Full of hearty veggies and soothing broth, this vegan roasted cauliflower chowder recipe will be sure to keep you warm and satisfied this winter season!
Even though we live in hot and humid Malaysia, we are always enjoying soup.
From my favorite Red Lentil Pumpkin Soup to One-Pot Vegan Zuppa Toscana to this Creamy Tomato Zucchini Soup, you can never run out of flavor combinations when it comes to soup.
Even the most unique combinations are delicious, like this Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Soup with a peanut butter twist!
And of course, it's mandatory to pair a hearty bowl of soup with some delicious, homemade bread! We love this 4 Ingredient Whole Wheat Artisan Bread and this No Knead Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread.
YUM!
Ingredients
This soup starts as most good vegetable-based soups start...with olive oil, garlic, onion and some hearty vegetables.
Here are all of the ingredients you'll need to make this easy, vegan cauliflower chowder.
- Cauliflower
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Vegan butter
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Dried thyme
- Bay leaf
- Flour (can use gluten-free if needed!
- Vegetable broth
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk
- Nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper (lots!)
How to Make Cauliflower Chowder
Below are the step-by-step instructions for making this delicious vegan cauliflower chowder:
Step 1: Start by preheating your oven to 400°F / 205°C and lining a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, parchment paper or greasing it with cooking spray.
Step 2: Roughly chop up the head of cauliflower into florets and spread them onto your baking sheet. Add on the cloves of garlic and drizzle everything with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to coat.
STEP 3: Roast the cauliflower and garlic for about 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until soft and slightly charred.
Step 4: In a large pot over medium heat, melt the vegan butter and saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 5: Add in the chopped up carrots and celery and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 6: Once the cauliflower and garlic are done roasting, roughly chop up the cauliflower and mince the roasted garlic cloves. Add them, along with the bay leaf and dried thyme, to the pot.
Step 7: Sprinkle the flour over top of the vegetables and cook until the flour disappears. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir everything together. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow everything to simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 8: Lastly stir in the non-dairy milk and nutritional yeast and season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. I've found this soup can use a good bit of salt so don't be shy!
PRO TIP: If desired, you can use an immersion blender to blend part of the soup so that it's more creamy and smooth.
Step 9: Ladle the warm chowder into bowls, top with more freshly ground black pepper and nutritional yeast, and serve with a nice piece of crusty bread!
Is Chowder Gluten Free?
Chowder is a thicker type of soup that often contains milk or cream. To make chowder rich and creamy without milk or cream, you often start by making a roux which involves flour.
In most cases, chowder sold at a restaurant isn't gluten-free. However, if you make it at home, it's really easy to make it gluten-free. Simply use a gluten-free all purpose flour!
For instance, in this recipe, I recommend using a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend in order to make this cauliflower chowder completely gluten free.
My Favorite Kitchen Appliances for Making Soup
I feel like soup can be as easy or as hard to make as you want. You can simply use one pot and call it a day, or you can use various kitchen appliances and gadgets to make fancier, more elaborate soups.
Below I'll share some of my favorite small (and big!) kitchen appliances to use when it comes to making soup.
- Immersion Blender: This is a smaller kitchen gadget that I wish I had purchased earlier. It makes blending soups so much easier than having to transfer the soup to a blender.
- Silcone Baking Mats: Whenever I need to roast vegetables (like in this recipe!) I love to use silicone baking mats to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
- High Speed Blender (like the Vitamix!): I love to make creamy soups by making my own, homemade cashew cream. To make cashew cream, you simply blend soaked cashews with water. While you don't technically need a high speed blender to do this, I find they produce a super smooth cream to stir into soups.
- Lemon Squeezer: A squeeze of lemon can often take a soup from bland and boring to amazing. I highly recommend this lemon squeezer!
How to Store Leftover Soup
I love making large batches of soup because I find that the soup gets more flavorful the longer it sits in the fridge (well, up to a certain point)! Below I'll share how to store any leftover soup...that is if you have any!
- Fridge: To store leftover soup in the fridge, simply allow it to cool completely before placing it in an airtight container and storing it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Freezer: To freeze leftover soup, allow it to cool before placing it in a freezer-safe container and storing it in the freezer. To thaw, simply let it sit in the fridge overnight before warming
📖 Recipe
Roasted Cauliflower Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup flour gluten-free if necessary
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 400 °F and lining a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper or greasing it with cooking spray.
- Roughly chop up the head of cauliflower into florets and spread them onto your baking sheet. Add on the cloves of garlic and drizzle everything with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to coat. Roast the cauliflower and garlic for about 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until soft and slightly charred.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, place a large pot over medium heat. Melt the vegan butter and sauté the onion until soft and translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the chopped up carrots and celery and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the cauliflower and garlic are done roasting, roughly chop up the cauliflower and mince the roasted garlic cloves. Add them, along with the bay leaf and dried thyme, to the pot.
- Sprinkle the flour over top of the vegetables and cook until the flour disappears. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir everything together. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow everything to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Lastly stir in the non-dairy milk and nutritional yeast and season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. I've found this soup can use a good bit of salt so don't be shy!
- If desired, you can use an immersion blender to blend part of the soup so that it's more creamy and smooth.
Jan says
Very tasty, my only modification was adding around a tablespoon of lemon juice. I've blended about half of the soup into a smooth cream and mixed it back into the pot for a nicer texture.
Faith VanderMolen says
Great tip! I love adding citrus to my soups so I'll need to include that in the recipe as optional!