looks healthy and cut it as small as 1 * 1 inch.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic.
- Peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. You can shorten the cooking time by dicing the potatoes and carrots smaller like 1 * 1 inch. You will blend them at the end so no need to be nice, they just need to be small and even.
Making vegan cauliflower soup
- Preheat stockpot or a larger pot over medium heat. Add olive oil with chopped onion and garlic. Cook them until soft and glassy.
- When they are ready, add chopped carrots and potatoes and stir for a minute.
- Add cauliflower florets and stir for another minute.
- Pour the vegetable broth and add the seasoning: cumin, pepper, and salt.
- Lower the heat if needed and simmer it until veggies are soft.
- Blend it until it is smooth. To get an unbelievably smooth, mousse-like cream soup use a high-power blender like Vitamix.
Notes
- crusty bread
- croutons, crackers, breadsticks
- seeds, chopped nuts, or trail mix
- vegan bacon bits
- pan-fried oyster mushroom recipe
- roasted asparagus and mushrooms
- canned legumes (any beans or lentils) for added protein if need-be
- veggie balls/veggie patties like vegan eggplant meatballs, vegan chickpea meatballs, vegan mushroom meatballs, IKEA veggie balls, or these tvp meatballs
Video
Nutrition
UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in September 2019. More tips, info, and description were added and republished in May 2022.
Tara
I made it in the instant pot, so I reduced the stock to 8 cups. I increased the cumin to 1tbsp. I still felt it was missing…..something. I added some nutritional yeast, which helped, but I still don’t think it’s quite there yet. Maybe roasting the veggies first?
Max
Easy to make and nicely spiced with just a hint of cumin and heat. Using my blender made it elegant. A lovely soup for a cold day.
5 stars :-).
Nandor
Hi Max, We are so happy you liked our recipe.
Kushigalu
Soup looks so beautiful. Love the flavors here. Yum!
My Pure Plants
Thanks for your kind words.
Chef Mireille
I like that you used other vegetables besides just cauliflower. The creamy consistency is so smooth and amazing, Would definitely love to try this soup.
My Pure Plants
Thank you. Let us know how you like it.
Tayo
I love the versatility of cauliflower and can’t wait to try this. A friend of mine is vegan and I know she’ll really appreciate this soup. Thanks so much for sharing!
My Pure Plants
It is actually accidentally vegan as we had this recipe from ages ago.
Danielle
Now that I have this recipe in front of me, I am sooooo ready for the fall 🙂 Delicious, creamy and warming – just what I prefer in the last quarter of the year. Great to see it is super healthy, too!
My Pure Plants
Thank you. I love fall flavors and recipes so much.
Vegan Cook
If one is trying to go low carb, or more vegan protein, they might try pureeing some cooked white beans, to make it creamy, instead of using potatoes. One could also make cauliflower stew, by not pureeing it at all (leaving the veggies chunky), and thickening the broth with a tbs of non GMO cornstarch mixed in a tbs of water, to make the broth gravy like. If cornstarch, is too processed, then arrowroot powder might work too, One could also roast the veggies b4 using them, to soften them & make flavors more complex. This is a good recipe, for serving many different ways, such as all chunky, half pureed & half chunky, all pureed, roasted or not roasted, thickened, or not thickened. Also, since the end result, is a yellowish color, one could add a little bit of Turmeric, for it’s health benefits and to deepen the color. Add some poultry spice/herbs [vegan], or chick-un broth, and some diced chick-un & pasta, to make a creamy chick-un noodle soup!
My Pure Plants
Yes, you’re absolutely right. This soup can be enjoyed with so many different ways. I love white beans as they have a natural taste but gives any recipe a nice protein boost. I use them e.g in our Beetroot Burger recipe. And kudos for noodle soup! That sounds lovely!
plant.well
Yum! This looks great and perfect with fall coming up – beautiful photos!
My Pure Plants
Thank you.
Chris Collins
I’m always on the hunt for new soup recipes around this time of year, will definitely be giving this a go!
My Pure Plants
Be sure to let us know how you like it.
David
Yum! I love a creamy soup. Nice presentation with the croutons too. Coincidence that I just shared a vegan cauliflower based recipe this morning too!
My Pure Plants
Great minds think alike – they say.
Kristen
This soup is so good! Thank you for the great recipe!
My Pure Plants
Thanks for stopping by.
Demeter
This soup is so creamy and delicious! The perfect way to cozy up on a chilly day.
My Pure Plants
I think so too. 🙂