This Carrot Ginger Soup recipe is a cozy delicious soup for fall! Creamy carrot soup with warm flavors from ginger and turmeric. Try it today!
Creamy, flavorful Soups made with fall veggies like Butternut Squash Soup, Baked Potato Soup and Carrot Soup are just what you need to warm up as the weather cools down.
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Sabrina’s Carrot Ginger Soup Recipe
When the leaves begin to fall, it means it’s time for pumpkin patches, apple picking, and big ol’ bowls of delicious, warm soup! While you’ll find sweet carrots in many classic creamy soup recipes, they often get overshadowed by other fall favorites like pumpkin, butternut squash and sweet potatoes. This soup lets the natural sweetness and earthy flavor of carrots shine along with bold flavors of fresh ginger and garlic cloves.
My Carrot Ginger Soup is made with simple ingredients you’ll find in your pantry and the produce section of just about any grocery store. It’s made with fresh carrots, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, turmeric, onions, and celery, plus some butter and cream to give it that perfect creaminess. The balance of earthy sweetness and savoriness just might make this your favorite soup during the Fall! Plus it’s made in less than an hour!
Ingredients
- 6 cups Carrots: Whole fresh carrots are earthy with a natural sweetness that tastes delicious all year long. You’ll need about 5 medium-sized carrots. Peel your carrots so your soup doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste. You can use baby carrots in a pinch, but they will be more watery and much sweeter, so I recommend regular, whole carrots.
- Aromatics: Starting the base by sauteing 1 medium Onion and 1 stalk Celery, then adding 1 clove Garlic develops a deep, rich flavor even though the cooking time is short. I like yellow onion and using the celery stalks plus the leaves for the best flavor.
- 2 tablespoons Ginger: Fresh ginger root has a bold flavor that is warm and slightly spicy that balances the sweetness of the carrots.
- ½ cup Heavy Cream and 4 tablespoons of Butter: The heavy cream and butter tones down the powerful ginger flavor while making the pureed soup extra creamy and smooth.
- 6 cups Chicken Broth: The base of the soup is chicken-based but can be vegetarian-based if preferred. Bonus points if you’re using your own homemade chicken broth!
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric: Ground turmeric root adds a vibrant gold color to the soup. It has an earthy warm flavor that works great with the carrot and ginger!
How to Make
Time needed: 50 minutes.
- Saute Veggies and Aromatics
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the onion and celery, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes in the butter until the onions are translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and ginger, cooking until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- Cook Soup
Stir the carrots and broth into the veggie mixture in the pot, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until carrots are fork tender.
- Puree
Once the soup is cooked, puree it in the pot with an immersion blender. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can remove the soup in batches and blend in a food processor until everything is smooth.
- Add Cream and Seasonings
Add the remaining butter, heavy cream, turmeric, and salt and pepper, stirring until combined. Serve with garnishes like a handful of pumpkin seeds, fresh cilantro leaves, or a drizzle of coconut milk.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter , divided
- 1 medium onion , finely diced
- 1 stalk celery , finely diced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoons ginger , minced
- 6 cups carrots , chopped (about 5 medium carrots)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
- Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes until onions are translucent.
- Add garlic and ginger stir well and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add carrots and broth to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 25-30 minutes until carrots are tender.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or blend in a food processor or regular blender in batches.
- Stir in heavy cream and remaining 2 tablespoons butter, kosher salt, turmeric and pepper.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Why it Works
The bright flavors from the fresh ginger root pair with the sweet and earthy carrots for a soup that tastes both fancy enough for a dinner party and simple enough for easy weeknight meals I can cook without too much hassle. The butter and heavy cream make a silky smooth soup that feels indulgent even though it’s fairly light. And finally, it’s the perfect comfort food when the weather gets chilly!
