I created this roasted carrot ginger soup recipe years ago, and it’s still on constant rotation around here. It’s so simple yet rich and utterly full of flavor.
Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup is the ideal recipe for when you’re wondering what to do with a lot of carrots, which happens to me often around here – I’m not entirely sure why, but I always have a giant bag of baby carrots or most of a 2-pound bag laying around in the fridge. Perfect!
Table of Contents
- The Secret to Carrot Soup That’s FULL of Flavor
- The Story Behind the Recipe
- Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup Ingredients
- How To Make Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup
- Frequently Asked Questions:
- More Homemade Soup Recipes
The Secret to Carrot Soup That’s FULL of Flavor
The secret? ROAST THOSE CARROTS! Roasting your carrots caramelizes all of those glorious sugars and concentrates its flavors, creating a wonderfully nuanced soup considering how simple the list of ingredients is (for those counting, it’s only 5 ingredients! Well, 8 if you include the olive oil, salt, and pepper).
I’ve tested this theory in my kitchen, because roasting does dirty up an extra pan and is an additional step. I created two carrot soup recipes, side by side, keeping everything exactly the same. Except in one batch, I roasted the carrots, and in the other, I simmered them in the soup itself to cook them.
I’ll be honest – I thought they would taste very similar to one another, maybe the roasted carrot version would be marginally better. But nope. The non-roasted carrot version was good, sure. But the roasted carrot version was SO MUCH BETTER. Deeper, richer flavor, and more of that “I need another spoonful NOW” goodness.
Roasting the carrots really does make a huge difference.
The Story Behind the Recipe
This recipe is, in fact, a direct result of my overbuying baby carrots for a kid’s birthday party. Can you imagine? The kids didn’t go for the carrots. Shock!
Anyway, we had a ton left over, so I put ’em to work in this super-simple, slightly sweet, wonderfully creamy roasted carrot soup. The first time I made it, I had a hunch that roasted carrot soup wouldn’t need much other than the simplest ingredients: onions, vegetable stock, ginger, cream (or coconut milk), and, of course, carrots.
Happily, my hunch paid off in the form of this richly hued, zingy little soup that I truly think would hold its own among those with twice the ingredients, or more.
Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup Ingredients
The list of ingredients for this carrot ginger soup recipe is so, so simple!
We’ve got:
- Carrots (shocker, I know!)
- Onion
- Ginger
- Vegetable broth
- Heavy whipping cream or coconut milk
- Salt, pepper, & olive oil
How To Make Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup
It’s so, super easy! First, you toss the carrots in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and you roast them in the oven until gloriously golden.
Meanwhile, sauté the onions and add the ginger and broth. Sautéing the onions just to the point of browning; simmering the ginger – each step helps to maximize the flavor of each ingredient.
Let it cool for a bit, because the next step could create a bit of splash-over – pureeing! Add the roasted carrots to the soup and blend. You can puree your roasted carrot soup in your high-speed blender or right in your pan with an immersion blender. Running the soup in the high-speed blender for some extra time will give you the creamiest consistency, if you’re looking for that.
Next, return the soup to the pot and add cream for the vegetarian version, or coconut milk for the vegan version. Swirl it on in! Then taste, add some more salt and pepper if you like, and devour.
I like to top my roasted carrot soup with an extra drizzle of coconut cream and maybe a little snippet of parsley.
And don’t forget the bread!
Love carrot soup? Check out this Instant Pot curried carrot soup with red lentils for some added protein oomph! Or this hearty version piled with quinoa.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is carrot soup good for you?
This is always a tough question to answer because “good for you” and “healthy” can be translated in so many different ways. For me, nutrient-rich = good for you. And with loads of beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A (source), this roasted carrot soup is definitely nutrient-rich! It’s also a great source of fiber.
Can you freeze Carrot Ginger Soup?
Yes! This soup is perfect for the freezer. Simply cool to room temperature and scoop into a freezer bag or freezer-friendly container with a lid. If you’re using a bag, be sure to squeeze out excess air. Label and freeze!
What goes with carrot soup?
I love a good kale salad alongside this one, plus some crusty artisan bread. Yum!
How can I make this carrot soup vegan?
Easy! Simply swap the heavy cream for canned coconut milk. To be honest, I prefer the coconut milk version! You can use full-fat coconut milk or lite; both are delicious.
