Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder.
This cheddar cauliflower chowder is about to rock your weeknight dinner!
Warm, comforting and cheesy – it’s the perfect bowl to take your days from blustery and wintery to wonderful!
And that is exactly what I crave right now. Something SO good to look forward to for dinner. These early months of the year always get me with their gray and cold days. THIS makes dinner exciting and to be honest, freaking DELISH.
I know I know, I just shared a cauliflower recipe last week but this one is too good to wait. It is so easy, so flavorful, so filling and perfect for the cold, blustery winter days we are having right now.
LOVE IT.
Plus, if you really want to, you can just switch out potatoes for the cauli!
Chowder is definitely one of my go-to soups (hello, this sun dried tomato corn chowder, anyone?!) but I was hesitant about replacing the potatoes here with cauliflower. I considered using both, but was afraid the soup would be overwhelming with chunks and not as chowder-ish as I’d like.
I ended up going the cauliflower-only route and it is fantastic.
The flavor is absolutely perfect.
The cauliflower is tender but still brings enough texture to the soup, and of course, with the scallions and bacon on top? Texture is given an A+.
It’s SO satisfying.
The cheddar makes it for me too. Obviously. As a serious cheese lover, I was afraid that adding in the cheddar may make it too heavy or gluey. You know what I mean, right? But it doesn’t at all. Stirring in the white cheddar at the end adds the perfect cheesy flavor that a bowl like this begs for.
The base ends up being silky smooth, even though we still have our chunks of veg.
It melts in your mouth.
You won’t be able to stop the spoonfuls!
Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder
Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- kosher salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, freshly grated , plus extra for topping
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is crispy and the fat has rendered, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain off excess grease.
- Throw the onions, carrots and garlic into the pot where the bacon grease is. You can add a small pinch of salt and pepper - you most likely will need a little salt for the soup, but the bacon is salty, so don’t go overboard! Stir and cook the vegetables until they soften, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes. Stream in the stock while stirring. Add in the cauliflower florets. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce it to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender.
- Stir in the cream and cook for a minute or two until it warms. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheese and half of the green onions. Stir until the cheese is melted. Taste the soup and season with most salt and pepper if needed. This will depend on how salty your bacon and cheese are! Stir in most of the bacon, leaving a bit to garnish the bowls with.
- Serve the soup with the extra bacon, green onions and more cheese if you wish. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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32 Comments on “Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder.”
I just love that there is so much texture to this soup and it’s colorful which makes it so appetizing. We love cauliflower in any form so this will make it into our menu rotation. Have pre-ordered your new cookbook and look forward to it’s coming out date! You accomplish SO many things – you’re like the energizer bunny.
I can’t wait to try this! Cauliflower soup is a hit in our house and adding bacon is pure genius.
Looks delicious! What are the macros on this?
Emma did you ever find out the macros for this meal. Would love to know as I am on keto diet.
No, apparently we are being ignored too bc she replied to other commitments. Why not just say she doesn’t have them? However, I see someone posted them below.
no emma, i wasn’t ignoring you. i don’t calculate the macros for my recipes, but you are more than welcome to plug them into your go-to online calculator based on the brands you use!
This is my go to dish, love it, its delicious, try it
Do you have the nutritional breakdown for this recipe? I’m diabetic and I try to keep track of carbs, sugar and calories.
This looks delish! I am making some freezer meals right now for when baby comes, do you think this could be frozen at any of the cooking stages?
We had all of the ingredients for this AMAZING chowder on hand, except for the white cheddar, so I just popped in to Whole Foods and picked up a wedge. It cooks up very quickly and has more texture than meets the eye and the bacon that is sprinkled on just puts it over the top. Just exquisite. Served this with a spinach, red cabbage salad and a wonderful rosemary focaccia. I didn’t add salt until after cooking, and it only needed a pinch or so. My husband wants this to be added to the menu for the rest of the winter.
I have every everything but heavy cream. Would half and half work? This looks so good! Thanks as always for the recipes — looking forward to the new book!
yes i def think it will work!
I did use half and half, like a cup, and it worked fine because it blended in with the cheese. You won’t be sorry.
On the docket to make tomorrow night. For those asking for macros I ran the ingredients and based on 6 servings : 255 calories, 14.8 total fat, 7.4 saturated fat, Sodium 1233, total carb 16, fiber 4.1, protein 13.3
Thank you!
Yummy
Wonderful soup. I did make a few adjustments: Added a little broccoli and white corn, a large dollop of chicken Better ‘N Broth to strengthen flavor of the chicken broth, and used half & Half instead of heavy cream. Used more of the half and half than in the recipe–it worked because the cheese in the soup blended well with it, and gave it less fat. The result was outstanding! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Looks so good 😊
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Made this tonight – INCREDIBLE! Definitely a new favorite in our house! And, it was the very first time my 9-month-old ate our dinner with us – she loved it too! :)
Can I make this without the flour? Have allergic kid at home, or is there a substitute ? Thanks
This was delicious! An excellent way to use the Cauliflower that comes in our CSA box that my husband won’t normally touch! I did have to pour off some of the bacon grease because there was way too much (the horror!) and I used a stick blender to slightly puree the soup before I put the cheese and bacon in. This will be in rotation!
Oh this is soooo tasty! The only things I did differently is I only added 4 cups stock as my cauliflower head wasn’t huge and I used my immersion blender to partially blend the soup before I added the cheese. My hub is not a huge fan of cauliflower so I tried to make it a bit less noticeable! I like texture so I didn’t blend 100%.
I may or may not have a hard time eating at least 1/2 of it today since it snowed a bit this am (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!).
Thanks, Jess for all the fabulous recipes!
This was great and super easy – perfect during a cold snap. So good with warm biscuits!
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We all loved this soup, even the baby! My meat loving husband had two helpings. The soup was savory & satsifying. I especially liked that the veggies were left whole. It felt nourishing! Addong to our “make again” list!
Made it tonight! Really yummy – just one question – is it freezer friendly? Thanks!
Loved this soup! Even my kiddos ate it too! Will def make again -Thank you!
Just made this tonight, and it is truly the best comfort soup I have ever eaten. Great for the cold and rainy nights here in the southeast Texas area. Will be making this again and again!
Turned out great! I used soy milk and cashew yogurt in lieu of the heavy whipping cream.
I just made this recipe. I put bell pepper, oregano, cilantro and ham. With the ham, cheese and bacon, I didn’t need any salt in mine. I blended some of the peppers, cauliflower and carrots and the rest in small bite size. It tasted so good. Definitely will make this again. Thanks
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