This ultra creamy roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup is an absolute dream of a cozy soup season recipe! It’s rich in comforting flavor and made with raw cashews instead of cream for a feel good soup that will warm you up from the inside out. Vegan, gluten free, paleo, keto friendly, and whole30 compatible!
I’m not sure there is any better feeling than cozying up to a delicious bowl of homemade soup when there’s a brisk chill in the air.
It really is the most comforting feeling! I am a huge fan of making soup, and eagerly anticipate the start of soup season every year.
Of course we have our favorites that we come back to every year, but I also love experimenting with some new creative soup recipes.
Which is when I got the idea for this creamy roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup! It’s a fun (and delicious!) twist on a classic mushroom / cauliflower soup, with some deep umami rich flavors that are sure to please your taste buds.
Incredibly creamy without any dairy thanks to a few raw cashews. But if you have a cashew or nut allergy never fear, you can easily make the soup without or substitute with a little non dairy milk. I’m sharing all the details below so we can all thoroughly enjoy the start of soup season together!
Why you’ll love this creamy mushroom and cauliflower soup
This roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup is:
- Delightfully creamy
- Full of umami rich flavor
- Dairy free
- Comforting
- Easy to make
- Satisfying
Creamy roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup ingredients
The only thing that makes a deliciously cozy soup better is when it’s made with simple + easy-to-find ingredients!
It’s actually hard to believe how much flavor this soup has considering the simplicity of the ingredient list. Thanks to a few flavor boosters like nutritional yeast, coconut aminos, and aged balsamic the flavors of the mushrooms and cauliflower really SHINE.
(If you’re already ready to get started, scroll all the way down to the bottom for the full recipe!)
Here’s exactly what you need to make this dairy free soup:
- 1 medium sized head of cauliflower
- About 1 pound of crimini mushrooms – or a variety of other mushrooms
- 2 large shallots
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Fresh or dried thyme
- Salt + pepper
- Olive oil or avocado oil for roasting
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (can be omitted for nut allergy)
- Broth
- Coconut aminos or gluten free soy sauce (tamari)
- Nutritional yeast
- Aged Balsamic vinegar – or balsamic reduction
How to make this creamy roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup
One of the things that I LOVE about this soup is how easy it is to make. Because the mushrooms, cauliflower, and aromatics are roasted before they get added to the soup you achieve maximum flavor with minimal effort.
Here’s the step-by-step instructions:
Step 1: Roast the vegetables and aromatics
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Add the cauliflower florets, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a large sheet pan and toss to coat. You want to use enough oil to generously coat everything so that it doesn’t easily stick to the bottom of the pan while roasting.
Move to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until veggies are tender and starting to brown. Increase the heat to 475 and roast another 10-15 minutes – until everything is deeply caramelized.
Step 2: Make the soup
Remove sheet pan from the oven and reserve a few pieces of roasted cauliflower and mushrooms to garnish the soup if desired. Add 1 1/2 cups of the broth to the sheet pan and scrape up any brown / stuck on bits (AKA flavor bombs!) from the bottom of the pan. Add the entire contents of the roasting tray to a large soup pot along with the remaining broth, raw cashews, nutritional yeast, coconut aminos or tamari, and balsamic vinegar.
Bring to a boil and quickly reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes – until cashews are plump and cauliflower is fall-apart tender.
Step 3: Blend the soup
Blend the soup in a blender (I love my vitamix for this step!) in bathces if needed, until siiiiiilky smooth. Return soup to the pot and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 4: Serve!
Serve soup topped with a drizzle of aged balsamic, reserved roasted veggies, a sprinkle of fresh thyme, and cracked black pepper.
How to make this roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup without cashews
If you’d like to make this soup without the cashews there are two options.
You can:
- Leave them out all together and simply blend the soup with veggies + broth – it won’t be *quite* as creamy but will still have incredible flavor and be silky smooth.
- Replace 1 1/2 cups of the broth with your favorite non dairy milk, creamer, or coconut milk.
Because most of the flavor of the soup comes from the vegetables, aromatics, and umami boosting add-ins, leaving out the cashews won’t subtract any of the yumminess of the recipe!
How long does this cauliflower mushroom soup last in the refrigerator?
This soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in a covered container.
Love this recipe? Here’s some other cozy dairy free soup recipes to try!
- Creamy Dairy Free Chicken and Vegetable Soup
- The Best Vegan Black Bean Soup
- Creamy Dairy Free Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
- 30 Minute Chickpea and Tomato Coconut Curry Soup
Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup – Dairy Free!
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This ultra creamy roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup is an absolute dream of a cozy soup season recipe! It’s rich in comforting flavor and made with raw cashews instead of cream for a feel good soup that will warm you up from the inside out. Vegan, gluten free, paleo, keto friendly, and whole30 compatible!
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 medium sized head of cauliflower – about 2 pounds, cut into large florets
- about 1 pound of crimini mushrooms, cleaned and halved
- 2 large shallots, peeled and cut into quarters
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and tough ends trimmed
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, stripped from woody stem, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3–4 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil – enough to generously coat veggies for roasting
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 5 1/2 cups broth
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or tamari
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction
- salt to taste – I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons
For the garnish
- reserved roasted veggies
- aged balsamic or balsamic reduction
- fresh thyme
- black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add cauliflower florets, halved mushrooms, quartered shallots, and cleaned garlic cloves to a large sheet pan. Toss with salt, pepper, and enough olive oil to generously coat – about 3-4 tablespoons
- Move to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until veggies are tender and starting to brown. Increase heat to 475 and roast for another 10-15 minutes, until everything is deeply caramelized.
