Instant Pot (or Stovetop) Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup (Video)

Instant Pot Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup is a soup recipe I make over and over, and this tasty soup is also Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free, and can be South Beach Diet friendly. Use the Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

Click here to PIN Instant Pot Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup.

Watch the video to see if you’d like to make Instant Pot Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup!

Even though I try to share lots of Low-Carb Super Bowl Recipes, I know some of you definitely had some carb-loaded foods while you were watching the game, am I right? Personally I find special occasions like that to be the hardest time to practice carb-conscious eating, and my family is (cough) not known for bringing low-carb options when I’m hosting either, which I was yesterday.

So if you’re thinking about getting back on track today, I have a real treat for you. This Instant Pot Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup was absolutely amazing; I promise you that no one will think about low-carb diets while they’re eating this soup.

Kara and I created this recipe just last week, but I couldn’t wait to share it with you! We started by looking at my recipe for Low-Carb Cauliflower and Mushroom Pressure Cooker Soup with Parmesan and just adapted it into a creamy cauliflower soup topped with cheese, sour cream, bacon, and sliced green onions.

Our only regret was that we hadn’t made a bigger batch, and even with the 6 quart Instant Pot that I have, you could definitely double the recipe for Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup if you’d like. And of course you can use a stovetop pressure cooker or another Electric Pressure Cooker if that’s what you have. For those who haven’t caught the Instant Pot fever just yet, I’m going to give stovetop direction as well, because this soup would be super simple to make on the stove.

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Chop up the onion and the cauliflower. Melt butter or heat oil in the instant pot on the SAUTE setting and cook onions for 2-3 minutes. Then add the chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic powder, and salt. Lock the lid, use the MANUAL setting and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure. While the soup cooks, prepare the cream cheese cubes, grated sharp cheddar, and half and half, as well as the additional cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions for toppings.

Turn the Instant Pot to KEEP WARM setting and use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency. Check to see if you want to add a little more chicken stock to thin the soup (or reduce the liquid on the SAUTE setting if it’s too thin). Add the cheese and cream cheese, let it melt, and stir to combine. Then stir in the half and half, heat through, and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (Taste before you add more salt.)

Serve Instant Pot Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup hot with grated cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions to add at the table.

More Low-Carb Soup Recipes:

The BEST Low-Carb Instant Pot Soup Recipes
Instant Pot Low-Carb Goulash Soup with Ground Beef and Peppers
The Top Ten Low-Carb Soup Recipes on Kalyn’s Kitchen
Instant Pot Low-Carb Soup with Ground Beef, Green Beans, and Tomatoes
50 AMAZING Low-Carb Instant Pot Soup Recipes!

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Print Recipe

Instant Pot (or Stovetop) Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Soup 

Yield: 4 large or 6 smaller servings

Total Time: 25-30 minutes

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

Cook Time: 5 min HIGH pressure, plus time to come to pressure

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, chopped small
• 2 T butter or olive oil
• 1 large head of cauliflower, leaves and stem removed and the rest coarsely chopped. (About 7-8 cups chopped cauliflower. You can use the core.)
• 3 cups (24 oz.) chicken stock (I would use flavorful homemade chicken stock, or chicken stock from a carton) plus a little more to thin soup if needed
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 cup grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese (We used a mix of cheeses, but next time Kara and I agreed we would use mostly extra sharp cheddar.)
• 1/2 cup half and half, cream, or milk

Topping Ingredients:

• extra grated sharp cheddar or extra sharp cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• 8-10 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled (We used pre-cooked bacon and cooked it in the microwave.)
• thinly sliced green onions

Directions:

1. Peel onion and chop into small pieces. Cut away the leaves of the cauliflower and some of the stem, keeping the core part. Coarsely chop cauliflower into pieces.
2. Turn Instant Pot or pressure cooker to SAUTE and melt the butter; then add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes. Then add the chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic powder, and salt. Lock the lid, use the MANUAL setting and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure.
3. While the soup cooks, prepare the cream cheese cubes, grated sharp cheddar, and half and half. Also cook and crumble the bacon, dish up sour some sour cream and extra grated cheese, and slice the green onions for toppings. (I used pre-cooked bacon that I crisped in the microwave and blotted off the extra fat.)
4. Check to make sure the cauliflower is very tender; then turn the Instant Pot to KEEP WARM (use simmer or low for other pressure cookers.)  Use an immersion blender, blender, or food processor to puree the soup. (I highly recommend using an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pressure cooker if you have one. Be very careful with the hot liquid if you remove it to a blender or food processor to puree.) Check the thickness of the soup and add more stock if you want it thinner or simmer a little to reduce if it seems too thin.
5. Add the grated cheese and cream cheese cubes and let them melt, then stir to combine. Add the half and half, heat through, and season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (Taste before you add more salt.) Serve hot, with grated cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and green onion to add at the table

Stovetop Directions:

1. Prepare ingredients as described above, but use 3 1/2 cups chicken stock for stovetop version. Use a heavy dutch-oven type pan that will hold all the ingredients.
2. Heat butter or oil in the dutch oven, add the onion, cook 2-3 minutes. Then add the chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer until the cauliflower is very soft, probably 20-30 minutes. Puree soup as above, and check the amount of liquid. If it’s too thick add a little more stock and if it seems thin, cook a few minutes more to evaporate some of the liquid.
3. Turn heat to low, add the grated cheese and cream cheese cubes and let them melt, then stir to combine. Add the half and half, heat through, and season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (Taste before you add more salt.) Serve hot, with grated cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and green onion to add at the table.

Notes:

Equipment: I made this soup in my 6 quart Instant Pot but of course you can use another Electric Pressure Cooker or a stovetop pressure cooker if that’s what you have. And look at the end of the recipe if you’d prefer to just make the soup in a pan on the stove.

This recipe was created by Kalyn and Kara, after reviewing my recipe for Low-Carb Cauliflower and Mushroom Pressure Cooker Soup with Parmesan.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup is great for low-carb or low-glycemic diets. However if you’re strictly following the South Beach Diet you’ll want to use lower-fat dairy products, use olive oil instead of butter, and maybe limit the amount of bacon or use turkey bacon.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. Or Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.