Curried Cauliflower Soup
Creamy, vegan cauliflower soup made with coconut milk and spiced with Thai curry paste. This healthy, comforting soup recipe is perfect for chilly days.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 14, 2024
Did you survive Thanksgiving? Good. Me too, barely. While in Oklahoma, I ate German chocolate cake for breakfast (more than once), overdosed on queso (entirely necessary) and cheered on the karaoke singers in a smoky Oklahoma City dive bar. Now itโs Monday, which means itโs time to get back into the swing of things. Iโm going to need another cup of coffee for this.
Which reminds me: Iโm out of half and half for my coffee. Iโm also out of fresh greens and produce, so my lunch options are looking bleak.
I really wish I had more of this Thai-spiced, roasted cauliflower and coconut milk soup. Itโs a fun, dairy-free spin on classic cauliflower soup that is loaded with good-for-you vegetables and spices. Itโs exactly what my body needs after all that chocolate and cheese.
I made this soup with the help of some beautiful wooden tools from my sponsor over there in the sidebar, Earlywood Designs. The rock-solid ironwood cutting board, jatoba ladle and maple sautรฉ stickโall Earlywood. All handcrafted by Brad in Red Lodge, Montana. They are gorgeous heirloom pieces that I look forward to cooking with for the rest of my life, and Iโm happy to have the chance to promote a sustainable small business.
A note on cauliflower. Even if you are not a big fan, I beg you to try roasted cauliflower. I still donโt love raw or steamed cauliflower (Iโm a broccoli girl) but I absolutely love roasted cauliflower. Roasted cauliflower with a little bit of salt is, like, French fry good. Totally irresistible. And when you blend it up in a soup, it just makes the soup more creamy and hearty. Try it!
Curried Cauliflower Soup
Creamy, vegan cauliflower soup made with coconut milk and spiced with Thai curry paste. This healthy, comforting soup recipe is perfect for chilly days. Recipe yields 4 bowls of soup.
Ingredients
- 1 medium-to-large head of cauliflower (2 to 3 pounds), broken into small florets
- Up to 4 tablespoons melted coconut oil or olive oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 to 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste* (depending on the brand and your preferred spice level)
- ยฝ teaspoon lemon zest
- Optional: ยฝ cup unoaked white wine (like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio)**
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can (14 ounces) light coconut milk
- 1 to 3 teaspoons rice vinegar, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Optional garnishes: ยผ cup chopped green onions or chives, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (preferably Thai), or red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the cauliflower with enough oil to lightly coat it (up to 3 tablespoons). Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast until the tips of the cauliflower are golden brown, about 25 to 35 minutes.
- Wait until the cauliflower is done before starting the soup (this is a good time to prep the remaining ingredients). In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is turning translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the curry paste and lemon zest and stir to incorporate. If youโre using the wine, raise the heat to medium-high, pour it in, and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the wine has evaporated.
- Add half of the cauliflower florets and all of the stems to the pot. Add the vegetable broth and coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue simmering for 5 to 10 more minutes to meld the flavors, reducing the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Let the soup cool for a few minutes. For the creamiest results, transfer the soup in small batches to a blender, blending until each batch is smooth. (Donโt fill your blender past the maximum fill line; beware of the steam escaping from the lid.) Or, use an immersion blender and blend well.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup needs more acidity, stir in 1 to 2 additional teaspoons of vinegar (it will taste fantastic once youโve added enough). Ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Top each with ยผ of the cauliflower florets and a sprinkle of green onions, basil, and pepper flakes (if using). Leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator for 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Adapted from The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook.
*Thai red curry paste: I used Thai Kitchenโs red curry paste for this soup, which is vegetarian (some other Thai curry pastes contain shrimp). Itโs pretty readily available in grocery stores these days and shouldnโt cost more than a few dollars. Look for it in the Asian food section, near the coconut milk.
2025 recipe edits: I revisited this recipe and made a few edits/notes. I omitted the sugar, increased the broth, verified that the soup is great without the wine, and tweaked the roasting time.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Earlywood Designs. Opinions are my own, always.
Love this recipe, itโs one of my favorites! Usually I use a food processor instead of a blender to blend the cauliflower. However, the texture comes out more thick / grainy then soup like. Am I using too much cauliflower? Thanks!
Hi Liz! Iโm glad you enjoy it. Sometimes a food processor canโt achieve the same smooth texture.
