Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
My son turned five last week. Five. Over and over he kept asking me, can you believe it? According to the little man, five is a very big deal. It’s an age that requires all the fingers on one hand. It means you to get your own library card and you are required to wipe own tush. Spoken like a true five year old, no?
One of my fondest childhood memories was getting to pick what we had for dinner on our birthday. Or if we went out to eat, picking the restaurant. All other family members conceding their voice on the special day that you got to decide what the rest would eat. I’ve decided to do the same thing in our house so last Sunday I let my son decide what we would serve at our small family birthday dinner party.
“Grilled cheeses and bacon.”
Yep, he’s my kid alright.
I was craving a big pot of soup and thought it would be the perfect way to round out the meal. After asking (and being granted) permission to serve soup at his party, I decided I’d go to the grocery store and see what looked good before deciding what kind to make. This beautiful orange cauliflower jumped out at me and quickly I settled on a creamy vegetable soup of cauliflower and broccoli.
Never one to make the same thing twice, especially when it comes to soup, I generally throw a little of this and a little of that in until I’m satisfied with the result. This was no exception. I started with my usual- onion, celery, carrot and garlic and then built the soup from there. I used chicken stock as it’s what I had on hand but a vegetable broth would work fine too. Awhile back I came across a cauliflower curry soup recipe so at the last minute I added a pinch of curry. Not enough to overpower the soup but just enough to give the soup some body and amp the spice up a bit. As usual, the soup tasted even better the next day as their was just enough leftover to make lunch for myself and the Mr.
Because I made the soup earlier in the day, it was easy to get some pics and blog about it. Serving grilled cheese sandwiches and bacon there was no time for photos. We ate our sammys hot off the grill and my family is like vultures when it comes to bacon. It didn’t last long! All in all a great night and an even better dinner!
Love you little man!!
PrintBroccoli and Cauliflower Soup
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Description
Total comfort, this vegetarian soup is loaded with cauliflower, broccoli and cheddar cheese1
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 1 head broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 cup whole milk or half and half
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium stock pot, heat olive oil and butter.
- Add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute on medium-low for 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add flour and stir 1-2 minutes until it turns golden brown.
- Add stock, broccoli and cauliflower. Turn heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer 20-30 minutes until vegetables are soft.
- Take soup off heat and, using either an immersion blender or a food processor, puree soup to desired consistency. I like to leave my medium- chunky.
- Return soup to pot and place back on stove top. Over low heat, add milk or half and half, curry powder, salt and pepper. Heat through and serve. Make sure that once you add the milk or half and half that you don’t boil the soup. Serve soup with an additional sprinkle of cheddar cheese.
19 Comments
5 is a big deal:) Love this soup!
Why can’t I be 5 years old all over again and stick my whole body in this soup? Because…I WOULD.
Happy Birthday to your little one! Five is a fun age. Love the pretty orange cauliflower. It sure makes a pretty soup.
Sounds like a fun birthday tradition. And 5 is so much older than 4 (and when you’re five you go to school!) I would love this soup, especially the little touch of curry powder!
Happy Birthday to your son! My mom used to let us pick the meal on our birthdays and I love the privilege too 🙂 Your son made a great meal selection…and you rounded it out well with this soup!
🙂 I’m howling with laughter right now! I miss those wonderful childhood years, my gals are 13 and up. And love the soup recipe! So excited… just picked up a bright orangish yellow cauliflower today and now I know what I’ll do with it.
I am making this soup fo show!
I want to make this soup… can you sub the milk for Almond Milk though? It won’t separate?
I haven’t tried it with almond milk but I think it should work just fine!
Totally love the soup. I added fresh ginger. Like many of yo
u I am a creative cook. Thanks for your recipe.
I love the idea of adding ginger. Cooking is all about making recipes your own!
We stumbled upon this recipe awhile back and fell in love. Our 3yo often asks for it and tells people it is the best “bwockli” soup. I use frozen pureed cauliflower, since I can find it cheaper at certain times of the year and put it away for winter. So, ours is definitely creamier, but we like to keep the broccoli chunky. Thanks for posting it! It is bookmarked on our laptop.
That’s so cute, “bwockli”! Glad you like it!!
I will definitely make this again. Made it exactly according to your recipe and served it with turkey meatballs made with oregano and feta cheese. Yum!
I just bought cauliflower yesterday to make the soup. Love the idea of serving it with meatballs!
This is delicious!!!! I used coconut oil instead of oil and butter, and what a great flavor it added! Highly recommended 🙂 Thanks!
Great way to make it your own. I love coconut oil- I’ll have to give it a try!
YUM!!! But whoops, didn’t get the flour added as suggested, so added a roux and simmered a bit before adding a mix of 1/2-n-1/2 and milk. Putting some in the freezer for later when our daughter comes. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!
You are so welcome! xo