More Homemade Soup Recipes
- Creamy Tomato Soup
- Chickpea Noodle Soup,
- Bean without Bacon Soup
- Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
- Minestrone
- Simple Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Creamy Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups baby carrots or approx. 6 large or 12 small-medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 1-1/2 pounds of carrots)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper + more to taste
- 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger (peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or, for a vegan version, use full-fat canned coconut milk)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place carrots in a large bowl and drizzle one tablespoon of the olive oil over the top. Toss to coat and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss again. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake, stirring/flipping every 15 minutes or so, until tender and browned in spots, about 40 minutes total. Remove from oven and let cool a bit.
- While the carrots are cooking, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until just beginning to brown, about 8 – 10 minutes. Add the ginger and the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for five minutes until ginger is tender. Remove from heat.
- When both the roasted carrots and the broth have cooled somewhat, add the carrots to the broth. Working with a blender in batches, puree the soup and return it to the pot; or use an immersion blender directly in the pot. Please make sure your soup has cooled enough to safely puree!
- Place pureed soup over medium heat and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy whipping cream or coconut milk. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve.
I totally feel ya with the homemade stuff! I certainly take the time to make extravagant stuff for myself and the blog but by the end of it I’m much less excited to continue to do so for all meals for everyone haha
And this looks delicious and SO simple. Perfect for a busy life. It’s easily adaptable for a vegan soup as well!
You shouldn’t feel one bit guilty about buying a store-bought cake. I did the same thing this weekend even though, like you, I love to cook and blog about food and life. It was a friend’s birthday this weekend and as much as I would have loved to make homemade cookies to bring by there house, my schedule with kids activities and hosting their friends and driving one to one place, one to another and needing to buy my 12 year old daughter some things at the mall (for which I couldn’t send my hubby)… so while I was there I took advantage of Mrs. Field’s, which happened to be right by a store I needed to take said 12 yo. So before we went in I ordered a cookie cake and when we were finished, I picked it up. All ready and we could leave and make it home to swap kids with my husband and make it to the camp info session for my youngest. I know my friend loved that we took the time to think of him on his birthday and I bet your party was wonderful, regardless of where the cake came from… and you were able to enjoy the moments before and after without feeling frazzled from trying to squeeze in a homemade cake. 😀
This simple soup looks so satisfying and stress-free. YAY for simplicity!
Ha, thanks, Lisa! That is totally the thing. When I’m spending even MORE time in the kitchen making, say, a birthday cake from scratch and not spending that with my daughter, that doesn’t seem right. So Costco it is! With only a smidgen of guilt, because us moms find reasons to feel guilty no matter what, right?! 😉 Those Mrs. Fields cookie “cakes” are pretty awesome, and that was a very sweet gesture no matter what!
Happy birthday to your daughter!! How fun! I can’t think of a better way of using baby carrots than making a delicious soups out of them! Can’t wait to cozy up to a bowl of this 🙂
Every young mom has the dream and determination to scratch bake their child birthday cake. So she happily and energetically gets to work with great anticipation of the special occasion. But sometime in the wee hours of the night , as the rest of the household sleeps , as she applies the last swirl of frosting and before tackling the washing of cake pans and frosting bowls, she comes to her senses – “next year Costco!! Which would I rather be a rested and loving mom and gracious host or cranky mom and resentful host?”, she asks herself.
That was my experience – a Care Bear cake finished at 2am about 25 years ago.
Glad to hear new generations of moms still love their children and want to make their birthdays special. And thankfully we are willing to accept help along the way – even from a big box store!
PS. Can’t wait to try the carrot soup!
I totally agree with you! Time spent with your daughter on her birthday and the day before is priority #1. They are only young for a short period of time. We get to borrow them for about 18 years and then we have the privilege of watching our child fly off into the world (where they’ll hopefully visit home and call often). With a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old, I know that all too well. 🙂
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This soup is freaking delicious. Im a horrible cook, just terrible, and me and my twelve year old made it for dinner tonite. We used coconut milk. She has terrible allergies right now and all that ginger helped her stuffy nose. Im putting this in the rotation.
I’m so glad you loved it! Sounds like you’re not as terrible a cook as you say. 😉 I hope your daughter feels better soon. Allergies suck!
