Creamy Cauliflower Lentil Soup – Bites of Wellness

Cauliflower and lentil soup is thick, creamy and so comforting. This one pot curry lentil cauliflower soup is prepared in below half-hour and makes use of largely pantry staples. Excellent for weeknight meals, wholesome meal prep and even as a freezer meal.

The mix of cauliflower and pink lentils makes the creamiest soup with out the necessity for any cream or dairy.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Straightforward to make
• One pot meal
• Could be made upfront
• Nice for meal prep
• Vegan, gluten free, dairy free
• Wealthy and creamy
• Consolation meals
• Filling (filled with fiber and protein)
• Funds pleasant

Elements

• Onion – onions are at all times an important base for soup. I used a yellow onion however white or pink onions would additionally work properly. Remember to allow them to sweat a bit so that they aren’t crunchy within the soup/
• Carrots – carrots present a pure sweetness that pairs properly with the smoky flavors from the spices. It helps to steadiness out all of the flavors and in addition provides the soup a gorgeous orange hue.
• Spices: Salt, curry powder, garlic powder, turmeric, floor cumin – these create a very wealthy deep taste that’s smoky, spicy and so fragrant. The curry powder and turmeric additionally give the soup a very distinct yellow/orange hue. Word that there are various several types of curry powder, you’ll want to use one you’re keen on for the very best taste.
• Cauliflower – use a head of cauliflower florets, bagged cauliflower florets and even frozen. cauliflower on this recipe. Simply you’ll want to minimize it down into small items so it cooks rapidly.
• Vegetable broth + water – the vegetable broth provides a lot depth to the soup. Vegetable broth is my go to means of constructing a 20-30 minute soup style prefer it’s been on the range a lot longer. You might additionally use hen broth.
• Tomato paste – the tomato paste provides only a little bit of that wealthy tomato taste, which provides umami and helps to steadiness out the spices completely.
• Pink lentils – break up pink lentils prepare dinner so rapidly and are excellent for soup. They get mushy and when blended assist create an excellent thick soup. If wanted, you need to use inexperienced (or brown) lentils, simply add 5-7 minutes to the cooking time.
• Dairy free milk – I used cashew milk (Elmherst model) however you might additionally use canned coconut milk or your favourite dairy free milk. Ensure it’s unsweetened and doesn’t have any added flavors.
• Frozen spinach – I really like so as to add as many greens as I can to a soup and I additionally love the pop of inexperienced in an in any other case yellow/orange soup. You might additionally use contemporary child spinach or frozen kale or just omit it from the recipe.

How one can make cauliflower lentil soup

Prep the veggies: Chop the onion, slice the carrot and minimize the cauliflower into small items. Tip: To save lots of time with this step, chop the onion and carrot within the meals processor.

Sauté the onion and carrot: Cook dinner the onion and carrot in a preheated pot over medium warmth for five minutes. Remember to spray the pot with avocado oil or olive oil or add a little bit of oil to the pot earlier than sweating the veggies. Stir commonly.

Add the spices and cauliflower to the pot, stir properly. You wish to get the veggies coated within the spices and provides the spices a minute to toast.

Add the vegetable broth, water, tomato paste to the pot and stir properly. Scrape the underside of the pot to make sure that the spices don’t burn.

Wash the lentils properly in a mesh strainer. Add lentils to the pot, flip the warmth as much as excessive and canopy. Set a timer for quarter-hour.

Stir the soup typically. As soon as the soup is boiling, crack the lid in order that the liquid doesn’t overflow within the pot. The lentils will wish to follow the underside, so stir properly each couple of minutes.

As soon as the lentils are cooked and cauliflower is comfortable, mix the soup with an immersion blender (or fastidiously switch it to a blender and mix in batches).

After the soup has reached your required consistency, add the dairy free milk and frozen spinach. Stir properly to mix, then serve sizzling.

Prime suggestions

• Use contemporary or frozen cauliflower. Simply you’ll want to minimize down any massive cauliflower florets (contemporary or frozen) in order that the cauliflower cooks evenly on the range. You might even use frozen cauliflower rice (about 2 baggage)
• Function is or add some rice or quinoa to serve extra like cauliflower lentil curry.
• To make prep as fast as doable, you’ll be able to chop the onion and carrots in a meals processor and use bagged contemporary or frozen cauliflower florets (chop them down into small chew measurement items so that they prepare dinner rapidly).
• Use contemporary spices: For the very best taste, guarantee your spices are lower than 1 yr outdated and preserve them in a properly sealed container. Additionally you’ll want to examine the elements in your spices, you need a lot of the elements to be spices, not maltodextrin or different fillers that don’t’ add to the style.
• Curry powder and turmeric can stain issues like linens, wooden spoons and a few counter tops so watch out when mixing and stirring the soup.
• Don’t love pureed soup? Solely mix 1/4 to 1/2 of the soup for a thick, chunky soup as a substitute of a totally blended soup.

Extra elements

• Veggies: Add in chopped celery, pink bell peppers, zucchini with carrots and onions
• Contemporary grated ginger
• Contemporary chopped garlic
• Chili flakes or cayenne pepper for spice
• Lime juice on the finish for a pop of freshness

Cauliflower pink lentil soup toppings

• Contemporary cilantro
• Sliced avocado
• Crispy air fryer chickpeas
• Do-it-yourself gluten free croutons (made within the air fryer)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Yogurt
• Coconut milk or cashew cream for topping

Frequent questions

Are you able to make this soup within the on the spot pot?

Sure, making pink lentil cauliflower soup within the on the spot pot is an effective way to arrange this if you wish to be extra arms off through the cooking time. Listed below are the steps:

• Saute the onions and carrots as written (4-5 minutes). Flip off saute and add spices, stir properly. Add 1/2 cup of broth and scrape down the underside of the pot (or you’re going to get a burn discover).
• Add the cauliflower, lentils, the remainder of the broth, water and tomato paste and stir properly.
• Cook dinner for 3 minutes excessive stress. After cooking, let the soup naturally launch stress for 10 minutes earlier than manually releasing stress (or you’ll be able to let it naturally launch on it’s personal).
• Mix the soup, add dairy free milk and frozen spinach and serve sizzling.

What’s the finest type of curry powder to make use of?

I’ve examined this recipe with 3 totally different curry powders, all of them turned out scrumptious. I used a generic “curry powder” from Dealer Joe’s, Mochi Curry (my absolute favourite) and Madras curry powder. No matter you’ve gotten available will work nice on this recipe. Some are extra spicy than others.

Are you able to substitute inexperienced lentils?

Inexperienced lentils take longer to prepare dinner than pink lentils, so the soup would wish to boil on the range for a couple of additional minutes (5-7 minutes or so).

Are you able to make this with different beans?

When you don’t have lentils or can’t tolerate lentils, you may make this recipe with canned beans (cannellini or nice northern white beans can be very best). Use 2 cans of beans, rinsed and drained and omit the water from this recipe.

Storing leftovers

• Fridge: This curry lentil cauliflower soup is simply pretty much as good the subsequent day and is nice as a make forward meal. Merely retailer in a hermetic container for as much as 5 days within the fridge.
• Freezer: This soup freezes properly and can be nice for freezer prep. Enable the soup to chill earlier than transferring to a freezer secure bag or container for as much as 3 months. I personally use Souper Cubes to portion out single serving parts of soup. As soon as frozen within the silicone molds, I come out the frozen dice of soup and switch it to a freezer secure bag for long run storage.
  • Defrost earlier than reheating or add frozen soup to a pot, cowl with a lid and reheat over low to medium low warmth till the soup is warmed by.

When you love lentil soup, it’s best to attempt