Are you getting tired of cauliflower recipes yet? I just never do! It’s so versatile, and while I enjoy the flavor of cauliflower, it’s mild, and takes on so many different flavors. This creamy chicken and rice soup is something I make often- and always look forward to! It makes a big batch, but I don’t mind eating it 3 or 4 days in a row.
I also figured out a while back that the cauliflower “cream” broth freezes well. I make several different soups with the same basic broth, so I started making a double batch of the broth, freezing half, and then when I want to make soup mid week, it’s a snap to pull it together. You can easily do that with this recipe by doubling the cauliflower cream broth ingredients, freezing half. In fact, I suggest you do just that, because I have a batch frozen right now, and I plan on making another soup from it soon. I will post that recipe as well– so it will be faster to make if you have the broth prepared!
I had a lot of fun over my summer break with complicated, messy recipes. Complicated and messy is fun sometimes, right? Just not in the middle of a long work week. Especially not on Thursday or Friday. Alex knows I am tired when the chicken sausage and sweet potatoes come out. . . that’s usually by Thursday! It’s a pretty standard 5 minute meal around here.
I’ve also realized recently what a brilliant 5-10 minute (prep) meal roast chicken is. I know that sounds crazy, but really, it’s so easy to prepare. I chop up some root vegetables (potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, rutabagas, are our favorites), and throw them into a roasting pan, seasoned with salt and pepper, and generously rubbed with sage, thyme and rosemary. Then, I just cover it with tin foil, and in to the oven for an hour and a half.
The real reason I started buying whole chickens is because I want the carcass to make homemade chicken broth. I’ve been trying to up the gelatin in my diet (especially from natural sources, like chicken broth), and nothing feels quite as healing as homemade chicken stock.
I don’t like to take lunches that need to be heated, but I love to take a travel coffee mug of the chicken stock with some veggies in it to work. I’ll make a trip over to the pantry to heat it up, because nothing could taste better come 2:00.
That said, I generally use vegetable stock in this soup! However, homemade chicken broth would be an amazing substitute for it.
There’s actually a chicken with roasted vegetables in my oven right. now. Maybe there will be a chicken stock and soup recipe up on here soon? It’s definitely getting to be soup season. In this house, it’s always soup season, I’ve just been holding back on posting them knowing most of you are dealing with a heat wave and no air conditioning. It’s always a heat wave here, but we have a/c in every room– and don’t mind running it to enjoy a delicious bowl of comforting soup. #nothingbetter
Contents
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup {Dairy-Free}
Ingredients
Chicken Sausage
- 1/2 pound  Clean Italian Chicken Sausage (a quarter batch)
Cauliflower "Cream" Broth
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion minced
- 1 head cauliflower roughly chopped
- water (enough to cover cauliflower, about 4-5 cups)
- 1 1/2 vegetable bouillon cubes (I used, and recommend, Rapunzel)
Soup
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups celery diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 pound cooked Italian chicken sausage (recipe linked above - or sub your favorite store bought)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped fine
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage chopped fine
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme removed fron stem
- 1/2 cup dry thai red rice or brown rice cooked according to package directions
- parmesan cheese (to garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Brown chicken sausage, and set aside.
- In a large soup pot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the diced onion. Saute until the onion is translucent. It's very important not to brown the onion, or your broth will not turn out white.
- Add the chopped cauliflower, and then add enough water to cover it (about 4 cups).
- Cover, and let simmer, until cauliflower is very cooked, and falls apart with pierced with a fork. Add the vegetable bouillon.
- In batches, pureed the cauliflower and onion mixture in a blender. Let it blend for 1-2 minutes, until its super creamy and smooth.
- In the empty soup pot, add another teaspoon of olive oil, and saute the celery until soft.
- Add the carrots and bell pepper, and continue to saute for 3 or 4 more minutes.
- Add the cauliflower broth and chicken sausage. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the fresh herbs, and cook only for another few minutes, so the herbs maintain their freshness. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add cooked rice into individual bowls, and garnish with more fresh herbs and parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Comment below if you have other quick weekday meals I should try to mix up my chicken sausage and sweet potato Thursday routine!
If you enjoy this recipe, please share it on social media! Tweet about it, Pin it, or Share on Facebook!
i am keen to make the cauliflower broth / such a good idea / the “brown substance” is the brown rice ? this looks very appealing
The cauliflower broth is really good! Yes, the brown stuff is rice- thai red rice, my favorite!