Light Baked Potato and Cauliflower Soup

I am so glad I have some of this soup in my freezer.  You see, I’m sick again.  I don’t even know how, I usually get sick with a fairly mild cold once or twice a year and that’s it.  This year seems to be so much worse.  Maybe it’s because my son is in Kindergarten, who knows.  Anyways, I am so glad for this soup since everything going down my throat feels like a cheese grater.  Not to mention I’ll be getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth out at once next month.  Maybe I should make more soup… I’m going to need it!  Your suggestions for surviving the aftermath of my wisdom teeth are welcome and appreciated!

Anyways, onto what you’re here for!  This wonderfully creamy, thick, comforting potato soup.  If you’re cringing at the cauliflower in the title, don’t!  While you can taste it, it’s such a mild flavor, and not offensive(unless you really hate cauliflower, in which case maybe stay away).  You can always reduce the amount of cauliflower if you’d like, I just had most of a really large one that needed to be used and I think the soup turned out just perfect 🙂

Look how thick it looks!  Mmm!

Of course, just because the soup is on the lighter side does not mean the toppings are, but remember what I said about toppings 😀  I love a soup that I can pile the toppings on.  In this case, I loooove cheese on top of this soup, but there are plenty of other lighter options too.  I don’t normally do grated cheese on my baked potato but on this soup it’s awesome!

And I’m not going to lie, this soup is actually pretty good without any toppings, just make sure to salt it well enough to bring out all the flavors!  Unfortunately, potatoes need a lot of salt, but don’t forget this makes a huge pot of soup.  For an amazing vegan version of this soup, be sure to use veggie stock.  You could even add a sprig or two of fresh rosemary while it’s cooking and top with green onions or chives.  How good would that be?

I never realized how simple baked potato soup could be,  And I will tell you, you don’t need to butter or flour or milk to make this thick and creamy.  White potatoes have an amazing effect on soup when they’re pureed 🙂  If you’re missing the richness that dairy adds, a small splash of milk in your bowl of soup(since the soup is quite thick) or a tiny bit of butter swirled into your soup wouldn’t be so bad considering I’ve seen recipes that yield the same amount or less with up to 2/3 of a cup of butter!  Crazy right?  This one is incredibly light in comparison, so don’t worry about piling on the toppings that you want!

Top top it off, I used bacon. Here’s how to cook bacon in the oven (but you can use whatever method you prefer!).

Enjoy!

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Lighter Baked Potato and Cauliflower Soup

Author Heidi @ Food Doodles

Servings 8 -10 large servings, approx. 3.5-4 quarts

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large yellow onion sliced
• 1 large stalk celery roughly chopped
• 1 large clove garlic sliced or minced
• 1/2 large head of cauliflower 6-8 C, stem removed and roughly chopped
• 6 C starchy potatoes such as russets, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 C vegetable stock or chicken
• 1 1/4 tsp salt plus more to taste depending on the kind of stock usedToppings:
• Green onions
• Chives
• Grated cheese
• Sour cream
• Black pepper
• Roughly chopped crispy cooked bacon
• Your other favorite baked potato toppings!

Instructions

• In a large pot heat oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and turn the heat down slightly. Saute onions for 5-6 minutes or until softened. Add celery and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook just for a minute.
• Add the cauliflower, potatoes and stock. The stock may not cover the vegetables. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn the soup down to a simmer and place a lid over top and cook for 15-20 minutes until everything is very tender when poked with a fork.
• Remove the soup from the heat and cool slightly if you need to transfer it to a blender in stages until completely smooth. If not, use an immersion blender and blend the soup until as smooth as possible. The soup will be quite thick, add water or stock as desired.
• Serve while hot with your favorite baked potato toppings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 137kcalCarbohydrates: 22.5gProtein: 6gFat: 3gCholesterol: 3.5mgSodium: 490mgFiber: 3.7g

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Inspired by A Cedar Spoon’s Skinny Baked Potato Soup