Sylvie's Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup

➤ by Sylvie Fulson

If you're a lover of creamy soups, then you'll love this creamy vegan cauliflower soup, aka vegane Blumenkohlsuppe. It's my version of Oma Gerhild’s traditional German cauliflower soup recipe.

This creamy, rich, and luscious soup is made with wholesome ingredients and has a subtle cheesy flavor. It tastes so good and feels so satisfying. And it is packed with nutritional goodness, thanks to the cauliflower, onion, garlic, celery, yellow pepper, and cashews! This is definitely one of my favorite healthy soup recipes.

How do you thicken up cauliflower soup?

Raw cashews! Cashews are truly amazing. They contain quite a bit of starch, more than any other tree nut, and they will thicken soups just like flour and potatoes do.

You could always use other thickening agents like cornstarch or flour, but nutritionally speaking, they have little to offer. Why not get the added benefits of a whole food with the vitamins, minerals, and fibre found in cashews instead? Makes sense to me!

And even though a potato is also a whole food high in starch and great for thickening soups, the fat content in cashews makes for a creamier, richer soup. Not to mention, they’re also a great source of protein.

While butter and heavy cream are traditional ingredients in creamy German soup recipes, cashews make a great heart-healthy alternative.

What do cashews taste like?

If you’re not familiar with raw cashews, they have a lovely mild, buttery flavor. Which is another reason why they are so perfect for thickening soups and sauces. Because they have such a mild flavor, they can be used, virtually undetected, in any kind of dish. And the buttery flavor adds creamy richness to any recipe.

Whenever I make any of my creamy vegan soup recipes for family and friends, I’m often asked how I get my soup so creamy and delicious without using cream. They’re always surprised to hear that the creaminess comes from cashews.

How to make a German cauliflower soup recipe vegan?

I got the idea for this soup recipe one day while I was thinking of ideas for a vegan version of a German cauliflower soup. I knew it had to have a nice creamy consistency. I also wanted it to be as nutritious as possible by adding extra veggies without affecting the taste too much.

I was brainstorming ideas when I remembered a simple, yet thick and delicious, “cheese” sauce I’ve made in the past as a topping for homemade pizza. This sauce consists of a handful of simple ingredients: cashews, a yellow pepper, water, and a pinch of salt. I don’t know what it is about yellow peppers, but both my husband and I find that when mixed with cashews, it creates a wonderful cheesy-like flavor.

I thought, I bet this cheese sauce would add so much flavor to cauliflower soup! I decided to try it out and it turned out to be such a good idea. It tastes amazing! Even with all the added ingredients, the cauliflower flavor really shines through.

Oma says:

• I love how Sylvie's taken my German creamy cauliflower soup recipe, made some changes, added her own touch and made it vegan
• By garnishing with grated nutmeg, Sylvie's adding that extra hint of Germany to her soup that so pleases our German tastebuds

How to make creamy vegan cauliflower soup?

Simply follow these easy steps:

Start by roughly chopping an onion, two stalks of celery, and one or two garlic cloves. (I had red onions on hand, but a yellow onion would be just as wunderbar.) You can also chop the yellow pepper now and set aside for later.

Cover the bottom of a medium-size soup pot or dutch oven with water. Add chopped onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until softened.

Add a bag of frozen cauliflower florets, water, and salt. Cook until the cauliflower is tender.

While the cauliflower is cooking, make the cheese sauce by adding water, cashews, chopped yellow pepper, salt, and ground mustard to a blender. (Be sure to pre-soak cashews if you don’t have a high-speed blender.) 

Blend until completely smooth. Pour cheese sauce into a bowl and set aside.

Once the cauliflower is cooked, pour contents of the pot into the blender and blend until smooth. (If you prefer a chunky soup instead, then process/pulse just a little bit until you've reached your desired level of chunkiness. Or use a hand blender.)

Pour the pureed soup back into the pot.

Whisk in the cheese sauce. Adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Sprinkle with some freshly grated nutmeg to serve. Enjoy!

Ready to make this vegan cauliflower soup?

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