With a great savory flavor, creamy texture and a whole lot of veggies, this Ham and Cauliflower Soup (Dairy Free) is the perfect addition to your next dinner party or weekly meal plan.
Do you ever wonder what to do with a leftover ham bone or a ham hock? Every time I’ve looked, the suggestions are to make some kind of bean soup. Well, beans (although actually a great complex carbohydrate) are not keto-friendly, so I wanted to do something else. Since I’ve been on a major soup kick lately (thank you, cooling temps), this seemed like the right time to play around with a ham and “something” soup.
As additional criteria for this soup, it needed to be dairy free but still have a creamy texture. To that end, I went with cauliflower rice and blending.
The result was delicious and may just be my new go to for using up ham hocks or leftover ham bones.
What You Need to Make Ham and Cauliflower Soup
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Rubber Scraper
- Instant Pot – See Recipe Notes for Alternative Cooking Method with Large Stock Pot.
- Fine Mesh Sieve – For straining the Ham Stock.
- Large Bowl – For capturing the strained Ham Stock.
- Dutch Oven – Only if you are not using an Instant Pot. If no Dutch Oven, then a large pot.
- Immersion Blender (a.k.a. Stick Blender)
- High Speed Blender – Option if you don’t have an immersion blender
- Food Processor – Option if you don’t have an immersion blender
Ingredients
- For the Ham Stock
- Ham Hock – You’re looking for about 2 pounds with meat and bone. Alternatively, you could use a leftover ham bone with some meat remaining on it.
- Onion, Carrots, Celery – You’re just cutting this into very large chunks and will discard them after the Ham Stock is made. At that point, they will have given up all of their flavor and are done for.
- Garlic – You could just use whole cloves for the stock, but since minced garlic is what I keep on hand and buy in bulk, that’s what I use.
- Spices, Seasonings, and Herbs
- Peppercorns – If you don’t have whole peppercorns, you can use ½ teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper instead
- Allspice Berries
- Bouquet Garni – See Recipe Notes for Making Your Own Bouquet Garni
- Bay Leaves
- Water
- For the Ham and Cauliflower Soup
- Ham – from Hock or Bone used to make the Ham Stock
- Cauliflower Rice – I like to use 12-ounce bags. If you can only find 10 or 10.5 ounce bags at your grocery store, that’s fine. Just use that.
- Onions, Carrots, Celery – Yes, this is a completely new set of these veggies. We’ll chop these a bit smaller to make it easier for the immersion blender to purée them. If you’re saying “hey, that’s mirepoix,” you’d be right.
- Ham Stock – See the included recipe. While you could use some other type of stock or broth and still have a very tasty soup, it would be a different soup. You’d also want to do some taste testing to see if you need to adjust any of the spices / seasonings.
- Spices, Seasonings, and Herbs
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Celery Seed
- Ground Mustard
Getting Started with Making Dairy Free Ham and Cauliflower Soup
For this one, we’ll tackle the Ham Stock first and then the Ham and Cauliflower Soup itself. You can do these as two discrete units of work if you prefer. Just refrigerate or freeze your ham stock and ham until you’re ready to make the soup.
Making the Ham Stock
Although making the Ham Stock takes a bit of time, it’s mostly passive time and so not too bad.
Preparing the Vegetables and Spices
We’ll start by cutting ½ of an Onion, 2 Carrots (peeled), and 2 stalks of Celery into very large chunks. For me this is usually quartering the half onion and cutting each carrot and celery stick into 3 big pieces. That’s it. Take no more time than that. You can get any of your chopping needs met when we get to the rest of the soup.
We’ll talk about two cooking methods–instant pot and stove top.
If you’re using an Instant Pot, place a trivet with handles in the bottom. (No, you don’t “have” to, but it will make removal easier.) Toss the vegetables into the instant pot or a large stock pot on the stove.
Measure out 1 tablespoon minced Garlic (or about 6 whole cloves), 12 Whole Peppercorns, 6 Allspice Berries, 1 tablespoon Bouquet Garni (see the Recipe Notes if you want to make your own), and 3 Bay Leaves. Dump them all in the pot.
Getting the Ham Stock Going
Place the Ham Hock or Ham Bone with some meat remaining (about 2 pounds total) in the pot.
