My Loaded Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup is thick, creamy, and tastes just like my favorite potato soup. We start with bacon for loads of flavor, cream cheese for some body, and then we top it all off with cheddar, bacon, and green onions. This cauliflower ‘potato’ soup will go on repeat in your house!
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Look, I know cauliflower isn’t a perfect potato replacement. It’s not starchy, it smells different, and it definitely doesn’t taste exactly the same. But when you cook it right? It comes really close.
This Instant Pot loaded cauliflower soup is basically all my favorite things about potato soup (thick, creamy, loaded with bacon and cheddar) without the carbs. The secret is cooking the bacon right in the Instant Pot so all those drippings flavor the soup, then blending everything until it’s impossibly smooth before stirring in the cream cheese and cheddar.
The result is a soup so creamy and satisfying that I actually fooled one of my kids. They devoured it before asking what was in it. (I count that as a parenting win.)
This is an Instant Pot recipe, which means it’s pretty quick and simple. Clean up is easy since everything cooks in the pot (even the bacon!) and it cooks quickly (5 minutes of pressure cooking!) and it turns out so silky smooth and delicious.
You’ll find me dipping a garlic bread chaffle or cauliflower breadstick in this one all winter long.
♥ 3 Reasons You’ll Love This Cauliflower Soup:
Everything cooks in one pot. Even the bacon gets cooked right in the Instant Pot, which means minimal cleanup and maximum flavor since all those bacon drippings stay in the soup.
It actually tastes like potato soup. I’m not going to lie and say cauliflower is exactly like potatoes, but when you blend it with cream cheese, cheddar, and cream until it’s silky smooth? One of my kids couldn’t even tell the difference.
Ready in under an hour. Just 5 minutes of pressure cooking does all the heavy lifting. The rest is just waiting for the pot to pressurize and adding the cheese at the end.
Ingredients, Swaps & Tips:
Cauliflower – You’ll need one large head of cauliflower cut into florets. You could use frozen cauliflower here, but we almost always prefer fresh.
Dairy – Cream cheese for body, shredded cheddar for flavor, and heavy cream to bring it all together. This is not the time to skimp on dairy.
Broth – Homemade or store bought broth work well here. A good quality broth is the way to go for the best flavor!
Soup Toppings – We love to add crumbled bacon to our cauliflower soup! Not only is it a great topping, but you can cook the bacon in the Instant Pot and use all that wonderful bacon grease in the soup for more flavor. We also like to add some shredded cheese and green onion. A dollop of sour cream is also tasty.
Consistency – If the loaded cauliflower soup isn’t thick enough for your taste the simplest way to thicken it would be to stir in more shredded cheese.
Special Tools Needed:
Instant Pot: We really love our Instant Pot. I use it weekly to make boiled eggs and they cook so quickly and the shells just slip right off with no effort at all. We have this Instant Pot and it works great for our family of four.
Check out all of my low carb Instant Pot recipes.
Immersion Blender: We have a regular countertop blender, but I find myself using our immersion blender so much more often. It’s budget friendly, easy to store in a drawer so it doesn’t take up valuable counter space, and it works great for everything from whipping egg whites to pureeing soup. The exact model we use is no longer available, but this one gets great reviews!
Make It on the Stove!
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, but still want to try our cauliflower soup, you can definitely do this one on the stove!
Cook the bacon in a dutch oven, then follow the same steps through adding the cauliflower. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is very tender, then pick up at the blending step.
Storage:
Fridge life – Keeps covered for 3-4 days. Fair warning though – the cream cheese and liquid can separate a bit when you reheat it. Just heat it up and whisk well to bring it back together. It’s still delicious, just needs a little encouragement.
Freezer friendly – This freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely before transferring to freezer-safe containers. Wait to add the bacon and toppings until after reheating.
Reheating – Microwave works fine, or reheat gently on the stove over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally. If it looks broken, just keep whisking – it’ll come back together.
Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon diced
- ½ medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large head cauliflower cut into florets
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
- Green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute and add the bacon to the pot. Cook until crisp and then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Add the onion to the bacon grease and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onions have softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the chicken broth to the pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cauliflower to the pot.
- Place the lid on the pot and set to the sealing position. Set the Instant Pot to manual and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the cauliflower. Alternately, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender and blend until smooth, working in batches if needed.
- Warm the cream cheese in the microwave until it’s very soft and nearly melted. Stir in the cauliflower until smooth. Add the cream and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and continue stirring until smooth and creamy.
- Add salt and pepper, taste, and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Ladle into serving bowls and top with the cooked bacon, remaining cheddar, and green onions.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Marcia Little says
Oh Lordy sweetheart, you just made my day. Must now go to grocery store, I don’t have any more cauliflower, I like cauliflower, thankfully, but I love turnips…I wonder, hide and watch, I’ll make it both ways, lol.
Jennifer Wienke says
I have made this so many times and its a staple when the cooler weather kicks in. One deviation I did was smoked gouda – it gave an amazing flavor. Also its notable that I cannot stand cauliflower, it truly taste like baked potato soup.
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you enjoy this one! I bet it’s great with smoked gouda!
Christine says
Is there a version that you can do stove top? I had a local markets one but i knew i had to search your site for the BESTone, please,please say you do!!!!
Karly Campbell says
Hi Christine! The notes section in the recipe card includes stove top instructions. 🙂
Christine says
Omg, i am so sorry for wasting your time!!! I didn’t even notice that. Can’t wait to get cooking
Sandi Posey says
I blended it in the blender as suggested until creamy and smooth and it not only thickened but also took care of the separation issue. It was amazing!! I used 2 bags of chopped frozen cauliflower.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed it, Sandi!
Kyle says
This came out great for me, though it wasn’t as thick as I would have liked. I think I probably needed more cauliflower. My wife devoured this though!
Emily says
I’m excited to try this recipe! Does it reheat well? If not, do you have any suggestions? I’m planning to meal prep and I’d love to know your opinion.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Emily! It should reheat okay, though the cream cheese and liquid does separate a bit. We heat it up and whisk well to get it back together. 🙂