Slow-Cooker Cauliflower, Potato and White Bean Soup Recipe • 4★

Updated December 28, 2022

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

This creamy vegetarian soup is built on humble winter staples, but the addition of sour cream and chives make it feel special. (Crumble a few sour-cream-and-onion chips on top to take the theme all of the way.) It takes just a few minutes to throw the ingredients into the slow cooker, and the rest of the recipe almost entirely hands-off, making it very doable on a weekday. Use an immersion blender, if you have one, to purée it to a silky smooth consistency, but a potato masher works well for a textured, chunky soup. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.

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1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks

1 pound cauliflower, chopped into large bite-sized florets and stems

2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained

½ yellow onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced

3 ½ cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Coarse kosher salt and black pepper

1 teaspoon lemon juice (about ¼ lemon)

8 ounces sour cream (1 cup), at room temperature

½ cup chopped chives (about 1 small bunch)

Potato chips, preferably sour cream and onion, for topping

Shredded Cheddar, for serving

Step 1In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the potatoes, cauliflower, beans, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, butter, wine, thyme, garlic powder and 1½ teaspoons kosher salt. Cover and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 8 hours on low.

In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the potatoes, cauliflower, beans, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, butter, wine, thyme, garlic powder and 1½ teaspoons kosher salt. Cover and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 8 hours on low.

Step 2Remove and discard the thyme sprig, and turn off the slow cooker. Add the lemon juice. To make a completely smooth and creamy soup, purée the ingredients using an immersion blender. (Or, purée the soup in a blender in two batches, transferring the puréed soup to a different pot.) To make a textured, chunky soup, smash the ingredients using a potato masher in the slow cooker. Stir in the sour cream and chives. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Serve in bowls topped with black pepper, crushed potato chips and shredded Cheddar. For leftovers, gently reheat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave until it just barely bubbles around the edges; don’t let it boil or the sour cream will break.

Remove and discard the thyme sprig, and turn off the slow cooker. Add the lemon juice. To make a completely smooth and creamy soup, purée the ingredients using an immersion blender. (Or, purée the soup in a blender in two batches, transferring the puréed soup to a different pot.) To make a textured, chunky soup, smash the ingredients using a potato masher in the slow cooker. Stir in the sour cream and chives. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Serve in bowls topped with black pepper, crushed potato chips and shredded Cheddar. For leftovers, gently reheat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave until it just barely bubbles around the edges; don’t let it boil or the sour cream will break.

Easy convert to instant pot. I sautéed the onion and garlic in the butter and then deglazed with the wine. Added cauliflower, potatoes, beans and broth. Pressure cooked on high for 18 minutes, quick release. Seasoned more aggressively adding some smoked paprika and more garlic powder at the end. Added lemon at the end. Puréed beautifully and didn’t require a full day on slow cooker. Really tasty- I love the creaminess from the beans. Will make again for sure!

I did this QUICKLY and simply on stovetop and it came out great. Just threw everything in a pot (except chives, sour cream, and chips) and I used low sodium chicken broth (had on hand). Brought to a boil and then simmered for about an hour til veggies were tender. Took off heat and puréed in pot with an immersion blender. Doesn’t even need sour cream or chives (my garden ones had died for the winter!). Yum and healthy.

Delicious. Comforting. I sub Greek yogurt for sour cream whenever possible. If you add it to the soup in bowls, you can reheat leftovers without separation.

Skipped the potato chips but added a bunch of paprika. Really delicious.

What are instructions to make this stovetop? Thanks

Soup itself was fairly bland (although I did use extra of almost everything, including broth, cauliflower, potatoes, and spices; and subbed in Greek yogurt for sour cream). Decent dressed up with chips, cheese, and bacon bits, but not something worth making again.

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022831-slow-cooker-cauliflower-potato-and-white-bean-soup