You're going to love this simple and delicate cauliflower soup. It is creamy yet light, filling, and delicious. Subtly flavored with saffron and topped with homemade sumac oil. Saffron-infused cauliflower soup is big on flavor and small on calories.
One taste of this healthy vegan soup and you'll never go back to potato soup again. The nice tangy contrast from sumac oil is one secret ingredient that sets this soup apart. The best part is that is is so simple to make and requires minimal ingredients.
Why You'll Love This Cauliflower Soup
Vegan Goodness. I love proving that you do not need heavy cream or butter to make a good cauliflower soup!
So simple. You will find a plethora of roasted cauliflower soup recipes around, but this one is so easy to make and turns out perfectly every time. It's a simple, one-pot recipe with just a few steps, and let it simmer until done.
Anything but bland. The saffron and sumac oil bring so much flavor to this soup that it is nothing like the last bowl of cauliflower soup you ate.
Veggies. This is a great way to get a full serving of veggies for lunch or dinner.
Check out our other vegan soup recipes
Cauliflower Soup Recipe Ingredients
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Onion.
- Garlic Cloves.
- Cauliflower Florets. You can use fresh or frozen
- Salt.
- Ground Black Pepper.
- Water or Vegetable Broth.
- Saffron Threads. You only need a few threads to add lovely flavor to any dish.
Ingredients For the Sumac Oil
- Sumac. This is a deep red spice found in the spice section of your grocery store. Depending on where you live, you might also look for it in the International Foods section.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Lemon Juice.
- Salt.
What is Sumac?
It is a tangy lemony tasting spice red spice made from grinding the berries of the non-poisonous sumac plant. Sumac is becoming very popular with chefs and home cooks in the US. Use it to flavor salads like our Fattoush Salad, bring sweet potato fries to the next level, or dust cauliflower steaks.
How to Make the Best Cauliflower Soup
- Step 1: Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the cauliflower, salt, and pepper. Add water and bring the soup to a boil, then simmer.
- Step 2: When the cauliflower is tender, remove the soup from the heat and add the saffron. Cover and let this steep off the heat.
- Step 3: Blend the soup until perfectly creamy.
- Step 4: Make the sumac oil and drizzle some on the top of each bowl of soup right before serving.
Cauliflower Soup Recipe Tips
This recipe can easily become Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup. Just sauté the garlic and onions and cauliflower right in your pressure cooker as the recipe describes, then add the remaining ingredients and set it to high pressure for 8-10 minutes.
If you don't have an immersion blender, use a regular blender. Allow the soup to cool a bit before blending. Always cover the blender's lid with a clean kitchen towel when blending a hot soup to prevent any burns from steam. Carefully lift the blender's lid away from you. If it can be safely done, leave the top of the blender slightly vented to allow steam to escape.
How to Serve Cauliflower Soup
Top this soup with spiced cashews or savory granola for a crunchy texture.
Garnish with fresh parsley for a pop of color.
This soup pairs perfectly with a bright, acidic salad and crusty French bread. It also makes a nice, light, first course for any elaborate meal.
Storage and Reheating
Leftover cauliflower soup will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat the soup in the microwave at work, or put it on the stovetop for a quick weeknight meal.
Freeze individual servings of cauliflower soup in microwavable containers and freeze without the sumac oil. Store in the freezer for up to six months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. Mix and add new sumac oil to the warm soup.
Other Cauliflower Recipes for You:
- Mashed Cauliflower with Herbed Chestnuts
- Cauliflower Hummus
- Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- Cauliflower Rice
- Cauliflower Tacos
- Cauliflower Bowl
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Salad
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
Print
Vegan Cauliflower Soup Saffron and Sumac Oil
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Super creamy cauliflower soup delicately flavored with saffron with a nice tangy contrast from the sumac oil.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 lbs frozen or fresh cauliflower florets
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 5 cups of water or vegetable broth
- 20 saffron threads
For the Sumac Oil
- 2 tbsp plus 2 teaspoon sumac
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Sautée onion and garlic in olive oil on a soup pot, over medium heat, until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add cauliflower florets, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes
- Add 5 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer until cauliflower is tender, 20-25 minutes.
- Turn off heat. Add saffron, stir and cover. Let the saffron steep for about 20 minutes.
- Blend soup in a blender until creamy.
- Serve hot or warm with a drizzle of sumac oil (recipe follows).
