Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Garlic and Sage, topped with an optional toasted Pine Nut Crumble. A fast and easy Vegetarian Soup Recipe that can be made in 30 minutes. Vegan adaptable! Updated 11/2019
No mud, no lotus.
Thich Nhat Hanh~
This creamy Cauliflower Soup is infused with garlic and sage and is sprinkled with an optional toasted Pine Nut Crumble, giving it a delicious contrast in texture and flavors. The soup itself is velvety and creamy without being overly laden with cream or butter.
The crispy savory Pine Nut Crumble is a simple mixture of bread crumbs pine nuts, fresh sage and garlic, quickly toasted in a skillet, right on the stovetop. Think of the crumble topping like upscale “croutons” that give this soup something extra special.
While this cauliflower soup feels decadent and looks quite elegant, it’s quick and easy, perfect for weeknights when time is short.
Saute the leeks (or onions) with the garlic and create the flavorful base. Add diced cauliflower and stock, and let this simmer, remembering the smaller the cauliflower dice, the quicker this will cook. Blend using an immersion blender or in batches until velvety smooth.
Make the Pine Nut crumble topping while the soup is simmering, using a food processor to chop the bread, pine nuts, sage and garlic.
Toast in a little butter or oil in a skillet on the stove until golden and fragrant.
Divide the Cauliflower Soup among bowls and sprinkle with the topping.
To save time, skip the topping and serve with crusty toasty bread!
Remember, you can always make this vegan!
Here are some more Vegetarian Soup ideas !!!
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Northwest
Description
A simple delicious recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Garlic and Sage & Toasted Pine Nut Crumble. Vegan adaptable.
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil ( or butter)
- 2 leeks (about 2 cups) diced, or sub one large onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic-rough chopped
- 1 head cauliflower- cut into small 1/2-3/4 inch thick pieces (7–8 cups)
- 4 cups veggie stock ( or chicken stock)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh sage (or substitute 1 tsp dry herbs de provence)
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (optional, but delicious)
- 1/2–1 cup sour cream, plain yogurt (or cashew cream) more to taste. Feel free to sub vegan sour cream.
Optional Pine Nut Crumble Topping:
- 2 garlic cloves
- 8 sage leaves
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 pieces bread
- 2 Tablespoons butter (or oil)
- pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Slice leeks into ¼ inch half rounds. Heat oil in medium sized heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, over medium heat. Add leeks ( or onion) and sauté until tender and golden, about 7-8 minutes. Continue. Add garlic and sauté for 3 more minutes.
- Add diced cauliflower (remember the smaller you cut these, the faster this will cook) veggie stock, salt and fresh sage. Give a stir. The liquid will not cover the cauliflower at first, but don’t worry it will steam. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower is very tender.
- Blend using a submersion blender, or if using a regular blender, blend in batches, for 30 seconds, until very smooth and silky —remember, you don’t want to fill up a blender with hot liquid, or you will have a soup explosion — so blend in small batches, less than half full, with the lid covered with a kitchen towel and held down firmly with one hand when you start the blender.
- Return the creamy smooth soup to the pot, over low heat, and stir in the sour cream. Add pepper and adjust the salt.
- To make the Pine Nut crumble, place all ingredients (except butter) in food processor and pulse several times until it is roughly chopped. Heat butter (or oil) in a skillet over medium heat and gently toast the crumble, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes until golden and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
- Divide soup among bowls and sprinkle with the pine nut crumble.
Notes
Feel free to add soaked cashews to the blender with the soup for a tasty vegan option. The sour cream adds a subtle tanginess, so if needed, add a few drops of lemon or AC vinegar ( be conservative).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup
- Calories: 247
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 1257.6 mg
- Fat: 16.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.7 g
- Fiber: 4.4 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
- Cholesterol: 16.9 mg
A five star soup! So delicious and easy to make. I felt it was already creamy enough and did not feel a need to add the sour cream. Included a bay leaf in the summer. Definitely a keeper!
Great to hear Kristine!
Though the soup is delicious as it is, the topping is a real game changer! Loved it!
Were so happy you enjoyed this!
I love this soup – it is such a lovely warming winter staple. I serve this topped with homemade Dukkah – really complimentary to the cauliflower. Your recipes are always a treat and as a vegan, your substitution suggestions are welcomed.
So nice to hear this Linda!
I’m on a bit of a soup kick at the moment, working my way through your recipes and this was another hit among hits! I still had some leek oil left from making the potato and leek soup so have been finishing with that and some toasted pine nuts but will definitely try the crumble topping next time!
Glad you enjoyed! Soup season is the best.
Do you really put the sage leaves into the blender as the recipe states? The photo looks like complete sage leaves on the top.
I do both! 🙂
Delicious!! So easy and love the sage. Tastes decadent even though it is guilt free!
Awesome Leah!
This soup was delicious and the pine nut crumble, was the “cherry on top!!”
Glad you enjoyed this Michelle!
The soup was delicious on its own before I added some cheese that I needed to use up. I didn’t make the topping you have here but used some bacon, crispy sage leaves and roasted apples on top.
Sounds delicious Amy!
This soup was so easy to make! And fast. I used the herbs de provence option and liked it very much. I used an immersion blender but I think it would get creamier in a standard blender. I didn’t have time to make the bread crumb mixture and the soup was still great all by itself. But next time I will add the sage, pine nut, bread crumb topping. thanks you for another great recipe!
I just made this recipe, and everyone in my family loved it. Sharing it with other family members. Easy to make and delicious!
I just made the soup and is DELICIOUS 😋.
Yay!!! happy you liked it! thanks Marianela!
We LOVE this soup!
Great recipe! I tried it tonight and it is so simple and delicious. The topping goes really well with it, I have to say I never usually include toppings in my soups but this is a great idea – I might apply it to other soups, but with different herbs and nuts.
The only thing that didn´t turn out too well is the texture: when I blended it it was too soupy (liquid). I had to leave it a mediu-low heat for an extra 15 minutes (uncovered) to thicken it a bit. Any tips on this? I find that texture/consistency is what I struggle with the most when making soups 🙁
Thanks Sylvia!
Wow! This soup was absolutely delicious! I would eat the topping on anything!!!
Thank you 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it!
Tonight was my second time using this recipe; I substituted 2 % greek yogurt for the sour cream, nixed the water, and simmered for a bit longer. It was a huge hit! Thank you, and happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Brooke!!
My husband and I are going to make this today! Looks wonderful!
Do you happen to have an estimate on nutritional values?
Thank you!
Thanks Eein, hope you enjoyed it? I will get the nutrient content on there…sorry about that!
Just made this and I’m loving it. It’s a beautiful soup, and like you said, creamy and velvety. I used goat yogurt because that is what I had and fresh sage from the garden….Thank you so much.
Ahhh….thank you Cheri…and goat yogurt sounds delicious!