Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup (Video)

Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup is a recipe you’ll make over and over, and this cauliflower soup is a hit with everyone! In fact, even people who “don’t like cauliflower” have gobbled this up and asked for more!

PIN Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup to try it later!

Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup is an amazing dinner idea when it’s cold outside and you want a treat that won’t remotely make you think about carbs! And even people who are normally cauliflower avoiders will enjoy this delicious low-carb soup!

When I created this recipe with my niece Kara, we absolutely could not wait to share it with you! And now it’s several years later and this recipe has turned into one of the most popular recipes ever on Kalyn’s Kitchen! And both Kara and I still make it regularly, so today I’m reminding you about this tasty soup for Friday Favorites. And it’s just in time for serious soup weather, are you ready for that?

What ingredients do you need for this soup?

• onion
• butter or olive oil
• large head of cauliflower
• chicken stock or broth
• garlic powder
• kosher salt
• cream cheese
• grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
• half and half (or use heavy cream or milk if you prefer)
• more grated sharp cheddar or extra sharp cheddar cheese for topping (optional)
• sour cream for topping (optional)
• crumbled crisp bacon for topping (optional)
• sliced green onions for topping (optional)

Why is it called Loaded Cauliflower Soup?

The word “loaded” in the name of the soup refers to loaded baked potatoes, and this cauliflower soup is topped with optional cheese, bacon, sour cream, and green onions like the loaded potatoes are.

Want more tasty cauliflower soup recipes?

Check out Keto Cauliflower Soup Recipes for lots more ideas for delicious soups that use cauliflower or cauliflower rice!

What size Instant Pot did I use?

We made the soup in my  6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) and our only regret was that we hadn’t made a bigger batch. If you have an 8 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) you could double the recipe for Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Can you make this Loaded Cauliflower Soup without an Instant Pot?

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.

Love Your Instant Pot?

Check out my growing collection of Instant Pot Recipes! You might also be interested in Low-Carb and Keto Instant Pot Soups on Kalyn’s Kitchen or 50 Low-Carb Instant Pot Soup Recipes on my other site.

How to Make Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Chop up the onion and the cauliflower.
2. Melt butter or heat oil in the instant pot on the SAUTE setting and cook onions for 2-3 minutes.
3. Then add the chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic powder, and salt.
4. Lock the lid, use the MANUAL setting and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure.
5. While the soup cooks, prepare the cream cheese cubes, grated sharp cheddar, and cream (or use milk or half and half), as well as the additional cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions for toppings.
6. Turn the Instant Pot to KEEP WARM setting and use an immersion blender (affiliate link) to puree the soup to your desired consistency.
7. 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).
8. Add the cheese and cream cheese, let it melt, and stir to combine.
9. 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.)
10. 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 as desired.

More Low-Carb Instant Pot Soup to Try:

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup

Instant Pot Low-Carb Taco Soup

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup

Weekend Food Prep:

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

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Yield: 6 servings

Instant Pot (or Stovetop) Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

TInstant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup is a soup recipe you'll make over and over, and this tasty soup is even a hit with people who say they don't like cauliflower!

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, chopped small
• 2 T butter or olive oil
• 1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely chopped.
• 3 cups chicken stock, 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 extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup half and half (or use heavy cream or milk if you prefer)

Topping Ingredients:

• extra grated sharp cheddar or extra sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• 8-10 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled (optional)
• thinly sliced green onions (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel onion and chop into small pieces.
2. Cut away the leaves of the cauliflower and some of the stem, keeping the core part. Coarsely chop cauliflower into pieces.
3. Turn Instant Pot or pressure cooker to SAUTE and melt the butter; then add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes.
4. Then add the chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic powder, and salt.
5. Lock the lid, use the MANUAL setting and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes.
6. Quick release the pressure.
7. 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.
8. 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.)
9. Use an immersion blender (affiliate link) 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.)
10. 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.
11. Add the grated cheese and cream cheese cubes and let them melt, then stir to combine.
12. Add the half and half (or heavy cream or milk) heat through, and season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (Taste before you add more salt.)
13. 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.
3. Then add the chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic powder, and salt.
4. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer until the cauliflower is very soft, probably 20-30 minutes.
5. 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.
6. Turn heat to low, add the grated cheese and cream cheese cubes and let them melt, then stir to combine.
7. Add the half and half (or heavy cream or milk) and heat through, and season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper. (Taste before you add more salt.)
8. Serve hot, with grated cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and green onion to add at the table as desired.

Notes

Equipment: I made this soup in my 6 quart Instant Pot (affiliate link). Look at the end of the recipe if you'd prefer to just make the soup in a pan on the stove.

Nutritional information doesn't include toppings since it's hard to calculate which ones and how much people will add.

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

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 360Total Fat: 27.4gSaturated Fat: 15.4gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 77.6mgSodium: 881mgCarbohydrates: 9.7gFiber: 3.4gSugar: 6.8gProtein: 17g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations. (The nutritional info for this recipe doesn't include the optional toppings.)

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

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 Instant Pot Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup was first posted in 2017. The recipe has been wildly popular on the blog and with my family and friends. It was last updated with more information in 2022.

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