The other day was a cold day here in Utah. It was cloudy, gray and a day that felt like it needed a warm soup and bread for dinner. This Cheesy Cauliflower Soup was the perfect solution for dinner on a cold day! I had two heads of cauliflower needing to be used and so I searched the web for a copy-cat recipe for Zuppa’s Wisconsin Cauliflower soup. I added a few more seasonings to the soup recipes I found and used lowfat milk instead of heavy cream to make the soup a little lighter.
The outcome was delicious!! The soup was even better the next day once all the flavors were able to meld together. I made my favorite breadstick recipe and this meal warmed my heart. Hope it warms yours as well.
You can add bacon and green onions to the top of your soup as well. Or, keep as a vegetarian dish and omit the bacon. Both ways are great!
Ingredients
- 6 Tbs. butter
- 2 white onions chopped
- 6 cups water
- 2 Tbs. chicken bouillon or use 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 heads cauliflower chopped
- 5 cups whole milk or half and half
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Dash paprika
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup green onions sliced
- 1/2-1 cup crumbled bacon
Instructions
- Dice the two onions into small pieces (or chop in a food processor). Place the onions in a soup pot and add the butter. Saute the butter and onions until they are tender and slightly caramelized. Then add the water, chicken bouillon (or chicken broth instead of water) to the pot. Rinse the cauliflower and chop into one inch pieces (stems included). Place all of the cauliflower pieces into the soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. While the soup is boiling, in a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and flour until smooth. Pour this flour mixture
- into the water/cauliflower mixture and stir. Continue to simmer the soup for another 10-15 minutes, or until the soup thickens and is creamy. If you like more of a smooth soup, use a hand blender and blend the soup until smooth. If you wish to serve the soup with bacon, cook a few slices of bacon in a saute pan until crispy brown. Remove the bacon and let cool until you can crumble. Serve the soup with the crumbled bacon, sliced green onions, and extra shredded cheese.
