When I was little, as temperatures dropped and fall took hold in the St. Croix river valley of Minnesota, my mother frequently made cauliflower soup — it was delicious, yet incredibly simple. She used milk to create creaminess in her soup, but when considering my new riff on that comforting childhood staple, I decided to make mine dairy-free. While there are a number of ways to make a creamy dairy-free soup, I opted to use squash and this cauliflower squash soup was born!
Squash is a perfect way to enrich soup without adding the unnecessary potential allergens found in dairy. The sunshine kabocha squash is one of my favorite squash varieties. It’s rich in flavor, has a velvety smooth texture, and is vibrantly orange in color, indicating its high beta-carotene and vitamin C content. Roasting the squash and cauliflower caramelizes naturally occurring sugars which adds a decadent dimension to this simple soup. If you’d like to impart tang and a little extra creaminess to the finished soup, add in a swirl of vegan sour cream or crème fraîche to each bowl.
- 1 medium sunshine kabocha squash
- 1 head medium (5-6" dia.) cauliflower
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 Tbl avocado oil
- 2 Tbl coconut oil
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- Cut the squash in half, length-wise and scoop out the seeds and veins. Place each squash half face down on a baking sheet (you can use a piece of parchment paper if you'd like cleanup to be easier). Place in oven and roast for 60 minutes or until all flesh is easily pierced with a fork.
- Cut the cauliflower head into florets and toss with avocado oil, salt and pepper. Place florets onto a baking sheet and place in the oven with the cauliflower. Roast for 45 minutes or until cauliflower starts to get golden brown.
- Nearing the end of the roasting time, dice the yellow onion.
- Place a large soup pot onto the range on medium to medium-high heat and add the coconut oil.
- When the coconut oil is shimmering and hot, add the onion. Sautée for 5 minutes of until the onions are translucent.
- Scoop the meat out of the squash and add to the sautéed onions.
- Add the roasted cauliflower to the onions and squash. Stir to incorporate.
- Add 8 cups of vegetable broth and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.
- After the soup simmers, working in batches put soup into a blender (with a vent) or a food processor and purée until creamy.
- Add puréed soup back to pot and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Serve in bowls with dairy free vegan sour cream or crème fraîche.
*Not all calories are equal.