This thick, rich, and lovely soup has the delish flavor of sweet potato combined with cauliflower and roasted garlic. The result is a restaurant-worthy Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup that you can make effortlessly in your own kitchen! Hungry? Grab a spoon and read on and I, Chef Jenn, will show you how to make this easy cream soup recipe perfectly every time!
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With a stunning color and flavors to match, this amazing Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Soup recipe is a hug in a bowl. Thick, creamy, and filled with layers of flavors, this is what cream soup is all about.
What You Need to Make Cream of CAuliflower and Sweet Potato Soup
- Sweet potatoes – leftover baked sweet potatoes are PERFECT in this recipe!
- Cauliflower – fresh is best but frozen works too
- Leeks
- Bacon
- Roasted garlic – see my notes below
- Chicken or vegetable stock
- Heavy cream
- Thyme
- Sour cream
- Cayenne
- Salt and pepper
What Is Roasted Garlic?
Roasted garlic is less pungent than its raw counterpart, and it has a lovely nutty flavor and smooth texture. It is perfect in soups like this where you want a more delicate flavor, but still a garlic punch. You can often buy roasted garlic in a grocery store, but making it is easy. Here’s how:
- Remove a few of the outer papery leaves from a bulb of garlic and cut enough of the top end off to expose the garlic cloves hidden inside.
- Drizzle the exposed garlic with olive oil (a tablespoon or two is sufficient) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Wrap the whole head of garlic in foil and pop it into a 400-F oven for about 45 minutes.
- Let it cool then squeeze out the garlic.
How To Make Creamy Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup
- Use leftover baked sweet potatoes for this recipe or peel and dice enough sweet potato to make about 2 cups worth.
- Add the sweet potato and cauliflower to a large pot and add the chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer about 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is super soft. If you used raw sweet potato, make sure it is super-soft, too.
- Meanwhile, clean the leeks and slice them thinly.
- Pan-fry the bacon until it is crisp. Set the bacon aside to use as a garnish. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.
- Sautee the leeks in the bacon fat and when they’re soft, add them to the cauliflower and sweet potato. Add the roasted garlic and thyme to the soup pot. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender or blender to puree the soup until it is smooth and velvety.
- Return the pureed soup to the pot and heat it through until it is barely simmering. Add the cream and turn off the heat.
- Temper the sour cream by adding some hot soup to the cold sour cream to bring the temperature up, then whisk the sour cream into the soup.
- Season with a pinch of cayenne and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with reserved bacon and a small dollop of sour cream.
- Enjoy your Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- I save leftover baked sweet potatoes just to make this amazing soup! Or, speed up the process by baking your sweet potatoes in an air fryer.
- Clean leeks carefully – they grow in sand and are known for having sand between the layers. I slice the leeks first, then wash them by rinsing them under cold water (while breaking up the layers) and then swishing them around in a large bowl of water, letting the dirt and grit settle to the bottom of the bowl. You don’t want grit in your soup!
- No leeks? You can use 1 cup of sweet onion instead.
- No cream? You can make this sweet potato soup recipe with evaporated milk, too. Just use the same amount.
- Cayenne has a kick to it so just add a tiny pinch then stir it in. Taste it and adjust to suit your spice preference.
- Don’t boil the soup after you’ve added the sour cream or the sour cream in it could curdle.
LIke This? ALso Try:
How To Store Sweet Potato Soup with Cauliflower & Roasted Garlic
This soup will keep fine, if tightly covered, in the fridge for up to a week. Or, you can freeze it.
Can you freeze Sweet Potato Soup? You sure can, in fact, there’s often some in my freezer.
Keep food fresh and freezer tidy with odor-proof, space-saving trays. Designed for easy stacking and maximum efficiency, store up to 8 cups in a gallon bag.
What Goes Well With Sweet Potato Soup Recipes
Soups like this are hearty and are often filling enough to be a meal on their own. However, you can add a crusty slice of bread to the meal, these delish Sweet Potato Biscuits, or serve a smaller portion of it as an appetizer before meals like Smoked Meatloaf, or Oven Baked Chicken Thighs with Onion Gravy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your definition of healthy. This soup is higher in fat because of the cream and bacon fat, but it is loaded with all sorts of goodness from the sweet potatoes and cauliflower. Rich in fiber and vitamins, from that standpoint it is healthy.
It sure can be. Control the sodium by using no-salt added chicken broth, and limit how much salt you add when seasoning the soup.
It can be. Substitute coconut milk for the cream, and use vegan yogurt in place of the sour cream. Just be careful not to boil the soup after you’ve added the sour cream.
Step By Step Process
Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup with Roasted Garlic
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower florets about 1/2 a head
- 2 cups sweet potato pre-cooked or peeled and diced
- 4 cups low or no sodium chicken broth
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 leek white and pale green parts only, sliced
- 1 head roasted garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Use leftover baked sweet potatoes for this recipe or peel and dice enough sweet potato to make about 2 cups worth.
- Add the sweet potato and cauliflower to a large soup pot and add the chicken broth. Simmer about 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is super soft. If you used raw sweet potato, make sure it is super-soft, too.
- Meanwhile, clean the leeks and slice them thinly.
- In a medium-size skillet, pan-fry the bacon until it is crisp. Set the bacon aside to use as a garnish. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.
- Sautee the leeks in the bacon fat in the same skillet, and when they're soft, add them to the cauliflower and sweet potato. Add the roasted garlic and thyme to the soup pot. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender or blender to puree the soup until it is smooth and velvety.
- Return the pureed soup back to the soup pot and heat it through until it is barely simmering. Add the cream and turn off the heat. Mix well to combine.
- Temper the sour cream by adding a few spoonfuls of hot soup to the cold sour cream to bring the temperature up, then whisk the sour cream into the soup.
- Season with a pinch of cayenne and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with reserved bacon and a small dollop of sour cream.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
