Smooth Stovetop Carrot Soup
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This creamy-textured pureed carrot soup couldn’t be easier to prepare, and it looks super elegant! It’s made on the stove in one pot, with basic ingredients — carrots, onion, celery, and broth — that are blended to make a creamy texture (without using cream or milk). For a special touch, garnish the soup with chopped almonds, scallions, and cilantro or parsley.
How do you make creamy carrot soup without using a ton of milk or cream? The secret to this (and many of my other soup recipes) is to use a blender — either a handheld immersion blender or countertop blender. The smooth pureed soup is so satisfying to eat, and tastes like the essence of carrot.
Carrot soup ingredients
All you need is a handful of everyday ingredients to make the best carrot soup. Aside from the carrots, a tasty soup can be made with pantry vegetables and basic vegetable broth.
- Carrots: To make a pot of carrot soup to serve about six people, you’ll need 2 pounds of fresh carrots. If you buy carrots in bunches with their green tops attached, keep in mind their weight can vary anywhere from 6 ounces to almost a pound per bunch. Take time to weigh them on a produce scale in your market for the best accuracy.
- Celery
- Onion
- Butter and olive oil: Butter and carrots taste magical together (hello, butter-glazed carrots!) I use a mixture of olive oil and butter for flavor, and prevent the butter from burning during the saute step.
- Spice: Along with salt and pepper, I add ground coriander to add a subtle spice to the soup base. Coriander is the seed produced from flowering cilantro, which is a member of the botanical carrot family — you could say they’re made for each other!
- Vegetable broth: Use a good-quality prepared low-sodium broth.
- Honey: Carrots are naturally sweet, but depending on the time of year they’re harvested and how long they’ve been stored, their sweetness can vary dramatically. I like to add a touch of honey or maple syrup to elevate their flavor.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon adds a pop of acid that contrasts beautifully with the sweet carrots.
Carrots — to peel or not to peel
Fun Fact: Peeling carrots is mostly done for aesthetics. Use your judgment — if yours are especially dirty, you can scrub them or peel as you please.
Steps for making carrot soup:
1. Scrub the carrots and trim off the tops and root ends. You can peel them if they look especially gnarly or dirty. Chop them into 1-inch chunks. 2. Put chopped celery and onions in a large, heavy pot with butter and olive oil.
3. Cover the pan and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the coriander and honey. 4. Add the carrots and vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer and cook 15-20 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
5. While the soup cooks, mix the garnish with chopped almonds, cilantro and green onions. 6. Puree the soup until very smooth. 7. Serve the soup in bowls, each topped with a swirl of the almond-herb mixture.
More simple carrot recipes:
- Spice Roasted Carrots with Whipped Red Pepper Feta
- Roasted Cumin Lime Carrots
- Sweet and Buttery Glazed Carrots
- Orange Roasted Carrots with Yogurt and Dukkah
Smooth Stovetop Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey, or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 pounds (900 g) carrots, peeled if preferred, and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 5 cups (1.5 l) vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Almond-Herb Garnish
- ½ cup (125 g) sliced or whole raw almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 2 (50 g) green onions (scallions), green tops and white sections, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley
- 2 tablespoons (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- Red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
Instructions
Prepare and cook the carrot soup
- Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Stir in the onion, celery, salt and black pepper. Cover the pot, lower the heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes, until they're softened. Pro tip: Covering the pot produces steam inside the pot, which softens the veggies faster without the risk of browning them.
- Stir in the coriander and honey and cook 30 seconds. Add the carrots and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered, 15-20 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Remove from the heat.
- Puree the soup in a blender (in batches) until completely smooth, or use an immersion blender right in the pot. Stir in the lemon juice.
Garnish
- Combine the almonds, green onions, cilantro or parsley, pinch each of red pepper and salt. Add the olive oil and stir to coat.
To serve
- Serve the soup in bowls, topped with with generous spoonfuls of the almond mixture.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The soup keeps 3-5 days refrigerated or frozen for 1 month.
- Vegan option: Omit the butter and use 1/4 cup olive oil instead of butter.
- To toast almonds, spread them on a small baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 325F.
Seasoning variations:
- Add 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger and/or 1-2 teaspoons of curry powder in step 2.
- For an extra-creamy touch, stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream or thick full-fat coconut milk to the soup after it’s pureed.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
All of these soups look delicious!
Your photos are gorgeous–the soup just jumps off the page (into my mouth!). Can’t wait to try them, starting with the chorizo-chickpea stew.
I found this on Pinterest and have made it twice in the last few weeks. I’m making it again today. I love it. I posted it on my FB page and encouraged my friends to make it. The pesto really sends it over the top. Thanks.
I’m the same, if my carrots are older and a little rough around the edges they get peeled but the young ones I usually just give a good scrub.
My mum used to repeat it to me all the time. She mentioned different vegetables on a way as well 😉 I love the way you served it.
Thank you!
This is an absolutely stunning soup. Love it! Thanks for sharing it.
My mother used to tell me all the vitamins were in the potato skin (smile).
Velva
Stunning!
I almost never peel carrots, but not out of regard for the nutrients–it’s because I’m lazy and don’t feel like dealing with the peeler. 🙂 This soup looks so vibrant and beautiful! I love the idea of the pesto too.
Thanks, Eileen. I’m guilty of lazy moments too. Sshhhh.
I enjoy making soup, all that chopping is therapeutic, instantly soothing I find, and then you get to relish the results. This sounds like a sophisticated soup, elegant enough to serve for a dinner party, we have friends coming on Friday evening so I’ll let you know how I get on.
By the way, have you tried carrot and carciofi soup? I love these two flavours together, I have to admit I use a jar of sliced carciofi to make life easy, so far the fresh ones have defeated me!
Will visit again,
Lesley
Hi Lesley, Yes, please let me know how the soup turns out – I think it a great choice for a dinner party. Carrots and carciofi seem like a natural pairing – artichokes are a bit demanding to deal with! But I can taste how wonderful they’d be together…
What a coincidence. I have been on something of a carrot soup binge myself lately! Yours sounds wonderful. While mine is quite plain – I’ll call it straightforward to be kind to myself – yours sounds multi-layered with a complex flavor, also known as fantastic! The addition of pesto is the perfect finishing touch. Nice work, amica! Complimenti!
I love carrots and snack on them daily with hummus or salsa. This soup is such a lovely color, and I love the pesto topper!