Creamy Carrot Soup is an easy recipe made with wholesome ingredients that’s earthy, creamy, sweet, and sure to warm you on the coldest days.
When the weather cools down, it’s time for a big bowl Soup to hit the spot! From Vegetable Soup to Butternut Squash Soup, I love turning winter veggies into a healthy dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Soup?
- It’s a kid friendly soup that is ready to eat in under an hour.
- It can easily be made ahead of time and reheated or make extra and freeze some for later too.
Sabrina’s Carrot Soup Recipe
Move over sweet potatoes and pumpkin, there’s a new fall soup in town and it’s made with earthy sweet carrots. This delicious, cozy soup recipe is the perfect way to enjoy this kid-friendly root vegetable. You only need a handful of ingredients and a big bunch of carrots for the most comforting, hot soup on a cold day. Perfect to enjoy during the Fall and Winter months!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter , divided
- 1 medium onion , finely diced
- 1 stalk celery , finely diced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 cups carrots , chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 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 thyme, then stir well.
- Add carrots and broth to a large 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 blender in batches.
- Stir in heavy cream and remaining 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Notes
Need to accommodate a dietary restriction? No problem. This recipe is not vegetarian because I use chicken broth as the base. But if you swap chicken broth for vegetable broth, it will be Vegetarian Carrot Soup. Or, you can make it a Vegan Carrot Soup by swapping the butter for olive oil to saute the veggies, then finish with a non-dairy butter and use full fat coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
This simple Carrot Soup recipe is made with pureed carrots cooked with onions, celery, garlic, thyme, lots of butter, broth, and heavy cream. It takes about an hour from peeling the carrots to stirring in the cream before ladling the bowls of soup. You don’t need any fancy equipment, just a big heavy bottomed pot and a high powered blender.
Ingredients
- Carrots: Fresh carrots have an earthy, sweet flavor that tastes delicious all year long. Be sure to peel your carrots so they don’t have a bitter aftertaste.
- Aromatics: The base of a good soup starts with browning aromatic veggies like celery, yellow onion, and garlic to build a deep flavor.
- Thyme: Dried thyme is the perfect herb to bring out the earthiness of the sweet carrots. A little bit goes a long way to bring a lot of flavor.
- Heavy Cream: This soup is finished with heavy cream to make it extra creamy and rich. Bring the cream to room temperature so it doesn’t curdle when you add it to the hot soup.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Carrot Soup is a great make-ahead recipe! The flavors deepen as it sits overnight and it freezes really well. The only thing you may want to change if you are going to make it ahead is add the cream and butter after you reheat it for the creamiest soup. Storing your soup flat in a freezer safe bag is the best way to prevent boulders of frozen soup taking up all your freezer space. See my method below to store soup that’s mess free and space-efficient.
Serving Ideas
Creamy Carrot Soup can be served as a light dinner with a Winter Pear Salad and some fresh Yeast Dinner Rolls. Kids will love dunking Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in a big bowl of soup for a fun weekday lunch. It makes a fancy soup on special occasions like Easter Dinner and Thanksgiving. Keep it warm in a slow cooker and have an assortment of garnishes for guests to top their soup. I like garnishes like Parmesan cheese, croutons, roasted sunflower seeds, pine nuts, sliced almonds, pomegranate seeds, fresh basil ribbons, and mint leaves.
How to Store
- Serve: It’s best to serve this soup fresh and hot, it will separate as it cools. You can keep Carrot Soup at room temperature for up to 2 hours, or keep it warm in a slow cooker for up to 4 hours stirring occasionally.
- Store: Once completely cooled, transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. It will naturally separate, but just stir it well and continue to stir occasionally as it reheats.
- Freeze: The best way to freeze soup for easy storage is to freeze it flat in plastic storage bags. It will stay good for up to 6 months. You can reheat it from frozen or thaw the soup in the fridge overnight before reheating on the stove top.
Best Way to Store Soup
- Start with a large tall container (like the kind you store pasta or cereal in) that a gallon bag can fit around the top. You could also use a tall glass and a quart size bag.
- Place the bag inside the container about ¾ of the way. Fold the top ¼ of the bag back around the outside container. You want at least an inch of space because the bag will sink a bit.
- Ladle your cooled Carrot Soup into the bag until filled to just under the lip of the container. Wipe any soup that spilled on the folded part of the bag.
- Carefully roll up the top of the bag while it’s still in the glass and seal, slowly squeezing out the excess air. It’s okay it there is still a little air though.
- Lay the bag(s) flat on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until solid. Remove any remaining air and reseal the bag. Stack bags of frozen soup in your freezer, either on top of each other or upright on the side.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Slow Cooker Method
- Saute the onions, celery, and carrots for 3-4 minutes in butter in a heavy skillet before adding to the slow cooker to release more flavor.
- Add all the ingredients except the heavy cream to your slow cooker and give everything a couple stirs.
- Cook covered for 3-4 hours on High or 6-7 hours on Low.
- Once it’s done cooking, puree everything with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender, until a consistent texture.
- Add the heavy cream and butter into the pureed soup, stirring until combined.
- Season with salt and pepper then serve.
Instant Pot Method
- Turn on the Saute feature to heat the cooking pot.
- Once hot add the butter, onions, and celery and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and thyme, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then stir in carrots.
- Saute carrots for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients except the heavy cream, scraping any bits off the side and bottom of the pot.
- Secure the lid and seal the valve, then cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
- Let sit for 10 minutes then quick release the rest of the pressure before removing the lid.
- Using an immersion blender, puree everything until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream and butter and season with salt and pepper before serving.
Variations
- Roasted Carrots: Make a Roasted Carrot Soup by cooking the carrots in the oven before adding to the soup. Toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil and spread over two baking sheets. Roast the carrots at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes until the carrot pieces are fork tender.
- Seasonings: Change the flavor profile with herbs and ground spices like cumin, sage, rosemary, coriander, or nutmeg. Fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, or mint make great flavorful garnishes.
- Cream: Replace the heavy cream with other creamy ingredients like coconut cream, full fat coconut milk, sour cream, or Greek yogurt.
- Curry Ginger Carrot Soup: For a Curried Carrot Ginger Soup recipe, add Indian curry powder, like Madras curry powder, and grated fresh ginger. Add the ginger with garlic and thyme. Use coconut cream instead of heavy cream.
- Spicy Thai Peanut: Give this soup a Thai kick with red or green curry paste, diced red bell pepper and ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter. Top with crushed peanuts and fresh cilantro leaves.
Related Recipes
More Creamy Soup Recipes
I’ll be honest……… I don’t usually make soup. Most of the time I’m throwing together eggs, pasta, or something I can eat straight from the pan. But this carrot soup recipe looked simple enough that I figured, why not? I had a bag of carrots slowly turning into rubber in the fridge, so it was a good excuse to actually use them. VERY GOOD!