Topped with crisp bacon and shredded cheese, this creamy Potato and Cauliflower Soup is a warm bowl of comfort on a chilly winter night.
Most nights, dinner looks like a battle between serving something my kids will eat with gusto and serving something that I feel is nutritionally beneficial and will help them grow into healthy people. I have a feeling my nightly battle is one most parents face.
Because of this, I find myself often "hiding" vegetables in an effort to get them to consume them. Only, I'm staunchly against hiding vegetables because I want them to want to want them, if you know what I mean. My happy medium is to sneak veggies into food so that it doesn't necessarily taste like ALL veggies, and then inform them that veggies are in it.
This Potato Cauliflower soup is exhibit number 1 in my nightly effort. I am upfront with my kids: "hey, there are veggies in this, but you are going to like it anyways...because it's good." Sometimes my effort pays off, and they happily consume cauliflower. Like in the case of this creamy soup. The bacon and cheese also helps the matter!
Because what's not to love about a soup that's essentially like a loaded baked potato with a little bit of cauliflower snuck in? It's well-balanced, super flavorful, and incredibly creamy. And an easy-to-make weeknight dinner option.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe with quantities is listed below this text in the recipe card. If substitutions are available for this recipe, they'll be listed here. If you don't see a substitution you are looking for, please leave a comment below.
- bacon
- garlic
- cauliflower (if you really want, you could leave this out and replace it with equal parts additional potatoes)
- russet potatoes (yellow potatoes can be substituted)
- chicken broth (veggie broth or water can be substituted)
- salt and pepper
- sour cream (greek yogurt can be substituted)
- lemon
- chives
- cheddar cheese
Overview of Steps
This is a pretty simple soup to make:
- cook the bacon and drain it
- add in the aromatics, cauliflower and potatoes with broth and cook until tender
- puree some (or all) of the soup
- serve with toppings!
How much you puree the soup is a matter of preference. I like to leave it semi-smooth, with some chunks of potato, but it can certainly be pureed totally smooth.
I find an immersion blender the easiest to do this (obviously) but the soup can be transferred to a blender. Just be sure not to seal it all the way, since the soup will be hot and that can be a safety issue.
Serving and Storing
I think we can all agree the best part of this soup is the added toppings? I've suggested cheese, bacon and chives but you can certainly add on what you'd like to make this work for your family.
This soup, because of the added sour cream, is best served fresh. Sour cream doesn't reheat well. So I don't suggest making this soup ahead of time.
That doesn't mean however that you can't reheat leftovers. Just be careful to rewarm it carefully and not let it boil away on the stove, as it will cause the sour cream to curdle.
Similarly, I don't recommend freezing this soup.
More Comfort Food Recipes:
PrintFull Recipe
Potato Cauliflower Soup
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:25
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Soup
Description
Topped with crisp bacon and shredded cheese, this creamy Potato and Cauliflower Soup is a warm bowl of comfort on a chilly winter night.
Ingredients
- 6 pieces of bacon, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ head small cauliflower, cut into florets (about 4-6 ounces to taste)
- 3 pounds russet or yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” pieces
- 6-8 cups chicken broth (or water)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup sour cream or greek yogurt
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Small handful of chives, sliced (for garnish)
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy bottomed pot. Add bacon and cook until crispy, about 8 minutes. Shut off the heat and remove the bacon and set aside. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease from the pot.
- Turn the heat back on to medium and add the garlic and cauliflower. Cook for 2 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and cauliflower has started to cook. Add potato, 6 cups of broth, salt, and pepper, and stir. Bring the soup up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes and cauliflower is tender, about 18 minutes, adding more broth if needed.
- Using an immersion blender, blend most of the soup, leaving some texture if desired. Whisk in sour cream and lemon juice until completely combined.
- Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, adding more water as needed for desired consistency.
- Serve soup with reserved bacon, cheese, and chives.
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