For the Sumac Oil
- Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined
Notes
- Always cover the blender's lid with a clean kitchen towel when blending a hot soup to prevent any burns from steam. Carefully lift the blender's lid away from you. If it can be safely done, leave the top of the blender slightly vented to allow steam to escape.
- Leftover cauliflower soup will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat the soup in the microwave at work, or put it on the stovetop for a quick weeknight meal.
- Freeze individual servings of cauliflower soup in microwavable containers and freeze without the sumac oil. Store in the freezer for up to six months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. Mix and add new sumac oil to the warm soup.
- This Recipe was originally posted on January 13, 2014
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Category: soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup without sumac oil
- Calories: 122
- Sugar: 4.3 g
- Sodium: 529.4 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.1 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Tamar Genger
Yummy. I just got a big thing of saffron and I never know what to do with my sumac so I can't wait to try this. Just got to find cauliflower for a good price, it is so variable by me.
Vicky & Ruth
So glad we could help. You can also use saffron to flavor rice and we have recipes with sumac if you want to search on our site.
Marie @ Not Enough Cinnamon.com
I have a love/hate relationship with cauliflower. Sometimes I hate it, sometimes I love it. I'm weird. But I LOVE cauliflower soup, it's the best!
New year's resolution is not really my thing because I prefer to set goals on a weekly or monthly basis but healthy eating is always one of my priority!
Vicky & Ruth
Cauliflower is an interesting vegetable. Not always in the mood for it. To have weekly and monthly goals is the best, you can easily keep track of your progress. We hope you achieve your goals you set for yourself this year.
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen
This looks really good! Makes me want to grab that spoon and dig right in!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Kristi. We are glad you liked this recipe!
Kelly
I love cauliflower and am always looking for new ideas and this looks great! I have never tried sumac before so thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Vicky & Ruth
You are welcome. We hope you give Sumac a try!
Mary Frances
I'm so impressed that something like that came from so few ingredients, and ones that are good for you, too! Yum!
Vicky & Ruth
I know, that's the part of this recipe. Have a great week!
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com
I've seen a lot of cauliflower recipes - but this is my first cauliflower soup one! Looks wonderful!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Shashi, so glad you enjoyed it!
Amy Alt
You know i only just discovered sumac the other day- I was poking around in our spice cupboards and I decided to have a little taste and I loved it but I had no idea what to use it in- really love the idea of this sumac oil though, im going to make some tonight to dress my salad with tomorrow- Thanks! 🙂
Vicky & Ruth
Such a great idea to use the Sumac oil on a salad. Enjoy!
Monica
It's a little crazy because I have cauliflower on my mind this week and plan to roast one tonight. I was just out to lunch with a friend and she talked about how she used it in lieu of pasta with tomato sauce! This looks so good! I really want to try making cauliflower soup.
Vicky & Ruth
Perfect timing with our recipe. Never though of using cauliflower instead of pasta, sounds good. Hope you enjoy it when you make it.
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
A love recipes everyone can enjoy! I don't think I've ever played around with sumac so this will be a great start. And I have a bit of saffron leftover from my jerusalem artichoke soup!
Vicky & Ruth
You should try it, it has a nice tangy flavor. Nice Tush toning workout you posted!
Shundara@SavyNaturalista
I love cauliflower and this soup is one I want to try 🙂 I did think about trying the paleo diet especially since everyone gives it rave reviews but I just can't give up my oatmeal :)! I love oats to much 🙂
Vicky & Ruth
We don't follow a pale diet, but we thought some vegetarian paleo recipes were needed for the people who are interested. We agree about oats, they are so good.
Aimee / Wallflower Girl
Mmm! Saffron? Wonderful. I would love a taste of this!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you, let us know if you give this soup a try.
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
Love the minimal ingredients required for this....and the saffron!!! WOW!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you. It is amazing how flavorful it is with very few ingredients.
Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes
Cauliflower soup? YES! I also love seeing soups with flavoured oil swirled into it, just looking at it makes me hungry! I'm sure the saffron also added tremendous flavour!
Vicky & Ruth
Yes, the saffron adds a lot of flavor in a very delicate way.
Consuelo @ Honey & Figs
One can never have too many recipes using cauliflower. I love that veggie hehehe ;--) And saffrom, oh I love that too!
Haleh
Tried it. Loved it- Specially the Sumac Oil.
