Loaded "Baked Potato" Cauliflower Soup
Creamy cauliflower soup with all the baked-potato fixings: sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, sour cream and chives.
Nutrition per serving
1¼ cups- Net carbs
- 7.1g
- Calories
- 327kcal
- Protein
- 14g
- Fat
- 27g
- Total carbs
- 9.4 g
- Fiber
- 2.2 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Vegetarian: Vegetable broth, no bacon, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika to bring back some of the smokiness.
- Skip the bacon: melt the butter in the pot and soften the onion in it. Add the smoked paprika with the garlic and use vegetable broth.
- Top the bowls with cheddar, sour cream, chives and an extra pinch of smoked paprika.
Jalapeño popper: Diced jalapeños cooked with the onion and cream cheese melted into the broth — the much-loved jalapeño popper soup.
- Cook the jalapeños with the onion. Melt the cream cheese into the blended soup along with the cream, before adding the cheddar.
Ham & cheddar: Diced ham in place of the bacon makes a ham and "potato" soup — a good use for leftover holiday ham.
- Skip the bacon. Melt the butter, sear the ham for 3–4 minutes until lightly browned, then lift it out and cook the onion.
- Stir most of the ham into the blended soup with the cheese and use the rest as a topping. Taste before salting — ham is salty.
- Soup
- To serve
- Soup
-
6 slices baconleave out - To serve
- Also add
- Soup
- To serve
- Also add
- Soup
- To serve
Estimated cost $11.86 for 6 servings ($1.98 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, 6–8 minutes. Drain on paper towels, crumble when cool, and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
-
Add the butter and onion to the pot and cook 4–5 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
-
Add the cauliflower and broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 15–18 minutes until the florets are very tender and break apart easily with a spoon.
-
Blend with an immersion blender until smooth — or, for a chunkier baked-potato texture, blend only half and mash the rest with a potato masher.
-
Over low heat, stir in the cream and 1 cup of the cheddar until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and don't let it boil once the cheese is in.
-
Ladle into bowls and top each with the remaining cheddar, the bacon, a spoonful of sour cream and chives.
Tips for success
-
Simmer until the cauliflower is truly soft. Undercooked florets blend into a grainy soup with a cabbage-like edge. - If the soup is thicker than you like, thin it with a splash of broth; if it's thinner, simmer uncovered for a few minutes before adding the cheese.
- Love these flavors? Try creamy cauliflower mash and cauliflower au gratin too.
Nice to have, not needed
- An immersion blender purées the soup right in the pot — a countertop blender works in batches with the lid vented.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Reheat gently over low heat, stirring, and add the toppings after.
Prep tip: Keep the bacon, cheddar and sour cream in separate small containers so each bowl tastes freshly loaded.
Refrigerate without the toppings up to 4 days and reheat gently. Freezing can make cheese soups grainy, so it's best enjoyed fresh.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosVegetarian
DietVegetable broth, no bacon, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika to bring back some of the smokiness.
- chicken broth → vegetable broth
- + 1 tsp smoked paprika
- no bacon
7.8 g net · 279 kcal · 10 g protein · 23 g fat · ≈$1.85 per serving (+0.7 g net carbs vs the original)
Jalapeño popper
FlavorDiced jalapeños cooked with the onion and cream cheese melted into the broth — the much-loved jalapeño popper soup.
- + 4 jalapeños
- + 4 oz cream cheese
8.5 g net · 395 kcal · 15 g protein · 33 g fat · ≈$2.22 per serving (+1.4 g net carbs vs the original)
Ham & cheddar
ProteinDiced ham in place of the bacon makes a ham and "potato" soup — a good use for leftover holiday ham.
- bacon → cooked ham
7.8 g net · 342 kcal · 17 g protein · 27 g fat · ≈$2.28 per serving (+0.7 g net carbs vs the original)
Save it for later
Pin this recipe to your keto board so it’s there when you plan next week.
Save to Pinterest
