Creamy Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Soup

Dear reader,

Buffalo and cauliflower is a combination that seems to to be sticking around for a while, don’t you think? This creamy, vegan buffalo cauliflower is a great option to pop into your winter stew rotation. Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, and ready to hit the bowl in 45 minutes or less.

What makes this soup sublime:

1. The heat of the buffalo sauce is perfectly balanced by the creamy coconut milk – together they form a warm hug around around the potatoes and veggies.
2. The key to the creamy texture comes in the final steps of this recipe – blending the roasted cauliflower, a few scoops of the broth, and cashews. This creates the full body base that sticks to the spoon, no dairy necessary.
3. Herbs. Top your bowl with herbs that are reminiscent of a ranch-style dip. My personal favorites are dill and parsley.

This warm, creamy bowl of soup has gotten me through many chilly winter months. I hope it can do the same for you.

Until next time,

Bridget

Creamy Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Soup

Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, and ready to hit your bowl in under 45 minutes.

Servings 6 people

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Equipment

• Large, heavy bottom stock pot or dutch oven
• Vitamix, or any high speed blender

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or any neutral oil
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 large red onion, diced diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced red and/or orange
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound fingerling or baby potatoes, chopped into very small, bite-sized pieces
• 1 13.5 ounce can *lite coconut milk if you would like this recipe nut free, omit the cashews and used regular/full fat coconut milk
• 2/3 c *buffalo hot sauce
• 4 cups water
• 1 head cauliflower
• ¼ cup cashews
• ground black pepper, fresh dill and parsley to garnish

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed stock pot.
• Saute the onion and ½ teaspoon of salt for 3-5 minutes until very tender. Next, add the bell peppers and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Then, add the garlic, and saute for an additional minute or so, until fragrant.
• Add the *coconut milk, the *buffalo sauce, the potatoes, and the water. Stir until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Bring the soup to a hard boil, and then reduce it to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer away on low heat for about 25-30 mins, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
• While the soup is cooking, roughly chop the head of cauliflower into florets and toss them in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Spread them evenly across a lined baking tray, and roast the cauliflower in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the florets becomes deeply golden.
• When the cauliflower is finished roasting, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Set aside a few pieces to use as garnish.
• Add to the blender: 1 ½ cups of the soup broth (only the liquid – not the peppers, onions, or potatoes), the roasted cauliflower florets, and the cashews. Blend on high for 2 minutes, or until until it is thick, creamy and velvety in texture.
• Finally, pour the velvety cauliflower puree into the soup along with the final teaspoon of salt. Stir on low heat until the puree is completely incorporated in the soup.
• Season with a pinch of ground black pepper. Garnish with a piece or two of charred cauliflower, fresh dill, and parsley.

Notes

*Ingredients to make your life easier:

• Coconut milk- If using cashews, any lite coconut milk works perfectly. If you choose to omit the cashews, I would recommend using regular or full fat coconut milk for optimal creaminess. You can find canned coconut milk at most, if not all, grocery stores in the foreign or asian food section (i.e. Kroger, Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Food City, Publix, etc.). 
• Buffalo hot sauce- Lately, I have been using this buffalo sauce found at Whole Foods, but I also love the Primal Kitchen brand found at most Kroger stores, and the Noble Made brand found at most Target stores. 

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Buffalo, Cauliflower, Creamy, Creamy Soup, Potato Cakes, Soup, Vegan