What I love about Vegan Curried Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Chickpeas
I’ll eat just about anything with curry in it, so naturally, I’m loving this Vegan Curried Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Chickpeas! In fact, curry is a staple in our kitchen—we use it almost every week. That’s why this blended soup quickly became a favorite. It’s flavourful, creamy, healthy, and absolutely delicious. Plus, the crispy chickpeas on top add the perfect touch of protein and crunch, which takes it to the next level.
Moreover, this soup is perfect for chilly days when you need something warm and comforting. It’s especially satisfying during the colder months—sometimes a hot bowl of soup really is just what the doctor ordered. Not only is it a cozy soup, but it’s loaded with healthy ingredients!
Nutritionally speaking, this dish checks a lot of boxes. Not only is it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and low-carb, but it’s also genuinely good for you. That’s because it’s loaded with cauliflower, which is considered a superfood. As a cruciferous vegetable, cauliflower is packed with essential nutrients and has cancer-fighting properties as well.
Personally, I try to include cauliflower in my meals regularly, and soup makes it incredibly easy to do so. Even if you’re not typically a fan of cauliflower, I’d still encourage you to give this recipe a try. Thanks to the bold curry flavour, you might not even notice the cauliflower—but you’ll definitely enjoy the taste!
Recipe Notes
A few things to keep in mind:
- Ginger – You can use fresh ginger or a store-bought ginger paste. If you’re really in a pinch, you could substitute with ground ginger spice, but of course fresh is always best.
- Lemon juice – Lemon juice adds a good balance of acidity to the soup. It might seem like an unimportant ingredient, but you’d really notice if it weren’t there!
- Cilantro – Don’t skip on the fresh cilantro! It really brings this recipe home. The flavour is distinct and adds another level of depth when it comes to flavour.
- Chickpeas – Canned chickpeas work great for this recipe. They are super easy to roast. Make sure you drain and rinse them before drying between the towels so that there is no slimy coating on them. This will help the oil to adhere better.
FAQ
Yes! Frozen cauliflower works just as well. You will need about 8 cups frozen cauliflower florets in this case to equal the amount produced from one medium-large sized head of cauliflower.
No, the soup is very mild. For the chickpeas though, if you are adding the optional Kashmiri chilli powder, this will add a little heat. Simply omit this spice if you would like the chickpeas to be more mild as well.
Absolutely! Both the soup and crispy chickpeas can be made ahead. Store the soup in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Keep chickpeas separate in an air-tight container until serving so they stay crisp.
Yes! For the soup, follow steps 1-5 as directed in the recipe card but cook in the instant pot on sauté mode instead of on the stovetop. At step 5, instead of simmering 10 minutes, put the lid on and adjust to High Pressure mode and set the time for 6 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 3-5 minutes and then do a quick release. Continue with steps 6 through 8.
The chickpeas will have to be done separately using the oven as directed.
Vegan Curried Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Chickpeas
Equipment
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 High-Powered Blender or Immersion Blender
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 medium/large-sized head cauliflower washed
- avocado oil for cooking
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger root grated
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 400ml can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 lemon juiced
- fresh cilantro for serving
For the crispy chickpeas:
- 1 398ml can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/8 tsp kashmiri chilli powder *optional
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
For the crispy chickpeas:
- Preheat the oven to 375F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Lay down a dish towel and spread the rinsed and drained chickpeas on top in a single layer. Place another dish towel on top and shake them to dry them as much as possible. Remove any loose skins.
- In a small bowl, toss the chickpeas with olive oil, curry powder, chilli power (if using) and salt and pepper until fully coated.
- Spread the chickpeas onto the prepared baking sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, wiggling the pan once halfway through.
- Remove the pan from the oven to cool. They will crisp up more as they cool.
For the curried cauliflower soup:
- Trim the cauliflower, discarding the core, and chop into bite-sized florets. Set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a large pot over low-medium heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger, sautéing for 1-2 minutes until softened.
- Add the cauliflower florets to the pot and toss them around to coat, cooking for a further minute.
- Sprinkle in the curry powder, garam masala and salt and pepper and stir to coat everything, cooking for one more minute.
- Pour in the vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn down to heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pulverize the soup with a hand blender or blender until completely smooth and no chunks remain.
- Stir in the coconut milk and lemon juice until combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with fresh cilantro and crispy chickpeas. Enjoy!
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