This creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup combines roasted cauliflower with mild curry powder and a touch of mango chutney for a simple yet flavorful dish. Pureed until velvety, this soup is sure to warm you up on a cold day!
Why You’ll Love It
- Great Flavor. Roasting cauliflower brings out its natural sweetness and adds a deep, caramelized flavor that can’t be achieved through boiling or steaming. The curry spices complement this richness with warmth and complexity, while the mango chutney introduces sweet and tangy flavors.
- Easy to Make. After roasting the cauliflower, all that’s left to do is sauté, simmer, and purée. For a light weeknight meal, the cauliflower can even be roasted in advance, putting a tureen of soup on the table in under an hour.
- Customizable. Want to make it vegetarian? Use vegetable stock instead of chicken. Need it dairy-free? Leave out the heavy cream or substitute coconut milk. Prefer a chunky soup? Don’t purée it as much. You can also adjust the heat level up and down by using different curry powder blends.
Looking for more recipe inspo? If you’re a fan of roasted cauliflower, you might also enjoy my Roasted Cauliflower Souffles. They’re another unique way to use this delicious veggie.
What You’ll Need
- Cauliflower. You’ll need a large head of cauliflower for this soup, weighing about 2 pounds. Trim it and cut it into florets for roasting. (See: How to Cut and Core Cauliflower from Simply Recipes for technique.)
- Aromatics. Chopped onion and carrot form the base layer of flavor for the soup. A dried bay leaf adds depth to the soup as it simmers.
- Olive Oil. For roasting the cauliflower florets and sauteing the carrots and onions.
- Yukon Gold Potato. Helps to thicken the soup with a velvety texture when pureed. You’ll only need one potato for this recipe, weighing about 8 ounces. Peel it and cut it into about a 1-inch dice.
- Curry Powder. I’ve written the recipe using mild curry powder so that the flavor of the roasted cauliflower isn’t overpowered by heat. If you prefer a spicier soup, feel free to substitute a hot curry powder blend, to taste.
- Broth or Stock. I most often use chicken stock, but you can also use vegetable broth to make the soup vegetarian. If you wish to control the sodium content, choose a low-sodium variety and salt the soup to taste.
- Major Grey’s Chutney. Taking a cue from Robin Robertson’s cookbook, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, adding a little Major Grey’s mango chutney before puréeing ties everything together and gives the soup a slightly sweet finish.
- Heavy Cream. Optional, for a creamy finish.
- Chopped Roasted Cashews and Parsley. To garnish the soup when serving.
A Note On Cooking with Curry Powder
I’ll be honest: I resisted cooking with curry powder for years after a rather unforgettable restaurant experience way back in college. I’d ordered my first curry dish, and it was so spicy that I couldn’t handle the heat!
A decade later, I related my tale of woe to a curry-loving friend who insisted that I give the cuisine another try. I was skeptical, but tentatively dipped my toes back into the curry waters and was surprised to discover a vast array of powders and pastes available to me.
Contrary to what I thought, curry didn’t have to be knock-your-socks-off spicy. I’ve found delicious mild blends with warm, round flavors, that don’t have any chiles in them at all.
I’ve since come to love using mild curry in chicken dishes, rice, soups, and stews. All of the flavor, none of the heat (unless you want it, in which, case go to town with the hot blends. I tip my hat to you!)
How to Make Curried Cauliflower Soup
Step 1: Roast. Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet. (I like to line the sheet with foil for easy cleanup.) It’ll take about 40 minutes at 400 degrees F for the florets to roast and caramelize.
Step 2: Simmer the soup. Sauté the carrots and onions in a large pot or Dutch oven until they start to become soft. (I like to use my enameled cast iron Dutch oven, as shown in the pictures here.) Stir in the curry powder, stock, roasted cauliflower, potato, and bay leaf, and simmer the soup for about half an hour.
Step 3: Puree. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the mango chutney. Let the soup cool down a bit and puree it in batches in a blender or food processor until very smooth. You can also use an immersion blender right in the pot.
Step 4: Finish the Soup. Once the soup is smooth and velvety, return it to the pot and stir in the heavy cream, if you’re using it. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper, and extra curry powder, if needed.
Important Read! See our post, Blending Hot Liquids and Soups Safely, for important tips and techniques!
Serving and Storing
I like to serve the soup hot, garnished with chopped roasted cashews (for crunch!) and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley. For an especially beautiful presentation, you can also roast extra cauliflower florets and place one or two on top of each serving of soup (as I’ve done in these photos).
Curried Cauliflower Soup will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat it gently on the stove until warmed through.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months; if you’re going this route, leave out the heavy cream (it can cause soups to separate and become grainy when frozen), and add it to the defrosted, reheated soup just before serving.
Other Top-Rated Soup Recipes to Try:
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Split Pea Soup with Ham
- Mexican Street Corn Soup
- Rotisserie Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- French Lentil Soup
- Wonton Soup
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Curried Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets*
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , divided
- 1 large carrot , about 1/2 cup, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion , about 1 cup, chopped
- 1 large yukon gold potato , about 8 ounces, peeled and diced
- 1/2 to 2 teaspoons mild curry powder**
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup Major Grey’s chutney
- 1/4 cup heavy cream , optional
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted cashews
- 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place cauliflower florets on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper. Spread cauliflower in a single layer. Bake 40 minutes, until cauliflower is tender and golden brown, turning florets halfway through.
- Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot until shimmering. Add chopped carrots and onions and sauté over medium-high heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add stock, scraping any browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. Stir in roasted cauliflower, diced potato, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until cauliflower and potatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaf and discard. Stir in mango chutney. Let the soup cool down a bit and then puree it in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth (or use an immersion blender directly in the pot.)
- Return puréed soup to pot and add heavy cream, if using. Season to taste with additional curry powder, salt, and pepper. If soup is too thick, add a little bit of water or stock to thin. Serve, garnished with chopped cashews, chopped parsley, and additional roasted cauliflower florets, if desired (see note).
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About our recipes
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
Made this recipe over the weekend. It was AMAZING. I couldn’t find any mango chutney at the grocery store so I had to make my own… but that was a fantastic experience too. I’ll definitely be making both those recipes again VERY SOON! Thank you for sharing!!
Your comment absolutely made my day, Sacha-Bea! I am so glad that you enjoyed the soup. Homemade mango chutney sounds fantastic. I’m definitely going to have to give that a try myself, thanks for the inspiration!