Add 12 cups of water. If you are using an Instant Pot, you may need to use a little less water so that you don’t go over the “Max Fill Line.” That’s fine; this doesn’t have to be that precise.
For the Instant Pot version, you should put the lid on and set it to High Pressure for 55 minutes. Then allow it to do a slow pressure release.
For the stove top version, you’ll bring everything to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it continue cooking for 3 hours.
Whichever method you use, move on to other things while the stock is cooking. There is no hovering required.
What to do when the Ham Stock is Done
Once it is done cooking, you’ll want to allow the stock to cool until it’s safe to handle. Then we’re going to use a fine mesh sieve and a large bowl to strain it. Remove the ham hock and set it aside. If any pieces of the ham have fallen off the bone, go ahead and grab those. We’re going to use them later. Discard all of the other vegetables, spices, and seasonings that were strained out. They’re now dead.
Then you’ll pick all the ham off of the bone and set it aside. Throw away the bone. It’s done too.
Cooking the Ham and Cauliflower Soup
While the Ham Stock is cooking, I suggest you do all of your remaining chopping and measuring for the rest of the soup. (While you still have everything out.)
Vegetable, Spice, and Seasoning Prep
For this portion of things, first we’ll chop 1.5 cups of Onions, 1.5 cups of Celery, 1.5 cups of Carrots. (That is about 180 grams of each.) While you don’t need to do a fine dice, I suggest a normal chop. We’re going to be blending this with an immersion blender. Although, they do a lot, I try to keep pieces on the smaller side. If you plan to use a high speed blender or food processor, it won’t matter if your chops are a bit bigger.
Next, we’ll measure out all of our spices and seasonings for the soup, combine them, and set them aside. You’ll combine 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Celery Seed, and ½ teaspoon Ground Mustard.
At this point, you need the Ham Stock to be done. So, you can stash the chopped vegetables in the fridge if you need to wait.
Cooking the Soup
When you’re ready to cook the soup, heat 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil in the pot. If using the Instant Pot, you should turn on the “Sauté” function. If you’re using a Dutch oven or large pot on the stove, heat it over medium high heat. Then we’re going to add the chopped carrots, celery, and onions and sauté them until they soften (about 8 minutes). Next we’ll add in the spices and seasonings that we mixed earlier and stir to combine.
Next up, we’re adding 36 ounces of Cauliflower Rice and 10 – 12 cups Ham Stock. We’ll start with 10 cups and add more if we need more volume or just like a thinner soup. Then we bring everything to a rolling boil. Once we hit that point, we’ll reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes. If you’re using an Instant Pot, change the setting to “Meat / Stew” instead of “Sauté”.
Blending the Soup
Once everything is cooked through, we’ll use an immersion blender to purée the soup (about 3 – 4 minutes). (See Recipe Notes for alternative blending instructions.)
At this point, you should taste test and make any adjustments you’d like. Then blend again.
Finally, we’ll add in the pieces of shredded / chopped ham. Serve warm.
Related Recipes
Wonder what to serve along with this Dairy Free Ham and Cauliflower Soup? Check out my Friendsgiving Food Ideas for some suggestions.
Looking for more soups? You might be interested in these:
- Roasted Tomato Poblano Soup
- Leek and Cauliflower Soup
- Savory Pumpkin Soup
- Kitchen Sink Beef and Vegetable Stew
Ham and Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
To Make the Ham Stock:
- 1 Ham Hock About 2 pounds
- ½ Onion Cut into large chunks
- 2 Carrots Cut into large chunks
- 2 Celery Stalks Cut into large chunks
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Minced. About 6 cloves.
- 12 Whole Peppercorns
- 6 Allspice Berries
- 1 tablespoon Bouquet Garni See Recipe Notes for Making Your Own Bouquet Garni
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 12 cups Water or as much as can fit before you hit the max fill line if using a pressure cooker
To Make the Ham and Cauliflower Soup:
- 1.5 cups Carrots Chopped. 180 grams
- 1.5 cups Celery Chopped. 180 grams
- 1.5 cups Onions Chopped. 180 grams
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Celery Seed
- ½ teaspoon Ground Mustard
- 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 36 ounces Cauliflower Rice 3 (12-ounce bags. If you can only find 10 or 10.5 ounce bags at your grocery store, that’s fine. Just use that.)
