Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup w/Bacon is a delicious low carb soup, which is creamy and rich and loaded with flavor.
Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Years ago, when I was on Weight Watchers, I lost 130 pounds in 1.5 years.
Yep, I was a chunky monkey.
I was exercising daily and I worked for Richard Simmons at his gym, Slimmons, in Beverly Hills.
My cauliflower soup utilized the Weight Watchers program (we counted proteins, fat, bread, etc. back then) and was totally delish.
It was first made in my blender and then heated on the stove.
Had I had a Vitamix back then, the whole thing could have easily cooked in the Vitamix.
So, with that recipe in mind, I added some nice fats and more flavor to make is low carb and keto compliant.
Using my Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, makes quick work of my Pressure Cooker Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup!
I can’t get enough of this soup!!!!! It is soooooooooooooooooo good.
Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
For this low carb and keto recipe, I omitted the milk and used heavy cream.
Oh my gosh, you guys, the flavor is luscious.
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Ingredients for Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup.
- Cauliflower
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese – because, well, yum!
- Monterey Cheese – balances out the sharp cheddar and gives it a nice texture.
- Chicken Broth or Homemade Bone Broth – Using my Homemade Bone Broth is great on a low carb and keto diet, as add more nutrients and helps a lot for those who experience the “Keto Flu.”
- Heavy Cream
- Onion – a small amount, which will keep you complaint.
- Peppers – to add a teeny bit of heat, which separates this recipe from ordinary recipes.
- Sambal Oelek Ground Chili Paste – This has a very nice and pure flavor.
- Fresh Garlic
- Sea Salt
- Ground Mustard – adds wonderful flavor.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t love steamed cauliflower, nor will I ever say that riced cauliflower takes the place of rice. It doesn’t.
But, in soup like this, the taste is very different from steamed or raw cauliflower and I love it so much.
Rough Chop Cauliflower
The Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker all do such a great job of cooking, no need to worry about chopping the cauliflower into small pieces.
Just grab a sharp knife and remove the green leaves and the hard core at the bottom.
Peppers and Onions add a Slight Kick!
The red pepper adds a bit of sweetness.
It is only a small amount, so that my Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup recipe remains low carb.
Keto purists might want to omit the red pepper however.
Habanero Peppers, which are similar to Scotch Bonnet Peppers are really, really hot.
For those of you that like super heat in your food, use a small amount, but with caution.
I used a bit of Sambal Oelek Ground Chili Paste instead, as for me, it is just perfect.
Everything into the Pressure Cooker
How to Make Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
- Chop up all the vegetables.
- Measure out the seasonings.
- Add it all into the pressure cooker.
- Dump in the liquids.
- Set the timer and sit back and relax.
- Add the cheese at the end.
- I strongly suggest frying up some bacon to add to your bowl of soup.
All the Seasonings Go in at Once
Tips and Tricks for Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
- Use fresh ingredients. Fresh Garlic. Grind your own peppercorns.
- No need to chop, mince or dice the vegetables.
- My Pressure Cooker Homemade Bone Broth adds so much flavor and is very good for low carbers.
- If homemade bone broth is not available, mix up Better than Bouillon Chicken Flavor with some water. The flavor is closest to homemade.
- Add the cream in right with the veggies. Cream won’t break and then there is no need to simmer after adding cold cream.
- Two types of cheese balance out each other and give a nice and smooth taste, without any grit or stringiness. It’s not a pizza, where you want the stringy cheese. 🙂
You can easily make half a batch, but you are going to wish you made a double batch of this glorious soup.
Chicken Broth or Bone Broth
The best chicken broth for a low carb and keto diet is my Homemade Bone Broth recipe.
The added nutrients from the bone broth helps keep the “Keto Flu” away.
However, if you don’t have any bone broth on hand, the next best thing is to use Better than Bouillon Chicken Base, mixed with water.
It’s delicious and I always have several flavors in my refrigerator at all times.
Heavy Cream for the Win!
You want to know one of the best things about using heavy cream in the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker on a low carb and keto diet?
