Who’s been eating healthier for their New Year’s resolution? This Creamy Cauliflower Kale Vegan Soup is wicked healthy and incredibly delicious! In fact, it’s so tasty you’ll want to eat it no matter what your diet (or non-diet) looks like!
A lot of us put on some extra pounds in 2020. For me it started with leaving for school. Not only was I in class during my normal gym time, but I got used to eating things like bread. A whole lot of bread! Partially because I was baking it in class, and partially because toast seemed like the quickest and easiest breakfast to grab on my way out of the door in the morning. I know, excuses, right?!
At school, one of the programs I was taking was Health Supportive Culinary Arts. In class I learned (or had confirmed, rather) that whole grains are important for a healthy diet. So while I don’t believe all carbs are bad (I’m vegan, so I basically only eat carbs, LOL), I have decided I’ve been getting too generous with starches in my diet, and it was due time to pull back on some.
All that being said, it’s wintertime. SOUP WEATHER! One of my faaaavorite winter soups has potatoes, a lot of potatoes. It’s a creamy potato-kale. I was suuuuper tempted to make it. I then remembered, when I was cooking for my friend, Jen, who was on a diet that didn’t allow potatoes, I made her a cauliflower version, which she loved!
This week we’re having a heat wave (it’s med-January and 80° outside!) but it wasn’t quite as toasty out when I made this for the whole family last week. Everyone really loved it. Even my 19 year old son who is in no way worried about his starch intake (or his diet at all for that matter). Because it turned out so good, I decided I must share it with all of you.
Often when we eat out, we have soup as an appetizer. I think for some this makes it hard to know what kind of things to serve with soup when we have it at home. The night I last made this, I accompanied it with a green salad topped with fresh raspberries and orange poppyseed dressing. The leftovers I enjoyed as a lunch with some Air Fryer Tofu. YUM!
I hope you enjoy this soup as we have. Please let me know by leaving a comment below or taking a beautiful GREEN picture of yours and tagging me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
Creamy Cauliflower Kale Vegan Soup
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- olive oil or oil of choice for cooking (substitute water or broth for oil free)
- 2 cups sliced leeks whites and light greens only
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large head cauliflower between 2 – 2 1/4 lb before trimming, or 11 – 12 cups florets
- 9 cups, packed *kale (leaves only, roughly chopped) 1 large bunch should do
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast plus more for topping
- 1 cup unflavored/unsweetened non-dairy milk nut-free is necessary
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp liquid smoke for soy-free or if you avoid liquid smoke, substitute smoked paprika
- 1 – 2 tsp sea salt to taste
- red chili flakes to taste, for topping
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into florets. Set aside.
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Drizzle with oil. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced leeks and sauté until they start to brown, about 3 minutes.
- Stir the garlic in with the leeks and continue to sauté for 30 more seconds.
- Add the broth and cauliflower florets to the pot. Increase heat to high and once boiling, cover with a lid and reduce heat enough to maintain a simmer (about medium-low). Simmer for 10 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.
- Turn off the heat. Add 7 packed cups of the kale leaves to the blender and (working in batches, if necessary) transfer the soup to the blender with the kale. The kale will reduce in size once hot and blended, it’s easiest to start by filling the blender with kale and about 2 cups of soup, blend, and then continue adding more of the broth/cauliflower/leek mixture until all is blended and completely smooth. Return all of the soup to the pot.
- Bring the soup back to a simmer. Stir in the nutritional yeast, non-dairy milk, pepper, paprika, liquid smoke, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, and 1 1/2 packed cups of the kale (you should have about a half of a cup remaining).
- Cover the soup, reduce the heat slightly, and maintain a light simmer for five more minutes. Taste and, if desired, add more salt to taste.
- Top each serving with fresh *kale leaves, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and a pinch of red chili flakes.