Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup
36 Comments Dec 14, 2023
Updated Jul 14, 2025
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If you’re looking for a healthy comfort food, this seven-ingredient Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup has the best flavor and is absolutely delicious. It’s smooth, creamy, and a cheese soup everyone is sure to enjoy.
Why this crockpot cauliflower soup recipe works
Making a creamy lower carb soup is super easy with this soup recipe. You’ll combine some of the most commonly used ingredients, dump them into the crock pot, and sit back as the aroma fills your kitchen.
This cheesy cauliflower soup features chopped cauliflower, shredded cheddar cheese, chicken broth, chopped chives (or green onions), crumbled bacon, leeks, heavy cream, and seasonings – and that’s it!
You’ll find this soup super yummy and very versatile when serving. Enjoy it on a busy weeknight or whip up a batch to serve at a weekend potluck. If you love this recipe, you will also like my Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup.
Recipe Ingredients
- Cauliflower: You’ll remove the green leaves, wash, and chop the cauliflower florets before adding it to the slow cooker. It will soften during cooking time, making it easy to turn into creamy cauliflower soup.
- Cheddar Cheese: I highly recommend using block milk or sharp cheddar cheese instead of bagged cheese. It will not melt as well as using a fresh block.
- Chicken Broth: Not only will this add to the creamy texture but also has a nice flavor. Vegetable broth can be use, but beware it does add a different flavor to the soup.
- Heavy Cream: This will be added toward the end right before blending everything together.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and garlic provide the perfect amount of seasoning.
- Serving: Chives, bacon, and additional cheddar cheese can be used to garnish just before serving a bowl of this delicious soup. You can instead use green onion.
- Leeks: Chopped and added for an amazing but not over-powering onion taste. Leeks are in the onion family and add so much flavor to slow cooker recipes.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Cut up a head of cauliflower into big chunks, and slice a leek. Add those to the slow cooker along with garlic, pepper, and chicken broth.
Step Two – Place the lid on the slow cooker and let this cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Step Three – When the cooking time is done, add everything from the slow cooker to a blender. Pulse until smooth. Add this blended mixture back to the slow cooker and then stir in heavy cream and cheddar cheese. You can also use an immersion blender.
Step Four – Top the blended soup with chives, crumbled bacon, and cheese if desired.
How to serve:
- In addition to the crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and chopped green onions, you can also add additional toppings such as sour cream and a dash of hot sauce and cajun seasoning to add a little kick to your crockpot cauliflower soup. Other options to top your soup are croutons, fresh herbs, a touch of olive oil or heavy cream.
- Serve a bowl of this cauliflower cheese soup with a few pieces of crusty bread, especially drizzled with garlic butter. We also love to serve this with Slow Cooker Cornnbread.
- This wonderful soup can also be paired with a salad for a soup and salad combo. Anything from a small side salad to a Caesar salad with the works would taste great. You can even serve with a side of roasted vegetables.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Vegetable broth or vegetable stock would taste great as a substitution.
Simply, pour any leftovers into an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let it cool before storing. Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat. I do not recommend freezing cauliflower soup for the dairy in it does not do well.
Added carrots taste great; however, my favorite way is to add freshly shredded carrots, just before serving.
Yes, frozen cauliflower will work great in this recipe.
Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup
How to Video
Ingredients
- 32 oz. box chicken broth
- 1 head cauliflower cut into chunks, green part discarded
- 1 cup diced leeks, (about 1 leek)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Add at the end:
- 3 cups shredded sharp cheese, freshly shredded (not bagged)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
For Serving:
- salt to taste
- 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- chopped chives
- additional shredded cheese
Instructions
- In a 6-quart slow cooker at the chicken broth, cauliflower, leeks, garlic and pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
- Add everything from the slow cooker in to a blender, cover and pulse until smooth. Add this back to the slow cooker. Add the shredded cheese and cream, stir. Now add salt to taste. I add about a ¼ tsp.
- Serve topped with bacon, cheese and chives.
- Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- Pour any leftovers into an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let it cool before storing. Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat.
- Vegetable broth can be used if you want a vegetarian soup (skip the bacon topping as well).
- This soup does not freeze well; instead, eat it within a few days.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More slow cooker soups:
Nothing beats the comfort of potato classics like Potato Bacon Soup and velvety Potato Cheese Soup.
Enjoy wholesome flavors with Tuscan White Bean Soup or cozy Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup.
For lighter choices, try tangy Dill Pickle Soup or keep calories in check with Weight Loss Soup.
Very good but my cheese didn’t melt. What did I do wrong
Did you use freshly shredded cheese (not bagged)?
Making this this week. Any guesses how it would fare throwing it all in a Vitamix on the soup setting?
It will work well!
Would onions be a good substitute for leeks?
Any kind of onion, shallot or green onion.
I’m making this recipe this weekend. Can’t wait! Just wondering if blending the soup is necessary? I like it chunky
You do not need to blend it! It’s kind of an ugly soup though, you may want to blend half of it.
Can you leave out the leeks?
Yes!
I also roasted the cauliflower and garlic for extra flavor. I also substituted one cup of fontina cheese as one of the three cups of cheddar. Extra yummy on day two.
Can this recipes cook time be cut down and put in an instapot?
I roasted the cauliflower & garlic cloves in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 min 1st to give added flavor. The extra step adds great depth to this already yummy soup.
Great idea!