Lightened-Up Creamy Potato Soup with Roasted Cauliflower
This lightened-up potato soup delivers all the creamy comfort of classic loaded potato soup—without heavy cream. Roasted cauliflower adds richness and flavor while keeping calories lower. Cozy, comforting, and perfect for soup season.
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
Soup
- 1½ Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 5 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 lb baking potatoes peeled and cubed, about 2
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes cubed, about 4
- 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
- 1 tsp kosher salt divided
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lb cauliflower florets
- ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1½ cups 2% reduced-fat milk
- ¾ cup green onions chopped and divided
- ½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
Toppings (Optional but Recommended)
- ½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 slices center-cut bacon cooked and crumbled
- 4 Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cubed, roasted along side cauliflower to top bowls
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1½ teaspoons olive oil.
- Sauté onion, thyme, and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add potatoes, chicken stock, ½ teaspoon salt, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Remove bay leaf.
- While soup simmers, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Toss cauliflower with remaining olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Roast 30 minutes, turning once, until golden and tender.
- Transfer roasted cauliflower to a blender. Add milk and blend until very smooth.
- Add half the potato mixture to the blender and pulse 5–6 times until chunky-smooth.
- Repeat with remaining potatoes.
- Return soup to pot over medium heat. Stir in remaining pepper, ½ cup green onions, and sour cream until creamy and heated through.
- Serve hot with cheddar cheese, bacon, and remaining green onions.
Notes
- Without the addition of butter and cream in the soup, there is room for a little indulgence and flavor from toppings - bacon and sharp cheddar cheese.
- Use an immersion blender to puree cauliflower and potato directly in Dutch oven for less clean up and to reduce risk of exploding hot soup.
- In addition to 2 baking potatoes, I added a little over half of a 28 oz. bag of Yukon Gold potatoes to the pot of soup. The remaining potatoes in the bag I roasted in the oven while roasting the cauliflower, adding as a topping for more potato texture in the soup.
- My cauliflower was on the small side so I used the whole head.