Excellent recipe! I just veganized it by using 1/2 cup of Trader Joe’s Lite Coconut Milk in place of the heavy cream, and it is delicious:) Thanks for the recipe!
Yum! I need to do that now that I can’t eat dairy myself. 🙂
I made this recipe last night but it was horrible. I had a tube of minced ginger and per your ingredients, I used 2 tablespoons. This was way too much to the amount of carrots. I ended up having to add another 2 lbs of carrots. It still has a pretty strong taste of ginger. I think you need to change it from tablespoons to teaspoons. Also I think I would only go with 1 onion.
Pre-minced ginger in a tube would certainly be much stronger (more concentrated/dense, all flavors meld together) than fresh ginger as the recipe calls for. I would probably only use 1/3 of the recipe amount …
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This soup turn out great! I didn’t have as many carrots on hand but was able to adjust other ingredients accordingly. The coconut milk is an excellent dairy-free, vegan substitute that gave the soup the right amount of creaminess. My boyfriend and I ate this with crusty olive bread, and it was a big hit with him. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! This is my go-to comfort soup! I’ve made it four times and love it every time!
I’m so glad you love it! It’s a fave here too. 🙂
I had carrots to use up and I loved this. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! I often make this when I find myself swimming in carrots. 🙂
Love this soup. I use the coconut milk to make it whole30 compliant. Thanks for a great recipe
This is such a great recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it. Simple, yet comes out special. I added a touch of smoked paprika (which I only know about because of Kitchen Treaty, lol!) and it was perfection. Any thoughts on well it freezes? Because I’m already thinking about eating it again! 🙂
Why is there so much sodium in this soup? Looking for good, low sodium recipes for my dad.
Modified the recipe a bit by adding frozen orange juice, garlic and clove. Let it sit in a crockpot for quite a while after the coconut milk and it had a rich earthy taste. Yum!
Yum! 🙂
Wonderful soup. I didn’t have any vegetable broth so used some boxed carrot ginger soup instead of the broth and my guests raved. Am going to try it again today with homemade vegetable broth and roasted carrots, golden beets, and zucchini along with the sauted onions. Sounds yummy. We shall see.
Great recipe! I’ve cooked it already several times. However, it would be nice for people outside of the US to have also the metric equivalents for the ingredients and the temperature. 😉
Thanks for the suggestion, Oliver! You’re right; I should really edit my recipes to include those! I am adding to my to-do list. 🙂
The roasted carrot ginger soup sounds amazing-I will try
It tomorrow!
Hello, The recipe looks good and I may try it. Just one observation. Isn’t it meant to be a 5 Ingredient Recipe? Why are the 8 Ingredients? Just asking.
I was pressed for time, so I roasted the carrots and the onions and the ginger all together in the oven, then just pureed them with some canned veggie broth when they cooled a little and heated the soup in a pan, adding the coconut milk when the soup was warm. One less step and it tasted devine!!!
You can save some time and an extra step if you just roast all the veggies together in the oven at once — carrots, onions [in wedges] and ginger. Then puree they with some of the veggie stock and put it in a pan [or the microwave] to heat, adding the coconut milk after it gets warm. Very yummy!!
Ahh, great tip! Thanks, Kathe!
Thank you so much. I made this soup today and it was delicious. Roasting the carrots really made this soup. Also. I bought coconut cream by mistake so just added one small tablespoon as it was so rich but it made it even more delicious
Coconut cream instead of coconut milk sounds fabulous!
Dear Kare, thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! :)) I’ve made it yesterday and let me count the ways I love it! It’s such a fragant, creamy and comforting soup, with a wonderful twist, from the ginger. It was, definitely, a crowd pleaser!
I’ve replaced one of the carrots with an orange sweet potato, for a creamier touch, and used light coconut milk (instead of full-fat) and water (instead of broth), with a touch of soy sauce, to enhance the flavor, because that was what I had in my pantry. It turn out fab! 😉
Hi Vera, I’m so glad this one was a hit for you! I love the idea of adding sweet potato. And soy sauce is a great idea for an umami boost. Love it! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a review.
I think I found my favourite carrot soup recipe. I’ve been searching for years! I used chicken broth. Thank you!
Wow! This is a great recipe. So easy, so delicious!
This carrot soup is dimple yet devine!