Creamy cauliflower soup
40 min · 19 g protein · 196 cals / serving
A velvety, pale-gold cauliflower soup, simmered with onion, garlic and thyme and blended until completely smooth, with cottage cheese blended in at the end for a creaminess that tastes like cream. Topped with crisp-edged bacon, chives and black pepper.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt, less if your broth is salted
- 1 cup cottage cheese (1%)
- a pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Topping
- 3 oz canadian bacon, diced small
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, snipped
Steps
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery 6–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and sweet but not browned; add the garlic for the last minute.
- Add the cauliflower, broth, thyme and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 15–20 minutes, until the cauliflower is completely soft when pressed with a spoon.
- Take the pot off the heat and let it stop bubbling. Add the cottage cheese and nutmeg and blend with a stick blender, or in batches in a blender with the lid vented, for a full 2 minutes, until silky. Season with pepper and more salt to taste. If it is too thick, loosen it with a splash of water.
- Fry the diced bacon in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, 4–5 minutes, until browned and crisp at the edges. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the bacon and chives.
Good to know
Why cottage cheese instead of cream?
Blended into the hot soup it turns completely smooth and gives the same rich, rounded body as cream, with a lot more protein. Add it off the boil; boiling afterwards can make it grainy.
Can I make it vegetarian?
Use vegetable broth and swap the bacon for toasted pumpkin seeds or a little grated parmesan on top. With the pumpkin seeds it's about the same score.
Does it freeze?
Yes, for up to three months without the topping. Reheat gently and blend again for a few seconds if it separates.
Alternative
Can't fill you up alone — pair it with protein.
Per
- Calories
- 36
- Protein
- (41%)
- 3 g
- Fat
- (26%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (33%)
- 3 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 338 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 785 kcal goes into the pot and 2347 g of ingredients comes out as about 2200 g of food: 36 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.