This dairy-free gingered carrot soup is creamy and earthy with a spicy kick. It's satisfying and light at the same time. It was one of the first soups I made when I committed to eating more vegetables because carrots are one of the most versatile vegetables and they're one of my favorites.
I buy multiple bunches of carrots every week and am constantly munching on them because they're sweet and crunchy and full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, a habit I started in college when my cross-country teammates and I used to dip carrots in peanut butter mixed with wheat germ after a run.
But, when I was talking to my sister the other day, she said that she couldn't remember the last time she had a carrot. And, many of my friends say the same thing. I'm telling you, as I told them, buy some carrots. They offer a wide range of health benefits, are the perfect pre-dinner snack, and the perfect vehicle for a party dip.
Ingredients
As with most of the recipes on this site, I like dishes that let the ingredients speak for themselves. When that's the case though, you need to buy the absolute best quality and freshest ingredients you can find because even though you're cooking and changing the nature of the ingredients, without large quantities of fat or spices, you'll taste every single one.
- Carrots: Try to buy the freshest carrots you can find because carrots can get bitter as they age. That's why I recommend buying at farmers market. If you do buy in a grocery store, buy the carrots that still have their greens attached because then you'll know they're less than three weeks old (which is when the greens start to wilt). The carrots sold in plastic bags are older so their flavors will have faded accordingly.
- Onion: I used a regular yellow onion and it was the perfect sweetness for this recipe.
- Garlic: Select a fresh bulb of garlic, which means a bulb that doesn't have any mold or spots and doesn't smell like garlic (until the cloves are peeled).
- Ginger: Buy fresh ginger root, not ground or dried ginger.
- Lemon: I like to use Meyer lemon because it's a little less bitter than a regular lemon, but either will do here because the tartness of the lemon is used to offset the sweetness of the carrots and onions.
- Cashews: I used organic raw cashews here, and lightly toasted them in the oven.
- Salt: I like to use Himalyan pink salt because it has some trace minerals not found in other salts, but from a flavor perspective, kosher salt is fine.
- Spices: I used ground cumin, cinnamon, allspice, coriander. You can really use any spice combinations you like, but these add a spicy earthiness that heats you up on a cold day.
- Coconut milk (optional): Coconut milk adds a creamy richness.
- Microgreens (optional): I like adding greens to everything, including soups. They wilt right in. Escarole would be great in this soup as well.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
If you've read any of my recipes, you know I like to keep things simple. To be honest, it's mostly because I hate to clean up, but the other reason is that I just prefer to let the ingredients speak for themselves so when I'm eating a carrot soup, it tastes like the essence of carrots.
- Peel carrots and cut them into pieces. Place in a pan with the water, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until tender (~10-15 minutes).
- Meanwhile, saute the onions in the oil for 5 minutes, add garlic, ginger, salt & spices, then saute until the onions are softened & flavors have mingled.
- Stir in the lemon juice.
- Transfer the carrots, water, onion mixture and toasted cashews to a blender and puree.
How easy is that? With just a few steps and half an hour of focus, you'll be eating a freshly made gingered carrot soup. Carrots can surprise you because they can taste so different depending on how you prepare them. In this soup, they're spicy and earthy. But, they're creamy and sweet in a freshly pressed juice and they're crunchy chameleons when used as vehicles for a sweet and savory party dip.
Variations
I hope you'll try the ginger and warm spices in the recipe as written first, , but if ginger isn't your thing, you could also try these variations:
- Curry: Instead of the spices listed for this recipe, grate the ginger, then add coriander, turmeric and cumin. Omit the lemon. Finish the soup as directed, then add enough coconut milk to bring the soup to the consistency you prefer.
- Hot and spicy: Add red chili flakes or cayenne to the soup to bring up the heat.
- Deepen the flavor with roasted carrots: Instead of boiling the carrots, roast them in the oven. Cut them into ½" pieces, toss with just enough oil to coat, then roast on a parchment paper-covered sheet pan for 20-30 minutes in a 425 degree oven.
Equipment
Soups are such a fundamentally loved food, especially in cold weather and they're so easy to make with just a few foundational kitchen tools. Here are a few I use with good success:
- Dutch oven with lid: You'll definitely need a big enough pan to handle the volume of ingredients for a soup. I like using an enameled cast iron dutch oven style pan and recently been using this one from Lodge.
- Skillet or saute pan: Having a second pan will speed up the process. You'll use this pan to carmelize the onions, ginger and garlic and the like. You can use a saute pan or a skillet. Either one will serve well for this.
- Immersion blender: An immersion blender is an incredibly handy tool and eliminates the transfer of all the ingredients to a blender. Skip the extra hassle and blendn the soup right in the soup pot.
- High-speed blender: A blender is a foundational tool and a good investment if you want to enjoy homemade soups, smoothies, salad dressings, sauces and many other foods - for years of uninterrupted service. I'm a Vitamix fan and recommend one of their high-speed blenders highly.
Storage
Store the soup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you want to store longer, leave extra room in the container and store in the freezer for up to three months. Extra room is needed because the liquid will expand when frozen.
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Dairy-free Gingered Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 1 medium onion
- lemon juice, from one lemon
- 1 cup cashews, lightly roasted
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- coconut milk, optional
- microgreens, optional
Instructions
- Peel carrots and cut them into pieces. Place in a soup pot or dutch oven with the water, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until tender (~10-15 minutes).
- Meanwhile, saute the onions in the oil for five minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger, salt & spices and continue to cook until the onions are softened and the flavors have mingled.
- Stir in the lemon juice.
- Let the mixture cool a bit, then transfer the carrots with their water, the roasted cashews, and the onion mixture into a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. (You may need to do this in batches).
- Transfer the pureed mixture back to into the soup pot and heat gently.
- Serve with a pitcher of coconut milk so you can add if you like. Top with the microgreens (which will melt into the soup). Enjoy!
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