Cream does not break apart.
It can be added in with the rest of the ingredients.
You know how so many recipes have the cream added in after pressure is released? Well, that’s just silly, as you have to cancel the warm setting and then push the Saute button and heat up the cream.
With my Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup recipe none of that is necessary.
The cream is already nice and hot and the pot can stay on the warm setting and keep warm, so that everyone gets a nice, hot bowl of soup, when they are ready.
Vegetables are all Perfectly Soft
This looks kind of nasty now, nu?
Don’t worry, it is going to be delish.
Do you have a good Immersion Blender? This KOIOS Powerful 800 Watt Immersion Blender is very powerful and does a great job.
Use Immersion Blender
Just like my Pressure Cooker Low Carb Broccoli Cheddar Soup, use an immersion blender.
It is so nice to be able to do this right into the pot, rather than transferring hot soup to a blender.
For this Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup w/Bacon is a delicious low carb soup, which is creamy and rich and loaded with flavor., I like it nice and smooth, although, sometimes I find soft pieces of cauliflower in the soup, which tastes really good.
Cheese, Glorious Cheese
The cheese will quickly melt into the soup.
I used two kinds as it gives such a wonderful texture and mouth feel.
Extra sharp cheddar, which I love, has a tendency to break, so coupled with a melting cheese like Monterey Jack or Oaxaca, really helps, without adding grit or a stringy texture.
Smooth as Silk
Smooth as Silk.
Don’t you want to dive right in?
The little kick really makes a big difference in a cauliflower soup.
Cauliflower really isn’t my thing, but in a soup, OMG, the transformation is so incredible and delicious.
Adjust Salt and Pepper
I don’t know why the photo looks so white.
I love lots of freshly ground black pepper in my Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup.
Adjust the salt and pepper to your preference.
Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
While the toppings make a plain bowl of soup more colorful, they really enhance the flavor.
Definitely don’t skip the bacon and scallion garnish.
More Low Carb Recipes to Try.
- Pressure Cooker Southern Style Green Beans
- Pressure Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup ~Low Carb Keto
- Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Chicken Jalapeño Poppers
- This Old Gal’s Simple Guacamole Recipe
- Low Carb Pasta de Bocaditos Jamón {Cuban Ham Spread}
There are tons more recipes on the blog to try!
I hope you enjoy this soup. It is a favorite of mine!
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Ninja Foodi 6 Quart
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- KOIOS Powerful 800 Watt Immersion Blender
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Here is the handy printable recipe.
Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 2 heads Cauliflower greens/core removed
- 4 ounces Yellow/Brown Onion
- 1/4 small Red Pepper stem/seeds removed
- 1 small Jalapeno Pepper stem/seeds removed
- 2 cloves Fresh Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek Ground Chili Paste (or tiny piece of Habanero Pepper)
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Dry/Ground Mustard Seed
- 2 cups Chicken Stock/Broth
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese freshly shredded
- 3/4 cup Monterey Jack or Oaxaca Cheese freshly shredded
Garnish
- Crumbled Crispy Bacon
- Chopped Scallions
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Instructions
- Remove leaves and core of Cauliflower and place into pressure cooker cooking pot.
- Add onion, red pepper, jalapeno, habanero (or Sambal Oelek), garlic, salt, pepper and ground mustard.
- Pour in chicken broth and heavy cream.
- Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. When Beep sounds, wait 5 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.
- Open lid and use an immersion blender to blend the soup to your desired consistency.
- Dump in cheese and stir until melted. Enjoy with a garnish of crispy bacon and scallions.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin this Instant Pot Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
This is the best soup ever!!!!! Love it. Great for lent..
Hi Gerri. Thank you so much. Jill
Can a slow cooker be used instead? What would the adjustments be?
I’m trying this recipe this week! Have you tried this in your ACE blender yet?
Hi Jill, I don’t much care for cauliflower either but there was a head of it in my produce box this week and I didn’t want it to go to waste. Based on what you said, I decided to give it a try and we really liked it. I would make t again. I tell everyone to check out your site. I have loved all the recipes of yours that I have made. Thank you!
