Cheesy Cauliflower Zucchini Soup with Potato Recipe
Make my Cheesy Cauliflower Zucchini Soup with Potato for a comforting meal packed with hidden superfoods like red potatoes, yellow zucchini, and cottage cheese. This gluten-free recipe is a healthier spin on Zupa’s Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup, blending everything into a smooth, cheesy bowl of goodness everyone will love.
Cheesy Cauliflower Zucchini Soup with Potato is my go-to recipe when I want something creamy, comforting, and packed with hidden superfoods. This one-pot soup blends cauliflower, red potato, yellow zucchini, and cottage cheese into a smooth and cheesy perfection. It’s a lighter, gluten-free twist on Zupa’s Wisconsin Cauliflower soup, but with even more depth of flavor thanks to the added cheddar and caramelized onion.
Whether you’re making it for a cozy night in or a simple weeknight meal, this soup is sure to be a family favorite—even for picky eaters or those with gluten sensitivities.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Cauliflower Potato Zucchini Soup Recipe
- One-Pot Simplicity: Everything cooks in one pot, making cleanup a breeze.
- Packed with Hidden Veggies: Even picky eaters will enjoy getting their vegetables in every spoonful.
- Rich and Creamy Texture: Blended to a silky smooth perfection, this soup delivers a comforting texture without heavy cream.
- Healthier Comfort Food: A delicious gluten-free twist on a classic, with added superfoods for a nutritious boost.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here is everything you need to make the best-tasting healthier Zupa’s cauliflower soup copycat recipe:
Butter: Substitute with olive oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil for a healthier option. Use margarine or a plant-based butter alternative for a dairy-free version.
White Onion: Replace with yellow onion, red onion, or shallots for a slightly different flavor. If you don’t have fresh onions, you can use onion powder or dried onion flakes.
Red Potato: You can replace with sweet potato, russet potatoes, or yukon gold potatoes.
Garlic Cloves: Substitute with garlic powder or granulated garlic if fresh garlic is not available. Minced or crushed garlic from a jar is also a convenient alternative.
Yellow Zucchini: Replace with green zucchini or any summer squash if yellow zucchini is not available. You can also use a combination of zucchini and yellow squash or your favorite fresh vegetables.
Head of Cauliflower: Broccoli can be a good alternative for fresh cauliflower for a different taste.
Vegetable Stock: You can use bouillon cubes or a vegetable bouillon base. Chicken stock can be used if a vegetarian option is not required.
Cottage Cheese: Greek yogurt, sour cream, or heavy cream can provide a similar creamy texture. Silken tofu blended until smooth can be a dairy-free alternative. You can also replace them with white beans, such as cannellini beans, for creamy flavor and extra protein.
White Cheddar Cheese: Sharp cheddar or any other melting cheese like Gruyere can be used. For a milder flavor, mozzarella or Monterey Jack can be alternatives.
Parmesan Cheese: Pecorino Romano or Asiago can substitute for Parmesan. Nutritional yeast is a dairy-free option that provides a cheesy flavor.
How to Make My Creamy Cauliflower Zucchini Soup with Potato Cottage Cheese Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Vegetables
Chop the white onion, mince the garlic, peel and chop the potato, dice the yellow zucchini, and chop the cauliflower into small florets.
Step 2: Cook the Soup
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, chopped zucchini and minced garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
Add the vegetable stock, salt, chopped potato and cauliflower florets. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for 15-20 minutes until the cauliflower is fork tender.
Carefully transfer the pureed cauliflower mixture to a blender and add the cottage cheese. Puree the mixture until smooth.
Return the soup to the pot over medium heat.
Stir in the shredded cheese and stir until melted.
Step 3: Assemble the Soup
Ladle the cheesy cauliflower zucchini potato soup into bowls.
Optionally, garnish with paprika, shredded parmesan cheese, bacon bits, fresh parsley, fresh chives or green onion.
Healthy Zupas Cauliflower Soup Copycat Recipe Notes
Blending the Soup: You can use an immersion blender or stick blender and blend the soup in the pot instead of pouring it into an upright blender or food processor. But it will not be as smooth and creamy.
Soup Consistency: You can add more vegetable broth or milk if you would like a thinner creamy cauliflower potato soup.
Serving Suggestions:
Add in some shredded chicken, crumbled bacon or other protein of your choice, to make it heartier. Shredded sharp cheddar will give it some tang.
Do you love comforting soups? Check out more of my easy and nutritious soup recipes:
Cheesy Cauliflower Zucchini Soup with Potato Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 yellow zucchini
- 1 large red potato
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Chop the white onion, mince the garlic, peel and chop the red potato, dice the yellow zucchini, and chop the cauliflower into small florets.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, chopped zucchini and minced garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent and the garlic is fragrant.Add the vegetable stock, salt, chopped potato and cauliflower florets. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for 15-20 minutes until the cauliflower is fork tender.Carefully transfer the pureed cauliflower mixture to a blender and add the cottage cheese. Puree the mixture until smooth. Return the soup to the pot over medium heat. Stir in the shredded cheese and stir until melted.
- Ladle the cheesy cauliflower zucchini potato soup into bowls.Optionally, garnish with paprika, shredded parmesan cheese, bacon bits, fresh parsley, fresh chives or green onion.
Video
This recipe was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it, including my almost 2-year-old who is reluctant to eat cruciferous vegetables.
Personal preference changes: I halved the salt since I was cooking for young children and I thought that was salty enough for me as well. I omitted the parmesan. I also used a whole onion. Yum, yum! Thank you!
Hi Ashley, thank you so much for the review!! I’m so glad your family loved it 🙂
We loved this soup!! I’ve never used cottage cheese in soup before but it tasted great!
Hi Barb, thank you for giving this recipe a go! I was skeptical at first, too, about using cottage cheese. Now, I’m hooked 🙂
Perfect weekend meal ….. made it last weekend!!!! So delicious!!!! Can’t wait to make it again!!! Making extra so I can have it during the week for lunches too !!!!
Thank you for sharing!!!!
So delicious!!!!
Karrie, you’re amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this with me 🙂
I was amazed at how creamy this soup is!! My kids had no idea it had zucchini in it. My husband liked it too. Thank you for helping my family eat healthier 🙂
That’s awesome, Alison! My family loves this soup too 🙂