Cauliflower Sausage Kale Soup
Creamy cauliflower soup with sausage, bacon, and kale. Made with less than 10 ingredients. It’s so easy, simple, and completely irresistible.
If you love creamy soups, this Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is out of this world good or this No Cream Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup.
Cauliflower Sausage Soup
This cauliflower sausage soup is my new favorite. Even my kids go crazy for it! It’s creamy, thick, and loaded with incredible flavor, and pairs great with heirloom tomato sandwiches. Not to mention it’s made with less than 10 ingredients. The ingredients are simple and the steps are easy.
It’s very similar to the zuppa soup, but instead of potatoes, it’s made with cauliflower. The cauliflower is cooked with onions and garlic and then puréed with cream. The result is luxuriously creamy soup.
The rest of the soup is made up of sausage, bacon, and kale. The sausage and bacon balance out the sweetness of the soup, while kale adds a delicious texture. It’s so simple. Plus it’s ready in about 30 minutes.
What You Need to Make Creamy Cauliflower Soup
You only need 8 ingredients for this cauliflower kale soup and the rest are pantry staples.
- Italian sausage
- Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Cauliflower
- Chicken broth
- Half and half
- Kale
How to Make Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Step 1: First, heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or a heavy-duty soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add sausage and bacon and cook until sausage is browned while breaking up the meat and bacon is crisp.
About 8-10 minutes. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of grease.
Step 2: Add onions to the same dutch oven and cook until soft. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, while stirring constantly.
Step 3: Add cauliflower and chicken broth. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
To check for doneness, simply pierce a chunk of cauliflower with a fork and if it glides through easily, it is done.
Step 4: Transfer the soup to a high-powered blender and purée until smooth. Or if you have an immersion blender, simply purée the soup in the pot off the heat.
The secret to thickening this soup is simply the perfect ratio of cauliflower to liquid. It basically thickens itself without any flour or heavy cream.
Step 5: Add half and half, and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in sausage, bacon, and kale. Simmer until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Taste the soup for salt. Serve with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Leftover soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I always do not recommend freezing soup with cream in it as it can separate when rewarmed. Plus certain greens, such as kale, tend to turn brown when frozen.
Easy Cauliflower Sausage Soup Variations
Here are some easy swaps you can make to either suit your taste or use the ingredients you have on hand:
- I personally love to use mild sausage and serve the soup with red pepper flakes. That way everyone can add as much heat as they want. But if you love spicy and want spicy, feel free to use hot sausage. Also, this soup can be made with leaner protein, such as turkey Italian sausage.
- For dairy-free, swap out the half and half for a can of full-fat coconut milk. You won’t even taste it! It’ll make the soup extra creamy.
- Not a fan of kale? No problem. Use baby spinach. Slightly tender but just as good.
Video: How to Make Cauliflower Sausage Kale Soup
More Soup Recipes
- Sicilian Chicken Soup
- Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
- Sausage and Kale Soup
- White Bean Soup
- Sausage Zucchini Soup
Cauliflower Sausage Kale Soup
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Creamy cauliflower soup with sausage, bacon, and kale. Made with less than 10 ingredients. This soup is so creamy, sweet, and little spicy!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 12 oz. mild Italian sausage, removed from casing
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/4 pounds
- 1 (32 oz.) carton chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 4 cups chopped curly kale
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
- Red pepper flakes, for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or heavy duty soup pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and bacon. Cook until sausage is browned and bacon is crisp, breaking up the meat as you go, about 8-10 minutes. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of grease.
- Add onions and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add cauliflower and chicken broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
- Puree the soup until smooth in either a high-powered blender or with an immersion blender.
- Add half and half and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in sausage, bacon, and kale. Simmer until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Taste the soup for salt. Serve with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Notes
- Sausage: I personally love to use mild sausage and serve the soup with red pepper flakes. That way everyone can add as much heat as they want. But if you want it extra spicy, feel free to use hot sausage. Also this soup can be made with leaner protein, such as turkey Italian sausage.
- Cream: Milk or full-fat coconut milk can be substituted for the half and half.
- Leftovers: Leftover soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing the soup since it has cream in it.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 334
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 601.7 mg
- Fat: 25.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.1 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 50.8 mg
I love this recipe-thanks for sharing. It is easy enough for a weeknight and it’s so good. I use plant based sausage and it’s great. A three season favorite around here.
Thank you for adding the nutrition amounts per serving. Any chance you have the fiber nutrition data per serving to add?
Hi Tracy: At this time, we only have nutrition information for what’s already included. There are many online calculators that you can plug in the ingredients and it’ll give you an estimate. Hope that helps!
I absolutely love this recipe. I could not find my immersion blender so I ended up. Just really cooking down the cauliflower. This taste better to me than olive gardens zuppa Tuscana. I did end up using 48 ounces of chicken broth due to cooking down the cauliflower. It was delicious and I can’t wait to reheat it tomorrow for lunch.
Wow! This was absolutely delicious and really easy to make. I was definitely skeptical but this recipe has made me a believer in cauliflower soup
Delicious!! Great lower calorie dinner 🙂 the texture of mine is a little grainy, so I think either I didn’t cook the cauliflower enough or perhaps could’ve blended more. Any tips?
It could also be that you didn’t add enough cauliflower. The soup should be really creamy.
Great winter-y soup. I’d definitely make it again and find ways to make it a bit spicier. This time I just added some salt and red pepper before eating. Do ou have a version that works in a crockpot?
I do not have a crockpot version but with a few tweaks, this can be made in a crockpot.
I have a family of 5 and a few picky eaters. Everyone loved this recipe. My two youngest don’t like many veggies, and they both gobbled it up! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It was a hit!
Yummy. I used Jimmy Dean Reg sausage and I had no kale. I thru a few baby carrots in it was pretty salty without salt. So don’t spice til u taste. Great hot keto soup.
Can you cook this soup in a slow cooker or crock pot ?
Hi Isabella: I’m sure there’s a way to make this soup in a slow cooker but I can’t answer with certainty without testing it out first. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out for you.
Great soup! I added cabbage and used Greek yogurt in stead of the cream. Hot sausage for this household and everyone loved it. Next time I’ll try with turkey sausage! I’m keeping this one.
Thank you for your outstanding article
Can I leave the cauliflower in chunks? Can I cook it in a crockpot?
It won’t be as creamy if you leave the cauliflower in chunks. I haven’t tried this soup in a crockpot so I can’t answer with certainty.
This was so good. Used the hot sausage for a kick. The whole family wished there were leftovers! Great use of garden kale. Thanks!!
I made this but I left out the cream cheese and bacon and used spicy Italian sausage. The color is definitely not white but the flavor from the spicy sausage is amazing. I went light on the cauliflower (only because it’s all I had) and wish I had added more to make it even thicker after using the immersion blender. Will definitely make this again.
SO YUMMY! I added some garlic powder and ground sage….delish 🤌🏻
One of my favorites. I go pretty heavy on the hot Italian sausage and leave it in chunks. Lots of kale.
Making this for dinner tonight. I am doing weight watchers and am curious if you have an approximate serving size. I know it says it serves 6. Thanks!
Approximately 1 1/2 cups
Wonderful recipe! Used spicy sausage (fabulous) and I roasted my cauliflower & garlic before tossing into the broth for a rich caramelized flavor. Definitely a 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Soup I’ll make again. Thanks!
Can this be frozen ?
You can try freezing it but normally I do not recommend freezing soup with cream in it as it can separate when reheated.
Fantastic recipe! I used chicken sausage, added a bit of cheddar cheese and artichoke and it’s a big hit!