Cauliflower soup

Cauliflower soup can be white, silky and as gentle as cream without a drop of cream. The condition is a short cook: a quarter of an hour until the cauliflower is tender, not an hour until the house smells of cabbage. A third of the cauliflower is roasted in the oven and gives the soup a nutty taste.

Pot calculatorOrder Cauliflower soup

VeganGluten freeDairy freeParve

Updated

Cauliflower soupIllustration
Time55 minCook 35 min
Pot8 bowls2.8 litres
Per bowl115 kcal3.7 g protein · a 350 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪24for the pot, about ₪3 a bowl

The story of Cauliflower soup

In the homes of Iraqi, Moroccan and Tunisian Jews, fried cauliflower is a beloved dish that never leaves the table, and in recent years the whole roasted cauliflower has become a symbol of new Israeli cooking. In classic French cooking, dishes with cauliflower are named after Madame du Barry, and cream of cauliflower soup is called crème Du Barry.

In a kosher kitchen cauliflower needs attention: small insects sometimes hide between the florets, so it is customary to break it into small florets, soak them in water and rinse well, or to buy cauliflower grown under supervision. After that it is one of the easiest vegetables for a parve soup: it has no strong colour and no overpowering taste, and it blends to a smooth cream.

What makes Cauliflower soup itself

Cauliflower has almost no starch, yet it blends to a thick cream. After a short cook and a long blend, its fibre and pectin break into tiny particles that give the soup body. What sets this recipe apart is the pairing of simmered cauliflower, which brings silk and whiteness, with roasted cauliflower, which brings depth, and of a short cook with salt, nutmeg and lemon at the end.

Cauliflower soup for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
2.8litres in the pot
4Pot to use, litres
₪24Cost of the pot
₪3.0per bowl
115kcal per bowl
3.7g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The cauliflower
Cauliflower florets and stalks, cleaned1.2 kg₪18
Olive oil for roasting15 ml₪0.8
The base
Olive oil30 ml₪1.6
Onion, chopped200 g · 1 pcs₪1.2
Garlic cloves, sliced10 g · 2 pcs₪0.4
Potato, peeled, in small cubes200 g · 1 pcs₪1.2
Liquid and seasoning
Boiling water1.4 l
Salt14 g₪0.0
White pepper1 g₪0.3
Nutmeg0.5 g₪0.2
Lemon juice10 ml₪0.2
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Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in Cauliflower soup? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

Cauliflower soup has 33 calories per 100 ml. A 350 ml bowl made with our recipe has 115 calories: 3.7 g protein, 5.7 g fat and 11.3 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 82 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 1,200 g38 kcal per serving
  • 15 ml15 kcal per serving
  • 30 ml30 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs10 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs2 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs19 kcal per serving
  • 14 g0 kcal per serving
  • 1 g0 kcal per serving
  • 1 g0 kcal per serving
  • 10 ml0 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to Cauliflower soup

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1

How to make Cauliflower soup

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. Heat the oven to 220 °C. Break the cauliflower into florets, soak and rinse well, and dry. Trim the tough outer layer from the stalk and slice it.
  2. Toss a third of the florets with 15 ml of oil and a pinch of salt and roast on a tray in a single layer for 25 minutes, until golden at the edges.
  3. Meanwhile heat 30 ml of oil in a 5 litre pot over medium-low heat, add the onion with a pinch of salt and sweat for 8 minutes, until soft and translucent, without letting it colour.
  4. Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then the rest of the cauliflower, the stalk and the potato.
  5. Pour in 1.3 litres of boiling water, bring to the boil and cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, until a slice of stalk crushes with a spoon.
  6. Add the roasted cauliflower, keeping a few nice florets aside to garnish, and simmer for another 2 minutes.
  7. Turn off the heat and blend with a stick blender for 3 minutes, until completely smooth. In a jug blender, work in batches with the small cap open and a towel on top.
  8. Thin with boiling water to the thickness you like, season with salt, white pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice, and serve with the roasted florets and olive oil.

The science of Cauliflower soup

Kitchen science

Where the cabbage smell comes from

Cauliflower, like the whole cabbage family, contains glucosinolates, sulphur-bearing compounds. Cutting and heating break them into pungent substances, and long cooking keeps breaking them down into sulphur compounds that smell of eggs and sauerkraut. After 15 to 20 minutes the cauliflower is tender and the smell is mild, after 45 minutes it takes over.

Kitchen science

No lid

Some of those sulphur compounds are volatile. Cooking uncovered lets them escape from the pot instead of concentrating in the soup, which is why cauliflower soup simmers with the lid off.

Kitchen science

White or yellowish

The white of cauliflower comes from pale flavonoids that react to acidity: in acid they stay white, in alkaline conditions, such as very hard water, they turn yellow. A spoonful of lemon at the end keeps the soup white and sharpens the taste. A browned onion and soup powder with turmeric also turn it yellow.