- Remove from the oven and reserve a few small crispy cauliflower + mushroom bits to garnish the soup with if desired. Add 1 1/2 cups broth to the sheet pan and scrape up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan – this not only makes clean up easier, but also grabs all the umami packed flavor bits for the soup. Add the entire contents of the roasting tray to a large soup pot along with the remaining broth, raw cashews, nutritional yeast, coconut aminos or tamari, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and then quickly reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until cashews are plump and cauliflower is fall apart tender.
- Blend soup in a blender (in batches if needed) until silky smooth. Return to the pot and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with reserved roasted veggies, a sprinkle of fresh thyme, and cracked black pepper.
Notes
To make this recipe nut free, simply omit the cashews or substitute 1 1/2 cups of the broth with your favorite non dairy milk or creamer.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: soup
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: american
Crystal says
My husband got some wild
Mushrooms, hedgehog truffle and other exotic (package called it exotic) so I used those. This soup was amazing. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed this soup! That mix of mushrooms sounds absolutely D-R-E-A-M-Y! Thanks for leaving your review, and happy cooking 🙂 – Nyssa
Bradford says
So, I used the 1x recipe and it didn’t make 4 cups – it made 10 cups (exactly). But am I complaining? Um, NO! While a bit of work, nothing was complicated and it yielded phenomenal results. So rich and silky with a stunning complexity of flavor that makes it feel positively indulgent. This would be a wonderful course in a special or holiday dinner. This is a serious keeper. Thanks so much!
Nyssa Tanner says
I completely agree, Bradford! I’ve thought about serving this recipe for a coursed out dinner for friends or family – I think it would an excellent fit for that type of meal! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Sorry about the confusion on the quantity, the notes listed in the recipe card are for servings not cups. So that’s about 2 1/2 cups for a generous serving, which obviously could be stretched farther if you’re pairing it with other dishes 🙂 Thanks for your thoughtful review, and happy cooking! – Nyssa
Martha says
Excellent recipe! Thanks for creating and sharing! I did make a few small changes (added spices to the veggies for roasting and used cream instead of cashews). I used frozen cauliflower – it worked great.
Nyssa Tanner says
Ohh awesome! I’m so glad you loved it and those swaps + notes on recipe mods are so helpful! Happy cooking! – Nyssa
Layne says
Any recommendations for reducing the sodium in this recipe?
Nyssa Tanner says
Hi Layne! Yes you an easily reduce the sodium by using less salt on the roasted veggies, and opting for a reduced sodium broth. You can always go light in those two ways and season to taste with however much you like after the soup comes together. Hope you enjoy!
Noel says
I am not vegan but I really like this soup, made it on a cold S. FL evening (yes we do get one cold evening a year). Added a little Tobasco and it was great. I will be making it again…next year when we have that cold night.
Nyssa Tanner says
Oh yay! So glad you enjoyed this soup and it warmed you up on a chilly night 🙂
Jeni says
Just WOW. This soup is a complete home run. Protein dense, high volume veggies — the added creaminess the cashews offers — the subtle bite of the balsamic. THANK YOU!!
Nyssa Tanner says
Hooray! So happy you loved it. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!!
Russell Shultz says
Very good, it was “bursting with character and flavor.” I omitted the oil but gave the veggies a minimal spritz of oil spray and liquid aminos prior to roasting. Used small red onion as I had no Shallots. It was so flavorful when I tested it during cooking I decided to add one cup of water and 1/2 cup Red Lentils for a protein kick and blended it with an emersion blender. It was delicious but the color wasn’t nice like yours pictured above. Next time I will use the Vitamix to blend. Also I will cook the lentils with onion and garlic separate and add it to the blended soup thus keeping the nice color and add texture too. Thank you for the recipe.
Nyssa Tanner says
I love these modifications that you made! Adding lentils sounds like a delicious idea. So glad you enjoyed it!
Denise says
I’m switching my family to a plant-based lifestyle and we’re on day 4. This soup recipe is easy to follow, but more importantly, it has more flavor than any mushroom soup I’ve ever had! Even my meat eating husband loved it! WINNING
I concur with having the Vitamix. I bought one at a home show in 2007, and it’s still going strong!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yesss! Love this! So happy you enjoyed and best of luck on your adventure into plant based eating!!
Kat says
Love Love Love it! I just made it swapping the shallots for leeks (in season), i also only have standard balsamic, not aged, so i put it over the vege’s before roasting them (rather than afterwards) Came out amazingly well! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Nyssa Tanner says
I love your swaps and substitutions! Thank you for sharing and for the thoughtful comment. So happy you enjoyed!
Alan Crawshaw says
Excellent soup, we used onions also, having no shallots.
Nyssa Tanner says
Oh perfect! I’m so glad you were able to make that easy swap + enjoyed the soup 🙂 Thanks for the note!
Brynn Brown says
Yummy!! So yummy!! This is probably one of the best mushroom soups I’ve ever had, and it was so much fun to make. I definitely recommend putting aside some of the extra mushrooms and cauliflower to add in at the end! This soup was also one I could put away in the freezer, which is a win win in my book!
Nyssa Tanner says
Ahh such a huge compliment! I’m so happy that you enjoyed making this soup. And 100% agree about setting aside some of the mushrooms and cauliflower for added texture! XO
Lisa says
Hi!! Would I be able to sub onion for the shallots? It’s the only ingredient I don’t have!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yep absolutely! I would substitute 1 small to medium sized onion. No need to dice it – you could just cut it into wedges before roasting with the other ingredients!