Pureed Carrot Soup with Parsley Pesto
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This creamy-textured carrot soup couldn’t be easier to make, and it looks so pretty with a swirl of homemade parsley and almond pesto. It cooks with basic ingredients — carrots, onion, celery, and broth — that are blended to make a thick, smooth texture without using cream or milk.
How do you make creamy carrot soup without using a ton of milk or cream? The secret is to use a blender and just the right amount of liquid. This smooth-as-silk pureed soup tastes like the essence of sweet carrots.
Key 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 this basic homemade 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.
- 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!
Carrot soup prep steps:
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, make the pesto with chopped almonds, parsley leaves, 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.
Pureed Carrot Soup with Parsley Almond Pesto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 stalks chopped celery
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon honey, or maple syrup
- 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
Parsley Almond Pesto
- ½ cup (125 g) sliced or whole raw almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 2 (50 g) green onions (scallions), green tops and white sections, chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
Instructions
Prepare and cook the carrot soup
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, stir in 1 cup chopped onion2 stalks chopped celery, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and black pepper to tastee. Cover the pot, lower the heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Pro tip: Covering the pot produces steam inside the pot, which softens the veggies faster without the risk of browning them.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon ground coriander and 1 tablespoon honey and cook 30 seconds. Add the carrots and 5 cups vegetable 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 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Parsley pesto
- Briefly pulse the almonds, green onions, parsley, red pepper, olive oil and a good pinch of salt in a small food processor until the mixture is finely chopped.
Serving
- Serve the soup in bowls, topped with with spoonful or two of the pesto.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The soup keeps 3-5 days refrigerated or frozen for 1 month.
- 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 per serving
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.
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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!