Kitchen science

Roasting for depth

Cauliflower in a pot never passes 100 °C and never browns. In a hot oven the surface of the florets dries and browns through the Maillard reaction, creating nutty, toasty flavours. Roasting a third is enough for depth without turning the soup brown.

Kitchen science

Cream without cream

Cauliflower has little starch but plenty of fibre and pectin. Once cooked, long blending breaks them into tiny particles that thicken the liquid, and the oil disperses among them in small droplets and feels like cream. One potato adds a little starch for body, and more than that makes the soup gluey.

Cauliflower soup in every kitchen

Dairy, creamed

Soften the onion in butter, swap 300 ml of the water for milk, and finish with 100 ml of double cream and grated parmesan. This is a dairy soup.

With tahini

Leave out the potato and stir in 60 g of raw tahini and the juice of half a lemon at the end. The soup turns thick, nutty and very Israeli.

Roasted with cumin

Roast all the cauliflower with a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of ground coriander, and serve with toasted pine nuts. The soup is golden and deep in flavour.

Cauliflower and broccoli

Replace half the cauliflower with broccoli. The soup comes out pale green. Simmer for 10 minutes only so the broccoli does not turn grey.

With coconut milk and turmeric

Fry a teaspoon of turmeric, 15 g of grated ginger and a teaspoon of garam masala with the onion, and finish with 200 ml of coconut milk. Yellow, spiced and parve.

Common Cauliflower soup problems and how to fix them

Cauliflower soup smells of cabbage

The cauliflower cooked too long, usually with a lid on. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes uncovered and add lemon at the end. A soup that already smells strong can be softened with roasted cauliflower, nutmeg and a little tahini or cream.

The soup came out yellowish or grey

The onion browned, the soup powder contained turmeric, or the water is hard. Sweat the onion without colour, season with salt rather than powder and add lemon.

Cauliflower soup is bland

Mild cauliflower needs plenty of salt, and many cooks are shy with it. Add salt gradually, lemon, nutmeg and roasted cauliflower. Good olive oil over the bowl is the fastest upgrade.

The soup is grainy, not smooth

The stalks were not soft, or the blending was too short. Simmer for another 5 minutes, blend for a full 3 minutes and strain if needed.

The soup is thick and gluey like porridge

Too much potato, or long blending in a powerful blender. Thin with boiling water, and next time use one potato or none.

Storing, freezing and reheating

3 days

In the fridge

2 months

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat over medium heat to a simmer and do not boil for long, because cooking it again brings back the cabbage smell.

Nutrition of Cauliflower soup

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 350 ml bowl1153.75.711.34.1
Our recipe, 100 ml331.11.63.21.2
Typical Cauliflower soup, 100 g491.71.36.62.0
Typical Cauliflower soup, 100 g (2)1102.77.57.20.6

What the ingredients of Cauliflower soup cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Cauliflower florets and stalks, cleaned₪15 per kg₪18Greengrocer
Olive oil for roasting₪53 per litre₪2.4Supermarket
Onion, chopped₪5.9 per kg₪1.2Greengrocer
Potato, peeled, in small cubes₪5.9 per kg₪1.2Greengrocer
Garlic cloves, sliced₪34 per kg₪0.3Greengrocer
White pepper₪250 per kg₪0.2Supermarket
Nutmeg₪398 per kg₪0.2Supermarket
Lemon juice₪20 per litre₪0.2Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

Make Cauliflower soup a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with Cauliflower soup

Serve with roasted florets, good olive oil, white pepper and a little parsley or chives. A spoonful of tahini on top makes it Israeli.

Cauliflower soup in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 350 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
258.81₪74
50181₪148
100352₪296
200703₪591
5001757₪1,478

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order Cauliflower soup

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for Cauliflower soup

Order Cauliflower soup for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

How long does cauliflower cook for soup?

15 to 18 minutes from the boil, until the stalk crushes with a spoon. Cooking longer strengthens the cabbage smell.

How do I make creamy cauliflower soup without cream?

Cook it briefly, blend for at least 3 minutes and add a little olive oil and one potato. Raw tahini is a good Israeli stand-in for cream.

Is cauliflower soup parve?

This recipe is, and vegan and gluten free too. The version with butter, milk and cream is dairy.

Can I make cauliflower soup from frozen cauliflower?

Yes, and with a suitable kosher mark it also saves the insect check. Cook it for about 12 minutes, because it has already been blanched.

Can cauliflower soup be frozen?

Yes, for up to two months. The texture may separate a little, and a minute with a stick blender brings it back.

Why is my cauliflower soup bitter?

Browned garlic, or an old cauliflower with dark spots. Choose a white, tight head and sweat the garlic for a minute only.

What is the difference between cauliflower and broccoli soup?

Both come from the same family and cook in a similar way. Broccoli needs less time, because its green colour turns grey with long cooking.

How many calories are in Cauliflower soup?

A 350 ml bowl of Cauliflower soup made with our recipe has about 115 calories and 3.7 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 33 calories.

How much does it cost to make Cauliflower soup at home?

A pot of 8 bowls costs about ₪24 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪3 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

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