Hi Wanda. Thank you so much. I am thrilled you enjoyed the soup. It is amazing that you don’t get that normal cooked cauliflower taste and instead, it really is more like a potato or root vegetable flavor. How nice of you to tell your friends to check my site. Are you posting my link to various cooking sites as well? That would be marvelous. Jill
Totally deelish!
I’ve made this a couple of times and the entire family loves it! Didn’t have red peppers so I used jarred peppers and it’s equally as perfect. After it was all blended we add some shredded chicken-and my daughter loves a dollop of sour cream on top of hers-delish and thank you
Sounds delish! Thank you. Jill
Could you use milk or fat free half and half instead of heavy cream?
Do you have to use a pressure cooker? If not would all the directions be the same?
Made my version of this tonight. It was delicous! I sauteed onion a d garlic in bacon fat first. I guess I used a larger head of cauli as I need to add more broth once pureed as it was so thick. I left out all the spicy stuff as I can’t handle it. My picky non-keto hubs, who habitually just turns his nose up at anythjng low carb…ate 2 bowls if it (of course stating it would be good with crusty bread lol). Fall is here with a chill in the air so this will be dinner for the rest if the week!
Glad you enjoyed my recipe. It’s really not spicy with all the seasonings, just ups the flavor profile. Jill
Curious as to why only 2 cups of broth! I made half of the recipe and used 4 cups of chicken broth! It was still thick! And by the way it was delicious! Had to share with all the non keto family members !
Adding more broth is fine. Jill
I added four more cups of bone broth to the recipe and it was still pretty thick.
I made this last night and it was excellent! I halved the recipe which was a huge mistake because now I wish I had more leftovers! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Lauren. I am so glad you like this recipe. Jill
How many Weight Watcher points would this be for one cup. Just joined WW and trying to figure it all out. I wish all recipes that include calories also list the WW points. I have made numerous recipes from you and with great success . Now trying to figure how to use them with the WW program. Thank you in advance.
Hi Janet. There is probably a calculator on line to figure out the points. Jill
Do you think that buttermilk could be used in lieu of milk/cream? I wasn’t sure how much it might change the flavor, but I’m trying to use up the carton in my fridge!
Jill – This looks amazingly good, and right for my diet . . . er, life style change. Can I make a large batch and freeze in portions for the two of us? Does it freeze/thaw well? Many thanks.
Hi Rodger. You know, I have not tried freezing this yet as I keep eating all of it in just a few days. It’s so easy to make on a moments notice (probably quicker than defrosting), but if you do freeze, please let me know how it reheats. Jill
This soup is so good!!! And it reheats well after freezing (smooth & no separation). My wife and I are putting it on our winter soup rotation to get through our next Chicago winter.
I made your recipe using my bone broth (beef knuckle, pork neck, etc) and increased Sambal Oelek to a tablespoon – no other alterations. Served w/o bacon or scallion and it was a hit (next time I’ll top with some left over smoked pork babyback rib meat that I freeze in small portions also add some scallion).
I froze in 2 person portions and vacuum packed. For lunch I removed the frozen soup from it’s wrapper and reheated in a Pyrex bowl in the microwave in under 10 minutes. It’s a time saver for us to cook soups in large batches and freeze. Thanks so much for this recipe – and for your website!
Hi Rodger. Thank you so much. I am thrilled you enjoy my recipes. Jill
The recipe doesn’t say, but we should blend between steps 4 and 5, right? After releasing pressure and before adding cheese?
Yes, that is correct. Jill
What is a brown onion? A yellow Spanish onion? (Not a sweet onion, I assume.)
Yellow onion or brown onion. They care called both names.
This looks absolutely delicious. I have a Lagostina stove-top pressure cooker, and this will be perfect for that. Thanks very much for sharing your recipe!
Thanks, Brian. Enjoy. Let me know how it turns out. Jill