Turned out way too spicy and had to dilute it with another can of coconut milk which made it bearable to eat, but still wasnโt that tasty.
Hi Jennifer, Iโm sorry you didnโt enjoy this recipe. I appreciate your feedback.
Hi hi! LOVED this! I used cauliflower rice (roasted it & watched it v carefully!). I only had 2tbps of red curry paste so spiced it up more with chili crunch. PERFECT soup! Up next: veggie chili, broccoli soup, chickpea noodle soup, & your veggie enchiladas for NYE. Trying to eat vegetarian 5-6x a weekโฆloving it so far! SO happy to have found your recipes & your site! Happy Thanksgiving gal!
Thatโs great to hear, Kimberly! I appreciate your review.
I made this soup a few years ago and loved it. Iโm pregnant and having a lot of morning sickness and food aversions but all of a sudden today I remembered this soup and HAD to have it. So satisfying. Going to add this to our regular rotation now.
Iโm glad this is helping you, Clare! Congratulation :)
We made this last night for guestsโฆit is spectacular! I substituted lime juice for rice vinegar, which worked very well. We will definitely be making this again!
Thatโs great to hear, Delynn! I appreciate your review.
Made this pretty much as per. I didnโt find sugar necessary, but other than that, perfect. It was filling, a little spicy, belly-warming. Thanks for the recipe!
Youโre welcome, Gayle!
I made a double batch. Roasting the cauliflower gave a FANTASTIC depth of flavor I used the juice of the lemon I had zested in place of the wine. Iโve been eating this for most meals for about 3 days with a hunk of crusty bread.
Iโm trying to avoid coconut milk. Do you have any recommendations for another milk? Some sort of substitute for the coconut milk milk perhaps? Thank you.
You can substitute other milk you prefer. If you can do dairy, that would work.
Delicious! Love your recipes
This soup was a delicious dinner! We l loved it 10/10! Thank you for the recipe.
Great to hear, Van!
Is the 1/2 tsp of sugar necessary? Is there something else to substitute it for?
You can omit if you like.
The curried cauliflower soup was wonderful. Thank you! will make this again and again.
Youโre welcome, Pat!
Made the recipe on this cold December morning. I followed the directions except pureed all the cauliflower so it was a little thicker consistency. I so looking forward to sharing with some of my friends for a healthy lovely lunch. As always, I love your recipes! Kaaren
Itโs great to hear you love this recipe, Kaaren!
Is the saturation fat on the nutrition info correct? Iโm guessing that comes from the coconut milk but a serving of light coconut milk has 4 grams (from what Iโve found). So, Iโm confused. Please help. Iโd love to make this but 16.5 g of Sat Fat is just too much (for me). :)
Hi Lora, You can read more of my Nutrition Disclaimer.
You could use 1/2 light coconut milk 1/2 skimโฆ
Hi Lora, Iโm sorry you didnโt get a more thorough response. The saturated fat in this soup recipe comes from the coconut oil and the coconut milk. You could use extra-virgin olive oil instead of coconut oil to reduce the saturated fat content significantly. You could use an even lighter coconut milk, like one from a jug rather than a can, but it wonโt offer the same texture. Iโd start with the oil, since itโs 12 grams of saturated oil per tablespoon. Hope that helps!
I was hoping for some insight on this recipe specifically but thanks for taking time to respond.
Really good soup but I think my cauliflower was XXL (2lbs cut up) because I needed to add an additional 2 cups of liquid and it was still SUPER thick (and I prefer soup on the thicker side). I didnโt want to continue to add liquid because I was worried it would make it too bland. It would be helpful to add how much cauliflower is needed in cups or weight.
Can you use full fat coconut milk
Sure, if you like. I prefer it as written.
Looking forward to making this. Do you have a rough estimate of how many cups of cauliflower would be for one large head as this is a bit subjective? Thanks.
Yes, I would also appreciate having a better idea of how many cups is considered a large head of cauliflower. Thanks!
I just finished making this recipe. I know you said you like it spicy and I love spicy. But this was a little too spicy. I would cut back on the red curry paste. I used fresh chives and basil from the garden. My dad said it was award winning soup. Thank you
I just just made this , absolutely a taste sensation, followed the recipe almost to the letter but did add a tsp of chicken powder in with the vegetable stock , just delicious
This was delicious! I switched out lime zest rather than lemon and subbed 1/4 cup of Shao Hsing rather than white wine. Thank you, I will keep this on my regular rotation.