You guyyyyysssssss. This Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup is everything. I seriously wanted to slurp up the entire pot! It’s light, creamy, just a little spicy, and somehow perfectly fitting with this warmer than usual spring weather we’re having. If you like my Thai Curry Vegetable Soup, you’re going to love this one as well. It has a similar flavor profile, but a little sweeter (naturally), a little lighter, and with a silky smooth texture. It’s one of those recipes that makes you wonder, “How do so few ingredients make something that tastes SO good??”
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Make it Vegetarian or Vegan
This Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup is an amazingly flavorful vegetarian OR vegan treat. To make sure your soup is vegetarian, check the ingredients on your Thai curry paste. I used Thai Kitchen brand, which does not include any shrimp, but some brands do, so just double check. Also, if you want to make your soup vegan, just use coconut oil in place of butter in the first step. :)
Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup
Servings 6 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil ($0.26)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 Tbsp red Thai curry paste ($1.45)
- 1 lb. carrots ($0.89)
- 1 sweet potato (about 3/4 lb.) ($0.84)
- 3 cups vegetable broth* ($0.39)
- 1 13.5oz. can full fat coconut milk ($1.99)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Optional Garnishes
- cilantro ($0.25)
- sriracha ($0.25)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and add it to a large pot along with the butter (or coconut oil). Sauté the onion until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Once the onions are soft, add the Thai curry paste and continue to sauté for about a minute more.
- While the onion is sautéing, peel and dice the sweet potato (about 1-inch cubes). Add the sweet potato to the pot after the curry paste has sautéed, and continue to sauté the sweet potatoes while you peel and slice the carrots. Add the carrots to the pot as you slice them.
- Add the vegetable broth to the pot, stir to combine, place a lid on top, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then turn the heat down to low (or just above low) and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes the sweet potatoes and carrots should be extremely tender and fall apart as you stir the pot.
- Turn the heat off and remove the pot from the hot stove top to facilitate cooling (to another area on the stove is fine). Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. You can reserve a tablespoon or two of the coconut milk to garnish the finished soup, if desired.
- Use an immersion blender, or allow the soup to cool further and carefully purée in batches using a traditional blender. Once the soup is puréed, give it a taste and add salt or pepper if desired (this will depend largely on the type of broth used). Garnish with fresh cilantro and a drizzle of sriracha, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup – Step by Step Photos
Start by dicing one yellow onion and adding it to a large soup pot with 2 Tbsp butter (or coconut oil). Sauté the onions over medium heat until they are soft and translucent.
Add 4 Tbsp red Thai curry paste and continue to sauté for about one more minute.
This is the red Thai curry paste I used. I’m showing you this because it’s an ingredient that I think many people might be familiar with, but is actually in most major grocery stores now. I’ve even seen it at Walmart! So, when you’re in your international foods aisle, you’ll know what to look for. :) And if you’re unfamiliar with this ingredient, it’s basically made out of red chiles, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and other spices and aromatics. Super yum.
While the onions are sautéing, peel and dice one sweet potato (about 3/4 lb.). Add them to the pot after the curry paste as sautéed for about a minute, and continue to sauté everything while you peel and slice 1 lb. carrots. Add the carrots as you slice them.
Add 3 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. The vegetable broth should barely cover the chopped vegetables, but don’t worry if a few poke out above the liquid. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to low (or just above low) and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If any sweet potatoes or carrots are out above the liquid, the steam in the pot will still help them soften and you’ll be stirring once in a while to make sure everything gets time in the broth.
After simmering for 30 minutes, the sweet potatoes and carrots should be extremely soft and should begin to fall apart as you stir the soup. Turn the heat off and move the pot to a different surface to facilitate cooling (moving to another part of the stove is fine).
Add one 13.5 oz. can of full fat coconut milk (not the stuff you find in the dairy aisle as a milk substitute). You can reserve a couple tablespoons for garnish, if you like. Stir to combine. If you’re going to use a traditional blender to purée the soup, you’ll want to let the soup cool a bit before you blend, to reduce the risk of burning yourself, should anything splatter or explode out the top of the blender. The steam from hot liquids can actually build pressure in a blender and cause the top to pop off while blending, so it’s very important to let it cool a bit first. If you’re using an immersion blender, you can blend the soup whenever you’re ready.