- 10 – 12 cups Ham Stock See recipe above
- 12 ounces Ham Shredded, chopped, or broken into bite-size pieces. Approximate amount from 1 Ham Hock.
Instructions
To Make the Ham Stock:
- Cut into very large chunks 1/2 Onion, 2 Carrots, and 2 Celery Stalks. Place them in the Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot. Add 1 Ham Hock, 1 tablespoon Garlic (Minced), 12 Whole Peppercorns, 6 Allspice Berries, 1 tablespoon Bouquet Garni, 3 Bay Leaves, and 12 cups Water (or as much as can fit before you hit the max fill line).1 Ham Hock, 1/2 Onion, 2 Carrots, 2 Celery Stalks, 1 tablespoon Garlic, 12 Whole Peppercorns, 6 Allspice Berries, 1 tablespoon Bouquet Garni, 3 Bay Leaves, 12 cups Water
- Cook on High Pressure for 55 minutes. Allow it to slow release. (See Recipe Notes for Alternative Cooking Methods)
- Cool until you can safely handle it. Using a fine mesh strainer / sieve, strain the Ham Stock into a large bowl. Either use it immediately or cool completely and refrigerate or freeze.
To Make the Ham and Cauliflower Soup:
- Chop 1.5 cups Carrots, 1.5 cups Celery, 1.5 cups Onions. Set them aside.1.5 cups Carrots, 1.5 cups Celery, 1.5 cups Onions
- Combine 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Celery Seed, and ½ teaspoon Ground Mustard. Set them aside.2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Celery Seed, ½ teaspoon Ground Mustard
- If using an Instant Pot, add 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil to the pot and turn on the “Sauté” function. If using a Dutch oven or large pot on the stove, heat the Avocado Oil over medium high heat.2 tablespoons Avocado Oil
- Add the chopped carrots, celery, and onions. Sauté until softened. About 8 minutes. Add in the spices and seasonings that you just mixed and stir to combine.
- Add 36 ounces Cauliflower Rice and 10 – 12 cups Ham Stock. (Start with 10 cups and add more if you need more volume or just like a thinner soup.)36 ounces Cauliflower Rice, 10 – 12 cups Ham Stock
- Bring everything to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes. If using an Instant Pot, change the setting to “Meat / Stew” instead of “Sauté”.
- Once everything is cooked through, use an immersion blender to purée the soup. About 3 – 4 minutes. Taste and make any adjustments if needed and then blend again.
- Finally, add in 12 ounces Ham (or whatever came off of the bone) shredded or chopped. Serve warm.12 ounces Ham
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Instant Pot See Recipe Notes for Alternative Cooking Method with Large Stock Pot.
- Fine Mesh Strainer or Sieve For straining the Ham Stock.
- Large Bowl For capturing the strained Ham Stock.
- Dutch Oven Only if you are not using an Instant Pot. If no Dutch Oven, then a large pot.
- Immersion Blender (a.k.a. Stick Blender)
- High Speed Blender Option if you don’t have an immersion blender
- Food Processor Option if you don’t have an immersion blender
Notes
- Making Your Own for Bouquet Garni
- If you can’t find this herb blend, you can use a combination of the following in equal parts (or you can change it up if you prefer): basil, dill weed, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory, tarragon, and thyme.
- If you don’t have or want to acquire all of those, feel free to use your favorites from the bunch.
- Alternative Cooking Method for Ham Stock
- If you do not have a pressure cooker / instant pot, you can also make the Ham Stock on the stove top.
- Place all ingredients for the Ham Stock in a large stock pot and fill with the same amount of water.
- Bring everything to a rolling boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow it to cook for approximately 3 hours.
- Allow it to cool enough to handle, strain it, and either use it immediately or cool it completely and refrigerate or freeze it.
- If you do not have a pressure cooker / instant pot, you can also make the Ham Stock on the stove top.
- Alternative Blending Method for Soup without Immersion Blender
- If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use either a food processor or a high speed blender. You will most likely need to work in batches based on the volume of soup.
- In a food processor, process until it is mostly smooth and only a little chunkiness remains (or to whatever your preference is).
- In a high speed blender, I would run it on what is for me the “purée” setting. On my machine, this is speed #4 out of 5 and a step below “liquify”.
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