First of all, Merry Belated Christmas! I hope all your Christmas dreams came true and you are now enjoying turkey sandwiches and lounging around. However, if you are starting to dream of other types of food, this is the post for you. Use your leftover cauliflower mash, mashed potatoes, or even this Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Potato Mash to make this Leftover Mash Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Cayenne pepper packs the heat and warms you up from the inside out, making this perfect for cold days.

I love soups but they are so much more satisfying when the weather is cold and dreary. So I was very excited when, for the first time in years, it started to actually feel like winter here in northern California. The rain arrived in a big and dramatic way, and is hopefully here to stay.

Because of the rain I was craving a soup and set out to create a recipe with what I had on hand (I didn’t really want to go out in the storm). I used to follow cooking instructions religiously, which meant always having to go to the grocery store because I was missing ingredients. But since I’ve started creating recipes I’ve realized a wonderful thing: soups are great at getting rid of stuff in the fridge. I needed to get rid of cauliflower mash from Thanksgiving that I was tired of and some broccoli that had been forgotten in the fridge. Poor broccoli. Forgotten at the bottom of the fridge, soon to be turned into the star of a blog post.

Anyway, everything was set up for the creation of a soup. Rain. Check. Leftovers. Check. I had a rare brilliant idea to use the cauliflower mash as a base for the soup rather than milk and flour.

And of course you can’t have a broccoli soup without cheddar cheese. But my favorite kind of soups are the ones that warm you from the inside out, usually because of the type of spices used. Certain spices have almost magical abilities to heat our bodies up. Cayenne pepper is one of my favorites, so of course it was a must-have ingredient. Together, all these ingredients make a thick and hearty soup with the capability of warming your body up from the inside out.

Enjoy and keep warm!

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Leftover Mash Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Use your leftover cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes to make this Leftover Mash Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Cayenne pepper packs the heat and warms you up from the inside out, making this perfect for cold days.

Course Soups

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Megan Wells

Ingredients

Cauliflower Mash

• 1 cauliflower head medium
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt nonfat
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Leftover Mash Broccoli Cheddar Soup

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 cups mushrooms diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and white pepper
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 cups cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes or cauliflower-potato mash
• 2.5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 8 cups broccoli florets 4 cups cut in really small bite-sized pieces and 4 cups cut into medium-sized florets
• 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

Cauliflower Mash

1. Clean and cut the cauliflower into small pieces. Put an inch of water into a pot that a steamer basket or insert fits into and bring to a boil. Put the cauliflower pieces in the steamer basket and place in the pot. Cover and steam for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.

2. Remove steamer basket and pour cauliflower onto paper towels and pat excess moisture away.
3. Put cauliflower into a high speed blender or food processor and add all the other ingredients. Process until smooth. Serve or pour into a resealable container to use for later.

Leftover Mash Broccoli Cheddar Soup

1. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook in olive oil until softened but not browned (1 to 2 minutes). 

2. Add the mushrooms and sauté for five minutes, until they are soft and creamy. 

3. Add the salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and mix. Whisk in the cauliflower mash until smooth. Add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth.
4. Add four cups of the medium-sized broccoli pieces to the pot and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook uncovered until broccoli has softened but is not mushy (7 to 10 minutes). 
5. Once the broccoli is tender, puree everything in a blender or food processor until chunky-smooth. Pour back into the pot and add the four cups of small bite-sized broccoli pieces and stir until well mixed.
6. Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Simmer the soup for 10-minutes or until the soup is thick and broccoli is tender.  

Recipe Notes

This recipe works with cauliflower mash, cauliflower potato mash, and mashed potatoes. However, each kind effects the thickness of the soup. To thin out the soup, just add more broth.