Purée the soup until smooth. If you’re using a regular blender, you’ll probably want to do this in batches, depending on the size of your blender. This recipe makes about 9 cups total. It’s also a good idea to drape a towel over the top of the blender when blending warm liquids, just in case there is any splatter. How gorgeous is that color?!
Once your Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup is puréed, give it a taste and add salt or freshly cracked pepper, if needed. If you’re using a low sodium broth you may need to add a touch of salt at the end to help the flavors pop. I decided to add a little pepper to mine because I thought I might like that little peppery bite on top of the mild spiciness from the curry paste. You can also garnish your soup with fresh cilantro, sriracha, or a small drizzle of coconut milk, if you like. :)
YUM.
Can this be frozen?
Yes you certainly can freeze it. My best tip to freezing soups is to let it cool to room temperature. Then pour it into a gallon freezer bag, seal it up and then lay it flat in your freezer. By laying it flat it can thaw quicker and it’s easier for storage long term.
That’ great. I love how so many recipes on this site can be made ahead and frozen.
I am allergic to sweet potatoes so I replaced sweet potatoes with butternut squash in my batch. I also added jalapeno. The red curry paste wasn’t hot enough for me and my husband, ha! We’ve made red curries before, but I enjoyed the carroty and 1/2 blended take on it! It’s too light on its own for supper so I added a few nests of thin rice noodles. Good stuff, and, of course, the curry stores impeccably well for leftovers all week. Just pour over rice, eat up, and DONE!
Very yummy! I used a different curry paste though, and it had a kick. Something to watch for.
Since I’m not a vegetarian would Better Than Bouillon chicken base work instead of vegetable broth?
Yep, that would be delicious. :)
Simply Delicious! I did not have curry paste but substitute 1 tsp of curry powder for each tablespoon of curry paste. Healthy recipe.
Thank you!
I’m preparing to go on a liquid diet following jaw surgery and am looking for tasty blended soups to prep, and this looks great! However I’m wondering if there are any ways to up the calories? Do you think adding, say, rice to this would ruin the flavors? Any other suggestions on what could be added to increase calories?
Hmm, it’s hard to say how the flavor would change if rice is blended into this. I suspect that it will dampen the flavors a bit, though. You could maybe think about increasing the coconut milk, too. That’s the most calorie dense ingredient in the soup.
Hands down one of the easiest and most delicious meals to make. I serve it with chopped peanuts and cilantro, as well as some Sriracha, all over brown rice. This is #1 on my recipe heavy rotation!!
Followed this recipe exactly and was amazed by how easy yet flavorful this soup is! I used the brand of Thai curry paste pictured and did not find this too spicy.
OMG, just tried this out because I had a bunch of carrots, and I love soup. It was amazing! I only used 3 tablespoons of curry paste, but next time I would definitely use 4, maybe 5! I also added an additional cup of broth, and it turned out so good. Thank you so much for creating and sharing this recipe!
I doubled it in the slow cooker but reduced the red curry paste (just in case) and I put 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts on top. I cooked it for 10 hours on low. Chicken reserved for a different meal. I blended 3 batches with varying amounts of coconut milk and more curry paste in the vitamix. So smooth, easy and delicious!
This is my husband and my absolute favorite soup! So delicious and easy to make. We double the recipe every time. Any tips on finding the red curry paste in a larger amount? We always buy the small jars that you used too but doubling the recipe calls for 8 TBSP or 2 jars which can be expensive!
I’ve never seen it in larger jars myself, but perhaps if you have an Asian market near you they might have some in larger containers?
OK. I am the dum-dum who purchased a carton of coconut milk instead of a can of coconut milk. I had already started cooking, so I used a mix of coconut milk from the carton and heavy whipping cream. It is so gooooooooood. I’m glad I didn’t ruin it, because it’s by far one of the tastiest soups I’ve ever made. I wish I had doubled the recipe, because I’m not sure if I will share.
You’re not a dum-dum! It’s the product manufacturers who didn’t come up with a name that was already in use (“coconut milk”) for their new product that are dum-dums. :P This causes a LOT of confusion everywhere.
Wow, super yummy healthy recipe! It has a pretty good kick (may depend on the brand of curry paste you’re using) so I might cut it back to 3 tablespoons next time, but overall I’m really happy with the results!
SO GOOD! Thank you! Easy, too, and healthy! I might toss it all in the slow cooker next time.
This soup is terrific and so easy to prepare. It is such a good blend of flavors. Thanks