We eat a lot of soup around here and I am always trying new recipes. If a soup recipe gets made again it has to be awesome and this Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup is just that – awesome. It’s another recipe that calls for carrot juice – the magical ingredient that makes things taste special. The list of ingredients is fairly short but does include leeks and I keep it simple by buying the frozen ones at Trader Joe’s that have already been cleaned and sliced for me. Love that!
There is no dairy cream in this cream soup – instead cashews are blended with some of the soup liquid and they add a creamy richness that can’t be beat. If you wanted a completely smooth soup you could blend all of it, but we like our soups a little chunky so there is something to bite! This is a recipe from Dr Fuhrman and his soup recipes are some of our favorites – they have so much flavor and are packed with nutrients which also makes them very filling. It’s a win win.
Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup
1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces
1 cup celery, chopped
2 leeks, chopped – I use the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s
2 cloves garlic, minced
No- salt seasoning blend to taste or 2 tablespoons Dr Fuhrmans’ Vegizest seasoning blend – I like the no salt Kirkland seasoning
2 cups carrot juice
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg – freshly grated taste best
1/2 cup raw cashews or 1/4 cup raw cashew butter – I cut this in half from the original recipe and it’s still very creamy
5 cups chopped kale leaves (discard the stems) or baby spinach
Place all ingredients except the cashews and kale in a large soup pot. Cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.
In a food processor or a high powered blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix – blend 2/3 of the soup mixture with the cashews or cashew butter until smooth and creamy. If you are using a food processor or a regular blender – I would soak the cashews in warm water for 30 minutes to soften them, drain and then proceed – they will blend smoother once soaked. Return blended mixture to the soup pot.
Steam kale until tender – if you use spinach it won’t need to be steamed – stir into soup mixture. Heat, eat and enjoy.
Yield: 9 cups – this varies depending on how big the head of cauliflower is.
Serving Size: 1 cup
Nutritional Information
Per Serving: 107 Calories, 4.8 g Protein, 16.5 g Carbohydrates, 3.2g Fat, 113 mg Sodium, 4.4 g Fiber, 723.7 mg Potassium
Recipe adapted from Dr Fuhrman.
This recipe is featured on Healthy Vegan Friday.
Nutmeg Notes
Since we moved to a plant based diet back in March – wow I can’t believe it’s been that long – we have enjoyed trying so many new foods and recipes and that has kept this plant based diet interesting and fun. Not only are the plant based recipes healthy and packed with nutrients but they have amazing taste. I would never have thought that blended cashews could take the place of cream in soups or replace the fat in salad dressings with stellar results. Who would have thought that cooking dried beans in carrot juice would add so much flavor or that carrot juice would make a good base for soup. This way of eating is so satisfying and delicious – it continues to amaze me!
We are seeing a growing movement towards a whole foods plant based diet in our own community. The one and only all vegan restaurant near our neighborhood is doing a booming business. We often have conversations with other diners there about eating a plant based diet. There seems to be a lot of us middle aged folks (as well as the young people) who have made the plunge. We end up swapping information with fellow diners about other restaurants in our area that offer vegan options.
I have recently found a couple other bloggers in my area that are promoting a plant based diet and sharing information about local places to dine. It makes me hopeful that this way of eating is going to become more mainstream and once it does there will be even more choices when dining away from home.
A check of Amazon books shows that new whole foods plant based/vegan cookbooks are on the rise! You can get plant based cookbooks for entertaining, slow cookers, pressure cookers, vegan cheese, pizza, veggie burgers and more. I have bought more than my fair share of these cookbooks. So many recipes – so little time to try them all!
I hope my blog is also a good resource for those of you who want to eat healthy delicious food regardless of weather or not you follow a plant based diet or just want to incorporate a few meatless meals into your menu. Nutmeg Notebook is a labor of love for me. It’s fun to read your comments and when you let me know you and your family enjoyed a recipe you tried from here it fills me with joy!
Thanks for continuing to read and support my choice to move to a whole foods plant based diet!
Happy healthy eating!
Tami
Care to leave a comment?
Do you like cauliflower?
I enjoy all your recipes even though I am not plant based – variety is the spice of life! 🙂
Variety is the Spice of life Jody! 🙂 Thanks for supporting my blog!
Tami, I know how much time and effort it takes to produce your lovely blog. I had a little food blog for a year or so. I loved putting it all together, but when I started a new job, I found I did not have enough time to devote to it. Thank you for all you do to share your food life with us.
On another note, as a most-of-the-time whole foods plant based eater, I feel isolated in my lifestyle. I can log on to my computer and find many “friends” and much information, but I am the odd one in my everyday life. You say you’ve met like-minded people at a vegan restaurant, but do you find your own friends disagreeing with the choice to eat this way as I do? I long for just one of my friends to discuss recipes or cook with me, and even more importantly, to believe in this lifestyle.
Hi Tracy,
I appreciate your kind words about the blog. I have to say that I can relate to feeling a bit isolated in adopting this way of eating. Our friends and family are not plant based eaters. Our daughter does cook some meatless meals weekly for her and her husband so we do get to share recipes with one another which is really nice.