Vicky & Ruth
So glad you love it, thank you so much for sharing!
Hindy
This soup looks amazing. I don't use sumac enough. I love the idea if the sumac oil.
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Hindy, we hope you give this soup a try!
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens
Oh, ladies! This soup is stunningly gorgeous! The sumac oil drizzle is beautiful - what a unique finish to a lusciously creamy yet healthy soup!
Vicky & Ruth
Thanks, the Sumac adds a nice tangy flavor to the soup. Enjoy!
stephanie
yummy, the sumac oil looks so beautiful drizzled over the soup
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Stephanie, the sumac gave this soup a nice tangy flavor.
Yosef - This American Bite
Would the sumac oil keep if I made a larger batch of it?
Vicky & Ruth
Not sure about the sumac oil. I assume if you just mix the sumac, the oil and the salt it should keep for a while. I would mix in lemon before serving the oil.
The Hungry Mum
oh YUM! I'm such a fan of soup that I eat it even in the middle of summer. This looks great, especially the sumac oil. Will give this a try very soon.
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you very much. We love soup as well!
Melissa {lilmisscakes}
This soup looks so simple yet flavorful and delicious!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Melissa. So glad you liked this recipe.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
How delicious! And I love the sprinkling of sumac oil, an often underrated spice 🙂
Vicky & Ruth
Yes, most definitely an underrated spice. One of our favorites though 🙂
Ronnie Fein
I am just beginning to realize the wonders of sumac. Had some recently on grilled fish. It has to be fabulous on cauliflower. Will try it soon.
Vicky & Ruth
We absolutely love sumac. Our mom used to sprinkle it over sunny side up eggs when we were kids. Delicious!
Whitney @ Jewhungry
I'm ashamed to say that I've had sumac. eeps! I'd love to try it in this soup though. Looks beautiful.
Couldn't Be Parve
I love the idea of the sumac oil, and cauliflower soup is one of my favorites.
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you! The tangy sumac really complements the creaminess of the soup
jessica // the kosher foodies
i literally just bought sumac yesterday and had no idea what to use it for. now i know i'll be making sumac oil!
Vicky & Ruth
Haha, perfect timing! It's really delicious. Hope you like it 🙂
Sarah Klinkowitz
I love soup - so restorative!
Vicky & Ruth
Yes, especially with this "beautiful" weather we're getting!! :/
Eileen @ Phoenix Helix
This recipe looks delicious AND it fits the paleo autoimmune protocol (a rare thing). So, thank you! I recently started a weekly Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable through my blog, and I would love it if you linked up this recipe. I’m trying to expand resources for the AIP community.
Dana
Wow, just stumbled upon your blog via findingvegan and am loving your recipes! This one looks great as does your Raspberry Chocolate Tart!!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you and welcome to our blog!! So glad you found us 🙂
Dina
... Ladies, i made this magical soup this eve & it blew us away, the soup triumphed over all, so my daughter and i decided to ignore the dinner and we each had two bowls of that awesome soup, nothing was left, all finished, i should have made double the amount. Next time i will :), my daughter asked me how i thought of this recipe & i told her all about you, she was fascinated.Vicky & Ruth, thank you, you filled our tummies with love & warmth, Blessings to you both, love & peace, God Bless ...
Vicky & Ruth
We are so happy that you decided to share your experience with us. Thank you very much for your wonderful feedback
Vicky & Ruth
Hi Dina, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and for sharing your experience with us. We are really happy you enjoyed the cauliflower soup.
Dina
... Greetings ladies Vicky & Ruth :), thank you very much for your reply, i must tell you that i've become the saffron infused cauliflower soup addict, it's cauliflower season right now, & there's no stopping me, every time i eat that creamy dream, i smile & bless you, thank you both, love & peace to you & God Bless ...
Dina
... Ladies, many warm greetings to you both, cauliflower season is here again 🙂 & cauliflower soup with summa' oil mania has started, i'm going now to have my soup. Want to tell you that you both are about to be Blessed big time, with every spoon savored, love & peace, God Bless ...
Esther
Love sumac! But saffron is so expensive. Would turmeric work or does the flavor depend too much on the saffron? Love the blog!
Esther
Vicky and Ruth
Thank you for your kind words. Saffron and turmeric have very different flavors, but you can certainly use turmeric. It will give the soup a lovely color.