Mac and Cheese Cauliflower Soup

Scarlett and I have been creating a lot of recipes lately. It’s likely the fact we have so much more time at home and because we’ve gotten sick of a lot of our regular dishes. I guess that’s what an abundance of cooking at home will do to you when it’s a global pandemic.

The bright side of all this time in the kitchen is this soup. It was a whim that I added the pasta. It was some extra stashed away in the fridge and Scarlett suggested we toss it in. After a few days of big carbs dishes, we laughed that it was our way of making the soup more like the Mac and cheese we’d just binged ourselves on for a few days. It’s made a great companion for Scarlett to take to school for her lunches. And it made an even better cold, Winter night dinner.

Mac and Cheese Cauliflower Soup

Makes: 6-8 servings

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsps unsalted butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme, extra for garnish
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 cups cooked pasta
• 1 3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

 

• Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until they start softening, about 4 minutes.
• Add the cauliflower, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the cauliflower starts browning, 5 minutes.
• Stir in the flour until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and milk; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer until the cauliflower is tender, 25 – 30 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth or, working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree.
• Return the soup to the pot over medium heat. Stir in the cheese until melted; add up to 1 cup water if the soup is too thick.
• Stir in the cooked pasta. Serve with more fresh thyme.