Within our social group there are others who have food restrictions due to food allergies or other health problems. So when we all get together to eat we are used to accommodating different dietary needs which includes – gluten free, dairy free, nut free and now plant based! I usually just try to bring a couple things that are plant based and make enough to share with everyone – they always like what I bring regardless of what food plan they follow. The last time we all got together the hosts made a vegan chili and it was fantastic and enjoyed by all.
Our friends have not been vocal as far as disagreeing with our choice to eat a plant based diet – questioning it of course and asking questions, a little teasing but in a friendly way. It would be easier to have friends who are also eating plant based. I too would enjoy having that kind of support and feeling of kinship. But for now I have to do as you are – reading plant based eating blogs, posting on message boards and plugging away on my blog to get that feeling of not doing this alone.
Feel free to email me anytime if you want to “talk” with someone like minded tami@nutmegnotebook.com 🙂
Another winning soup. So interesting about the cashews. I made an interesting wheat berry waldorf salad I think you would approve of…lol On my blog now. I love you blog!
Thank you Renee and like wise I love your blog as well! I will check out your wheat Berry salad it sounds intriguing!
I eat a ton ton TON of the cauliflower…but all raw 🙂
I need to change it up … for the rest of the family.
This post has motivated me to try this soup! I think my family would like it and it is one I had not tried from his cookbook. We also eat a lot of soups and love how the cashews make soup so very creamy and delicious. I haven’t tried the carrot juice yet though! Is it any different than just cooking carrots in there and pureeing them in the vitamix?
Hi Kim, I think the difference between cooked carrots and carrot juice would be like comparing apples with apple juice, the juice is a more concentrated form of the flavor and of course without the pulp and fiber. I think it would taste a lot different made without the juice. It takes pounds of carrots to make the juice so you wouldn’t be able to use as many fresh carrots in the soup to get the same punch of flavor. I have used carrot juice in many soup recipes and it adds a delicious sweetness! Happy Cooking. 🙂
I love cauliflower and this is now the second time that I’ve seen a blogger say great things about this soup! I really am going to have to try it now!
Hi Shannon, this soup recipe is a good one! Be sure to come back and let me know what you think of it. Happy cooking!
We were not fans of this soup. We didn’t like the texture and thought it was bland. Do you think that I did something wrong? In my opinion, there are a lot of better soup recipes – such as, the “cheesy” kale soup, Chef A.J.’s split pea soup in a pressure cooker, tomato bisque, etc. What are your favorite soups?
I don’t know that you did something wrong with the soup recipe – we all have different tastes and like different things. I know I have made some recipes that were highly rated and liked by many people but I didn’t care for them. I haven’t made the cheesy kale soup but it’s going on my list of soups to try. My favorite soup recipes are here on the blog, http://nutmegnotebook.com/2013/10/winter-vegetable-soup/, http://nutmegnotebook.com/2013/10/curried-split-pea-soup-pressure-cooker-or-slow-cooker/, http://nutmegnotebook.com/2013/10/african-quinoa-peanut-stew/,http://nutmegnotebook.com/2013/09/split-pea-yam-soup/, http://nutmegnotebook.com/2013/09/red-lentil-chili-unprocessedcookbook-winner-announced/, http://nutmegnotebook.com/2013/01/vegetarian-black-bean-soy-chorizo-chili-wwpp-6/ I also really like Fuhrman’s Anti Cancer Soup recipe. Happy Cooking!
I have Dr. Fuhrman’s book on my Kindle, but I haven’t tried many of the recipes. I’ll really have to change that! We do eat a lot of vegetables and only eat meat a few times a week (still more than he recommends however).
I love cashews in soups, salad dressings, as a soft “cheese,” and in sweet frostings and creams. They are pretty magical if you ask me! 🙂
I love cauliflower, and I often make mashed cauliflower. It’s such a nice base for so many dishes.
BTW, while I don’t cook meat very often, we absolutely love your slow cooker beef stew recipe. I only make it once in a while, and we always eat it as a side alongside a big serving of veggies. I know my husband would love for me to make it more often though… 🙂
Good to know you enjoy the slow cooker recipe. What a great idea to use it more as a side dish, I wouldn’t have thought to do that! I learn so much from my internet friends.
Tami,
This soup looks amazing! You always, always, always have such great recipes and a very calm way of presenting your views. I love stopping by to visit!
Thank you Mary – you made my day! Happy Thanksgiving to you. 🙂
I just found your blog today and made this soup for tonight’s dinner. It very tasty as well as very filling! I did add a teaspoon of salt to the recipe for a little more flavor. My kids weren’t crazy about the soup but they did eat it. I have alot leftover so I’m planning on freezing some to bring to work for future lunches! I’ve always loved veggies but I’m trying to a more plant based diet overall. Recently read Vegan Before 6 by Mark Bittman and am trying to incorporate this plan into my routine so have been searching for some easy vegan recipes. And I have to say, I was surprised how easy this recipe was!
Hi Emily! Thank you for the feedback on this recipe. It’s one of my favorite soups – easy and delicious. I have found that it freezes well and reheats easily. I’m impressed that your children ate it as well. I am also fairly new to a plant based diet and learning along the way.
I read about Mark Bittman’s Vegan before 6 plan. It sounds like it’s very workable. Watch for a post soon about my favorite plant based meals!
Wishing you all the best.
Happy Cooking!
Tami