Carrot Soup

Deeply flavored, thick, creamy and nutritious Carrot Soup made with good-for-you ingredients like plenty of veggies, vegetable broth, and coconut milk! Naturally vegetarian, naturally gluten free, and easy to make vegan.

We love Carrot Soup paired with a crunchy and hearty salad like this Brussels Sprouts Salad or this Kale Salad Recipe.

Carrot Soup

While I love carrots a ridiculous amount — in savory or sweet applications (this carrot cake is my favorite), I wasn’t sure how exciting a carrot soup could be. But after my sister described one from a restaurant she’d visited a while back, I’ve been determined to re-create it the minute the weather cooled down a bit.

Not only did she love my version even more, it’s convinced my entire family that carrots can make for one show-stopping soup. This soup is robust in flavor and the sweetness from the carrots and coconut milk is balanced beautifully with the curry paste and seasonings. 

While it depends on the curry paste used, this is not a spicy soup at all. It’s creamy, comforting, and best of all — it’s made with really great ingredients. No cream mixture or heavy cream in this soup! We let the carrots and the coconut milk do all the thickening.

How do you make Carrot Soup from scratch?

Making Carrot Soup from scratch is a very easy process. You’ll only need one pot and a blender (or immersion blender).

• Sauté the aromatics. We add shallots, onion, garlic and ginger to butter and coconut oil to create the flavor base of this soup. You won’t believe how good this combination smells! Low heat, stirring often, and plenty of time are what these aromatics need to develop deep sweet flavors and to infuse the oil and butter with that flavor as well.
• Sauté curry paste and seasonings. For additional flavor, we add in red curry paste and a few other seasonings and take time to sauté them as well. We’re developing layers of flavor here. 
• Simmer the carrots. Once everything is tender and fragrant, it’s time for the carrots! Add the carrots with the vegetable stock and bring this soup base to a boil and then reduce the heat so the carrots can simmer until tender.
• Blend. Once the carrots are tender, carefully transfer the soup to the blender (see “quick tip” below). Return the blended soup to the pot and stir in the coconut milk. 

QUICK TIP

When blending, make sure to secure the lid on tightly and then select the “soup” or “hot” cycle. Remember that heat expands, so increase speed slowly and watch it carefully to avoid soup exploding out or over. Remove the lid carefully as it will likely release a burst of steam. If your blender doesn’t have a hot/soup setting, you can compensate by replacing the blender lid with a folded towel and holding it in place with your hands. This will help reduce steam pressure. While an immersion blender can be used, I highly recommend a high powered blender for the ultimate smooth and creamy carrot soup!

How long does it take for carrots to soften in soup?

The time required for carrots to soften depends on a lot of factors (how large the carrots are, how big the pot is, how hot the heat source is, etc.). In this soup recipe, we bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer the carrots until softened.

The carrots will soften in about 15-20 minutes. Perfect time to whip together a quick side dish like this Kale Avocado Salad!

Should You Peel Carrots For Soup? 

Unpeeled carrots, when thoroughly washed and scrubbed (to remove any debris or dirt) are perfectly safe and delicious to eat. Especially since this carrot soup is blended, no one will be the wiser if the carrots weren’t peeled before being cooked.

If you’d like to peel the carrots, go right ahead. I’ve made this soup both ways (unpeeled and peeled carrots) and can’t say there was any noticeable difference. And just FYI, the peels contain concentrated amounts of vitamin C and B3.

What Is A Good Garnish For Carrot Soup?

What are the health benefits of Carrot Soup?

Carrots are typically known for their antioxidant properties (meaning they are linked to boosting the immune system helping to protect the body from sickness), but they’ve got loads of other benefits.

Variations

• Vegan Carrot Soup: Replace butter with additional coconut oil.
• Vegetarian Carrot Soup: This soup is already naturally vegetarian; no changes needed.
• Gluten Free: While the ingredients in Carrot Soup are naturally gluten free, make sure to check all your ingredient labels to verify they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten.

What can I do with a lot of carrots?

