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Cauliflower Soup with Harissa Butter
This soup gets a burst of bold, rich flavor as well as stunning color from a drizzle of harissa bloomed in browned butter. Look for harissa, a North African spice paste, in well-stocked supermarkets and Middle Eastern markets. Spiciness varies by brand so we suggest a range. We prefer to puree this soup in a conventional jar blender for a perfectly smooth, silky texture. If you own an immersion blender, though, you can puree it directly in the pot after the mixture has cooled for a few minutes; the texture will be a little chunkier. Pita chips served on the side offer contrasting crunchiness.
4 to 6
Servings
Tip
Don’t hesitate to rewarm the harissa butter if it cools and solidifies while you prepare the soup. This can be done in the microwave or on the stovetop. To prevent hot soup from spouting out the top of the blender, make sure to puree it in batches and fill the blender jar only about halfway.
45 minutes
20 minutes active
Ingredients
-
6
tablespoons salted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces, divided
-
1 to 2
tablespoons harissa paste (see headnote)
Directions
-
01In a large pot over medium-high, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and cook, stirring often, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the harissa and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then transfer to a small bowl; set aside. In the same pot over medium, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the cauliflower, broth and 3½ cups water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the cauliflower is fully tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool uncovered for about 5 minutes.
Reviews
February 26, 2025
Creamy and delicious!
Prep was very easy in spite of my inexperience with raw cauliflower. I measured out water as prescribed but held back about a cup and did not need it. Harrisa butter is delicious! I am not a fan of dill but tried it and decided I like the delicate flavor of the soup better without it. Still can not believe how creamy the soup is!
January 21, 2024
Delicious and easy!
I cut the recipe in half for two people and used a bag of frozen cauliflower that I needed to get rid of. I am not a fan of onions (at all), but I cooked them up anyway and pureed the soup with an immersion blender. I wouldn’t change one thing (other than using fresh cauliflower next time).
January 16, 2025
Gotta love cauliflower
Only added enough water to make sure the cauliflower were covered, around 3/4 - 1 cup, any more and it would have been very watery. Don't be shy about adding the harissa butter for flavor. Makes the house smell like baked cauliflower, if you love that then this recipe is for you!
October 19, 2025
I CAN’T BELIEVE ITS CAULIFLOWER
I HATE wasting food and my husband frequently eats raw cauliflower florets with hummus, so that generates a lot of core/stem waste that he won’t eat. I started saving this in the freezer thinking I could make soup from it when the weather turned cooler. The weather turned and I decided to try this version instead of an old favorite from Jane Brody. I had 4 cups of cauliflower chunks and agree with the other commenters that the amount of liquids called for in the recipe is too much as I made the recipe. I used 2 cups of my own chicken broth son with 1 cup of water and this ended up being sufficient for me. Used my 43 year old Hamilton Beach blender (LOL) to purée the soup and it was smoothly creamy. We like spicy so made the harissa butter to stir in with the minimum amount, but will bump it up next time and there will be a next time! Feed this soup to your cauliflower hating family and friends without telling them what it is made of!
October 31, 2024
Soup for inmates
Uhhh…. Wow. Who tested this recipe? Probably would be totally fine without ANY of the 3.5c water. I will reduce and hope to salvage the pot. Harissa butter is yummy but will not save a completely watered down soup.
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