How to Store
- Store: You can keep Carrot Ginger Soup at room temperature for up to 2 hours, or keep it warm in a slow cooker for up to 4 hours. Stir it occasionally if it separates. Cool the soup completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Reheat: Reheat it on the stovetop or in a slow cooker until simmering and heated through.
- Freeze: A good way to freeze soup is to first freeze it flat in plastic storage bags on a baking tray before storing it long-term in freezer-safe containers. This carrot soup will stay good for up to 6 months. Reheat the soup from frozen or thaw it overnight in the fridge before cooking on the stove top until hot.
Serving Ideas
- This creamy Carrot Ginger Soup can be a healthy, light dinner with some Crusty Rolls and a fresh green salad.
- It makes a delicious fall lunch with some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches or Apple Turkey Sandwiches for dunking.
- Top it with a scoop of White Rice, Grilled Chicken, or Meatballs to make it more hearty.
- Serve Ginger Carrot Soup as a starter for holiday mains like Baked Ham on Easter and Thanksgiving.
- Garnishes like fresh cilantro, croutons, roasted pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, or toasted coconut taste delicious with the ginger, curry, and carrot flavors.
Alternate Cooking Methods
Slow Cooker Carrot Ginger Soup
- It’s optional but you can build flavor by sauteing the onions, celery, and carrots for 3-4 minutes in butter in a heavy skillet before adding to the slow cooker.
- Stir in all the remaining ingredients, including the seasonings, except for the heavy cream and butter.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.
- Once the carrots are tender and cooked, puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender until consistently smooth.
- Finish by adding the heavy cream and butter to the pureed soup, stirring until combined.
Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup
- Use the Saute feature to heat the cooking pot and melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Add the onions and celery to the hot butter and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the carrots, broth, and remaining seasonings.
- Scrape any bits off the side and bottom of the pot then secure the lid and seal the valve.
- Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes and let it naturally release for 10 minutes.
- Quick-release the rest of the pressure before removing the lid.
- Puree everything until smooth with a stick blender.
- Stir in the heavy cream and remaining butter and seasonings before serving.
Frequent Questions
To prevent the cream from curdling when you add it to the hot soup, let it warm to room temperature. You can also temper it by adding some hot soup to the cream first, then add the mixture into the pot.
Because I’m using chicken broth as the base, this Ginger Carrot Soup is not vegetarian. However, you can easily make it all veggie by trading the chicken stock for vegetable broth. For a Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup, use olive oil or non-dairy butter spread instead of butter, and use coconut milk or cashew cream for the heavy cream. You want to use a fattier non-dairy substitute instead of something light like almond milk so that it has the same creamy texture.
Yes! You want to make sure you peel the carrots before adding them to soup recipes because the skin is often bitter. Peeling off the dull, bumpy skin lets the carrot break down faster the sweetness comes out in the shorter cooking time. Roasting carrots before cooking them also brings out the sweetness and removes any bitterness.
Variations
- Roasted Carrots: Bring out an even more delicious, deeper carrot flavor by roasting them before adding to the soup. Toss the carrot pieces in 2 tablespoons olive oil and roast at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes until the carrot pieces are fork-tender.
- Seasonings: You can add dried or fresh herbs and ground spices like thyme leaves, bay leaf, cumin, sage, rosemary, coriander, or nutmeg to the soup for more flavor. Ginger and turmeric taste great with fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, or mint.
- Cream: Instead of heavy cream you can use other tangy, creamy ingredients like coconut cream, coconut milk, sour cream, or plain yogurt. Use full-fat dairy (or dairy substitutes) for the best texture that has a great taste.
- Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup: For a Ginger Coconut Carrot Soup, swap the turmeric with curry powder and add coconut ingredients. Coconutty flavors compliment curry, garlic & ginger, so swap the heavy cream with coconut milk and garnish with unsweetened toasted coconut flakes.
- Carrot Apple Ginger: Bring out more autumnal flavors by adding chopped green apples to this soup. The bright, tart apple goes great with the warm ginger and turmeric and earthiness of the carrots.
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