This Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup is rich, creamy, and delicious with all of the comforting flavors of a loaded baked potato. Add unlimited toppings for even more flavor, made just to your taste. The Cauliflower Soup recipe is made in a pressure cooker so it is quick and easy to make and packed full of flavor without a lot of time or fuss. This soup is perfect for kids and adults both since the soup is rich, creamy and delicious and the extra flavors you add as toppings so each person can pick what they want for extra flavors.
Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup recipe
This is one of those recipes that is. JUST.SO.GOOD. Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup is probably one of the all time yummy comfort foods, and this Cauliflower Soup has all of those same delicious rich flavors but is completely made with cauliflower instead of potatoes which gives you tons wholesome veggies loaded in there! Most recipes I test out 2-3 times before I get it right, but this Creamy Cauliflower Soup was so good on the first try that I have made it several times since and not changed a thing!
I have been loving my Instant Pot lately, and even though we got off to a slow start, I am using it several times a week now to make meals. You just can’t beat the quick and easy convenience and simple clean up. This Instant Pot Cauliflower soup is no exception. There is no extra steps in this recipe, just dump in the main ingredients, cook, then blend it all together with the cheese. The result? Velvety smooth, perfectly creamy, and tastefully rich soup.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can find a crock pot version of this Loaded Cauliflower Soup here!
How to Make Creamy Cauliflower Soup in the Instant Pot
This soup is super quick and easy to make. I have a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for complete instructions, but I will walk you through some of my tips and tricks here so that if you have any questions, hopefully they will be answered. If you still have questions, feel free to drop them in the comments below!
What spices do I need for the Cauliflower Soup?
This recipe uses garlic, salt and pepper to flavor the soup. There is what may seem like a lot of garlic in the recipe, but once it cooks the flavor mellows to really compliment the flavor. You can adjust the salt and pepper to your preference if desired. This cauliflower soup has a great neutral flavor that while still really amazing on it’s own, allows you to add toppings like bacon, cheese and green onion to give it a little something extra.
How do I make the Cauliflower Soup creamy?
We will use an immersion blender and cream cheese to make the soup creamy. When the cauliflower is blended with the broth and liquid released in cooking and then the cream cheese is blended in, it makes the soup the perfect thickness and perfectly smooth and creamy. I use an immersion blender to blend the soup, but if you don’t have one you can transfer the soup to a blender or food processor to blend it. The cream cheese not only helps to make the soup creamy but also adds a depth of flavor and richness to the soup.
How do I make the Cauliflower Soup thicker?
I think if you follow the recipe you will end up with the perfect thickness for the soup, however if you want your soup thicker, you can reduce the broth by 1/2 cup before or after cooking, but before blending. This will help the soup to reach a thicker consistency. If you want the soup to be thinner you can add additional broth, or add milk to the soup during blending until the desired consistency is reached.
How to serve Creamy Cauliflower Soup
The real fun of this Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup recipe comes in serving it with all of the toppings. My family loves to eat this with little bowls of all of the toppings on the table so that each person can make their own custom bowl with as much or as little of each topping as they want. Since the soup is rich and creamy but has a pretty neutral flavor, you can get as traditional or as crazy with the toppings as you want and it almost always works out completely deliciously, so you can serve it with just traditional baked potato toppings, or get a little crazy for more excitement at the dinner table.
Here are some of our favorite topping ideas:
Traditional Soup toppings:
- Cheddar cheese
- Crumbled bacon
- Chives or green onions
- Sour cream
- Broccoli crowns
- Chopped onions
Less Traditional Soup Toppings:
- Pesto
- Pinenuts
- Crutons
- Chopped cilantro
- Pico de Gallo
- Parmesan cheese
- Chopped Chicken or other meat
- Pulled Barbecue (chicken, pork, or brisket- this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is especially delicious!)
- Grilled onions, peppers, or mushrooms
As you can see the toppings are really only limited by your imagination! You can go traditional, go with another theme like Mexican, Italian, or Barbecue or just put a little of everything out and get creative.
Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup -Dietary Restrictions
If you have special needs or dietary restrictions, this recipe could be a good option.
- Gluten Free- This soup is naturally gluten free. Toppings listed may not be gluten free so make sure to check labels.
- Dairy Free- This soup is not dairy free and has no easy substitutions for this need, but if you are looking for a dairy free cauliflower soup, try this Whole30 Roasted Cauliflower Soup recipe. It is delicious!
- Low Carb- This recipe is generally considered low carb and friendly for keto and macro counting diets. Please see nutrition label for specific information.
- Vegetarian- Instant Pot Cauliflower soup can be made vegetarian if you substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth, however some of the toppings listed are not.
I really hope that you love this recipe as much as we do. It is officially on permanent rotation until the cold weather is over at our house. If you do get a chance to make it, I would love to hear about it. Nothing makes me happier than seeing others enjoy the recipes I share! Feel free to leave me a comment in the section at the bottom of this post or if you share a photo on Instagram, make sure to tag me @easyfamilyrecipes so that I can see what you are cooking up!
Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds cauliflower florets
- 8 cloves fresh garlic
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz sharp cheddar, grated
Topping options:
- Bacon crumbles
- Green onion
- Sour cream
- Additional Cheddar
- Broccoli Florets
Instructions
- Chop the cauliflower in to roughly even smaller pieces. Add the cauliflower, garlic, chopped onion, chicken broth, salt and pepper to the pot of the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure, open the pot and add the cream cheese and cheddar. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
- Serve hot and garnish with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Once the soup has cooled, add to an airtight container or freezer ziplock bag and freeze on a flat surface.
- You can also portion the soup: Divide the soup into individual or family-sized portions before freezing. This will make it easier to thaw and reheat only the amount you need.
- When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.
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