Roasted Cauliflower & White Bean Soup
Get cozy this winter with this healthy Roasted Cauliflower and White Bean Soup! This vegan cauliflower soup is rich and creamy, but totally dairy free!
Ingredients
- 2 heads cauliflower washed and cut into florets
- 1 tbsp safflower oil
- salt & pepper 4-5 turns of each grinder, or a generous pinch of salt and a modest pinch of pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 large garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 2 14 oz cans navy beans drained and rinsed
- 1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp cooking sherry
- salt & pepper to taste
- roasted pepitas as optional garnishment, find my recipe here
- basil pesto croutons Pesto basil croutons, as optional garnishment (find the vegan crouton recipe here and the basil pesto recipe here; then see the directions below for final instructions on making basil pesto croutons)
- basil pesto as optional garnishment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425º.
- Toss the cauliflower florets in the safflower oil and season with salt and pepper (a few twists of a salt and pepper grind each).
- Spread the cauliflower florets out on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes on the middle rack. Stop and toss the cauliflower, then continue roasting for an additional 15 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, heat the olive oil in a large stockpot. When shimmering, add the onion and 1 tsp salt and reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the onions to slow cook for 20-25 minutes until the onions are dark brown.
- Increase the heat to medium. Add the navy beans, vegetable broth, water and bay leaves. Bring to a low simmer. Simmer for at least 30 minutes until the beans are soft. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- While the broth is simmering, prepare the vegan croutons and vegan pesto sauce. You can find the recipes here and here. When the croutons have finished baking, toss them in ½ the pesto sauce and return them to the oven for an additional 6-8 minutes. Reserve the remaining pesto sauce to garnish the soup.
- Allow the broth to cool slightly, then remove the bay leaves. Add the roasted cauliflower, fresh ground pepper, nutritional yeast and sherry vinegar.
- Using either an immersion blender or a stand-up blender, blend the soup until creamy.
- Serve the soup in individual soup bowls and garnish with a spoonful of the remaining basil pesto sauce, the basil pesto croutons, additional olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted pepitas, if desired.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!