Hatch Cauliflower Cheese Soup is easy to make, full of cauliflower, chiles, flavor, and lots of nutrition – with that green chile heat and distinctive flavor
This Hatch Cauliflower Cheese Soup is now one of my all-time favorites, with a robust and unique taste. The Hatch chiles were a perfect compliment to the combination of vegetables and I was surprised to discover how much the buttermilk added. It blends in well, so you may not realized there is buttermilk; yet it adds a distinctive and exceptional taste.
Since the main ingredients are blended together, it’s not obvious exactly what is in this soup. Yet the combination works beautifully. This would be served at a buffet in the slow cooker. I’d have bowls of scallions, diced chiles, and shredded cheese on the side for garnish. This would also be good with the addition of paprika or cumin, but it does not need them – the flavor is already complete and robust.
Note that this essentially has a full head of cauliflower, so it’s a great way to get everyone eating lots of vegetables. A variation that works well is that you can substitute sweet potatoes for some or all of the potatoes; I tried it and it’s hard to tell the difference. Except that the soup will be much oranger with sweet potatoes. (And prettier, right?)
If you’re up for a great vegetable cheese soup, this is one you gotta try. Hope you enjoy it!
- 2 cups potato chunks
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1½ cups small cauliflower florets (in addition to above)
- ¾ cup diced medium or hot green chiles (505), to taste
- 1½ cups grated cheddar
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper, or to taste
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- Additional grated cheese, sliced scallions and/or diced green chiles for garnish
- Place first 7 ingredients in slow cooker (potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, garlic, onion, salt, broth) and cook until vegetables are fork-tender - about 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are cooking, steam the additional cauliflower for about 20 minutes or until soft and set aside.
- Puree entire slow cooker mixture in blender until smooth and creamy. Add half the green chiles and puree, then taste and add the rest of the green chiles gradually to get desired heat level. (Or if you know you like it at least medium hot, go for it and dump all the green chiles in.)
- Transfer to a pot and whisk in the cheddar cheese, milk, mustard, and pepper.
- Sautee the steamed cauliflower florets in butter until brown around the edges. Save some for garnish and stir the rest into the pot of soup along with the ¾ cup buttermilk.
- Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese, browned cauliflower florets, and sliced scallions or diced green chiles. Enjoy!
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