Fresh carrots are one of the most budget-friendly and versatile ingredients at the grocery store. So when money is tight, grab a bag of carrots and make this truly outstanding, rich and creamy, warm and cozy roasted Carrot Soup. I used brown butter for nuttiness, cream to add body, and ginger and thyme to elevate the flavors and make it truly extraordinary! The incredible flavor in this carrot soup will blow you away!
Ingredients for Carrot Soup
This luscious and creamy carrot soup is deceptively simple. Here’s all you’ll need to make your own homemade carrot soup:
- Carrots: These budget superstars become deliciously sweet and caramelized when roasted, which adds a unique and complex flavor to the soup that you won’t get from just boiling carrots.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil coats the carrots as they roast so they slowly caramelize instead of drying out.
- Butter: A generous amount of browned butter is used to sauté the onions, making this carrot soup extra rich and adding even more nutty flavor.
- Onion: Onion provides a nice savory base to the soup.
- Ginger: Ginger adds a subtle warm heat to the soup that balances the sweetness and creamy texture perfectly.
- Thyme: A little bit of thyme adds earthiness and dimension to the flavor profile.
- Chicken Broth: Chicken broth adds volume to the soup and provides plenty of savory flavor.
- Heavy Cream & Sour Cream: Heavy cream makes the soup rich and luscious and, if you choose to use sour cream, the acidity from the sour cream adds a bright richness. You can use only heavy cream if preferred.
How to Store and Reheat carrot soup
Carrot soup will stay good in the refrigerator for about five days, or frozen for up to three months. Freeze the soup in individual portions so you can thaw as much as needed at one time. Frozen carrot soup can be thawed in the refrigerator overnight and reheated in a pot over low heat, or pop the individual portion into a microwave straight from the freezer—cover to avoid splatter, and cook until it’s steaming.
Carrot Soup Add-Ins
This carrot soup is deliciously simple, but if you want to add even more flare to your carrot soup, try adding some of these ingredients:
- Add curry powder when sautéing the onions
- Replace heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk
- Drizzle chili crisp over each bowl
- Add a heaping spoonful of red Thai curry paste
- Drizzle a little pesto on top
- Add homemade croutons
- Freshly cracked black pepper for even more of a peppery bite!
What to Serve with Carrot Soup
Carrot soup is very filling on its own, but it also pairs well with these fantastic recipes:
- Spinach Feta Grilled Cheese
- Crunchy Kale Chicken Salad
- Lemon Pepper Chicken With Orzo
- No Knead Bread
Carrot Soup
Servings 4 2 cups eachIngredients
- 2 lbs. carrots ($1.49)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 4 Tbsp salted butter ($0.50)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.65)
- 1 tsp thyme ($0.10)
- 3 cups water ($0.00)
- 3 cups chicken broth ($0.36)
- 1 cup heavy cream ($1.12)
- 2 tsp fresh ginger ($0.21)
- 2 sprigs Italian parsley (optional) ($0.05)
- 4 Tbsp sour cream (optional) ($0.08)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Clean the carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch rounds. Add them to a sheet pan, then drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast the carrots at 400°F for about 35 minutes until they have softened and begun to caramelize.
- While the carrots roast, dice the onions. Add the butter to a large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it foams and the milk solids start to brown. Turn off the heat, add the thyme and cook for one minute, to infuse the butter.
- Turn the heat to medium and cook the onions in the browned butter until the onions are translucent, about two minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, ginger, and water. Cover and leave the lid slightly ajar. Simmer until carrots are done. Do not boil, as the cream will curdle.
- When the carrots have begun to caramelize, take them out of the oven.
- Add the carrots to the chicken broth. Cook uncovered until carrots easily fall apart when pressed by a fork. There is no exact time for this, but it will be anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the age of the carrots, how thick you cut them, how long you roasted them, and the cook temp of your soup.
- Add soup to a blender, Take the center cap off of your blender lid and cover with a towel. Blend in two batches and puree.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a few leaves of Italian parsley
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Nutrition
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How to Make Carrot Soup – Step by Step Photos
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Peel the 2 pounds of carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch rounds. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Roast the carrots at 400°F for about 35 minutes until they have softened and caramelized.
While the carrots roast, dice the onion. Add 4 tablespoons of salted butter to a Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it foams and the milk solids start to brown. Add 1 teaspoon of thyme and let it cook for a minute.
Add the diced onion to the browned butter and thyme. Cook the onion until they are translucent, about two minutes.
Add 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 teaspoons of ginger and 3 cups of water. Scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger. Cover and simmer with the lid on until the carrots are ready. It’s important that you not boil the soup, as the cream will curdle.
Once the carrots have started to caramelize, take them out of the oven.
Add the roasted carrots to the chicken broth mixture. Simmer until they soften so much they fall apart easily when pressed by a fork. There is no exact time for this, but it will be anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the age of the carrots, how thick you cut them, how long you roasted them, and whether you simmer or boil your soup.
Before blending the soup, remove the center cap off of your lid and cover the hole with a kitchen towel. This prevents steam from building up and blowing the lid off your blender. Add half of the soup to the blender and puree. Repeat.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you’d like to garnish your soup, try it with a dollop of sour cream, some Italian parsley, and black pepper.
I made this last night and it was delicious! I added sweet baby bell peppers to the roasted carrots, and they were lovely. This is a perfect grilled cheese dunking soup!
Thanks so much, Elyse! XOXO -Monti
“.A gentle simmer > a raging boil. ( If you’re single, you can also apply that equation to your love life. You’re welcome.)” This comment made my morning 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 THank you!
Thank you Erin!! I love it when someone gets it. XOXO -Monti
Maybe I missed it…when do you add the ginger and heavy cream?
I fixed it! XOXO -Monti
Aren’t steps 4 & 5 backwards on the first copy of the recipe? (The one without pictures.)
No. You are creating a flavorful broth while the carrots roast. XOXO -Monti
This looks yummy! When do you add the ginger and heavy cream?
I’ve asked that twice and my comment keeps getting removed.
Hi Ann, your comment is in moderation. It’s not removed. LOL. I will still need to look for your question as I can’t see it here. XOXO -Monti
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
Did I miss where you mentioned to add heavy cream? Looks delicious!
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
When is the cream added, or is it needed? I can’t seem to find when it is added in the instructions.
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
You make a note in your recipe header to “Keep it vegetarian or add chicken breast for a protein punch”., but your recipe calls for chicken stock, so it’s not vegetarian at all to begin with. As a vegetarian, I know that I can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, but please do try to keep the descriptions accurate.
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
Hi Monti! This looks delicious but what do I do with the ginger and cream? Thanks!
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
When does the ginger go in? Thanks!
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
When do you add the cup of cream?
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
When are the ginger and heavy cream added in?
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
When does the heavy cream go in?
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
Hi Monti! This looks delicious but am I missing something? When do you add the heavy cream and ginger?
It’s fixed. Thanks so much for pointing it out! XOXO -Monti
Would coconut milk work instead of cream?
You might like this resource for good substitute:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/heavy-cream-substitutes#TOC_TITLE_HDR_7
That would be a great sub! XOXO -Monti