Carrot Soup calls for 3 and 1/2 cups (490g) of coarsely chopped carrots. This is anywhere from 9-11 large carrots, so you’ll probably want to err on the side of having additional carrots rather than less. With leftover carrots, here are some of my favorite recipes I’d recommend using them in:

• Sweet: Pumpkin Carrot Cake
• Sweet: Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Savory: Roasted Carrots
• Savory: Moroccan Carrot Salad

More vegetable-based soup recipes

• Butternut Squash Soup with roasted pepitas
• Chicken Pot Pie Soup with sweet peas, corn, carrots and more veggies
• Creamy Vegetable Soup with broccoli and potatoes
• Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with fresh basil
• Vegetable Soup with fresh basil pesto

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Carrot Soup

5 from 6 votes

- Review this recipe

Deeply flavored, thick, creamy, and nutritious Carrot Soup is made with good-for-you ingredients like plenty of veggies, vegetable broth, and coconut milk! Naturally vegetarian, naturally gluten free, and easy to make vegan.

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

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Carrot Soup

5 from 6 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Deeply flavored, thick, creamy, and nutritious Carrot Soup is made with good-for-you ingredients like plenty of veggies, vegetable broth, and coconut milk! Naturally vegetarian, naturally gluten free, and easy to make vegan.

Course Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup, Vegetarian

Cuisine American, Vegetarian

Keyword carrot soup

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 6 servings

Calories 147kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $4.59

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons EACH: coconut oil, unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely diced shallots (~2-3 shallots)
• ▢ 1 cup finely diced yellow onion (~1 onion)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon EACH: minced garlic, minced ginger (~3 cloves; 1-inch piece)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
• ▢ 1 tablespoon red curry paste (See Note 1)
• ▢ 3 and 1/2 cups coarsely chopped carrots (~9-11 carrots)
• ▢ 6 cups quality vegetable stock (like Swanson)
• ▢ 1 can (13.5 oz.; 400mL) regular (not lite) coconut milk (See Note 2)
• ▢ Optional topping: roasted and salted pepita (pumpkin) seeds)

US - Metric

USMetric

Instructions

• SAUTE AROMATICS: In a large pot, melt the butter and coconut oil (measure coconut oil when solid) over medium heat. Once melted, add in the finely diced shallots, finely diced onion, minced garlic and minced ginger. Sauté until very tender and aromatic, about 8-10 minutes. Reduce the heat if anything is burning; they should just be softening and getting fragrant.
• SEASONINGS: Add in the yellow curry powder, ground coriander, salt and pepper (to taste; I add 1/4 teaspoon each), and red curry paste. Stir and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
• CARROTS: Add in the carrots and the vegetable stock. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until carrots are tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.
• BLEND: Once carrots can be easily pierced with a fork, carefully transfer the soup (in batches if needed) to a blender or food processor. Puree the soup (See Note 3) and then return the smooth soup to the pot over medium-low heat. Add in the full can of coconut milk and stir until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add in another 1/4 teaspoon of each here). Serve, garnished with pepita seeds if desired.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: I use Thai Kitchen® red curry paste and Simple Truth® organic yellow curry powder.

Note 2: We're looking for shelf-stable canned (not refrigerated) coconut milk. I recommend full-fat (not lite) for the creamiest texture and most robust flavor. Give the can a brisk whisk with a fork before adding into the soup. We did test this soup with lite coconut milk and while it worked fine, it was less creamy and the carrot flavor was a lot stronger.

Note 3: When blending, make sure to secure the lid on tightly and then select the “soup” or “hot” cycle. Increase speed slowly and watch it carefully to avoid soup exploding out or over. Remove the lid carefully as it will likely release a burst of steam. If your blender doesn’t have a hot/soup setting, you can compensate by replacing the blender lid with a folded towel and holding it in place with your hands. This will help reduce steam pressure. While an immersion blender can be used, I highly recommend a high powered blender for the ultimate smooth and creamy carrot soup!

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1046mg | Potassium: 575mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 23954IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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