Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 1, 2024
Like carrots? You’re going to love this carrot soup recipe. It’s luxuriously creamy and full of incredible roasted carrot flavor.
This classic carrot soup is a wonderful soup to serve with your favorite winter salads, sandwiches, and even holiday entrées. Since carrots go well with so many other flavors, it’s a versatile soup to keep in your repertoire.
You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that this creamy soup is actually made without cream. It’s a light and healthy soup, not to mention budget-friendly, too.
I tried making the soup with sautéed carrots instead of roasted, but roasted carrots give this soup magical powers. If you’re a fan of my butternut squash soup or cauliflower soup, the method for this recipe will be familiar already.
Since I can’t help but play around with flavors, I came up with three fun and simple variations—carrot ginger soup, curried carrot soup, and Thai curried carrot soup with lime. You’ll find details in the recipe notes. It’s about time this food blog had a proper carrot soup recipe, and it’s really four in one!
How to Make the Best Carrot Soup
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here are a few key factors.
1) Roast the carrots
Roasting the carrots condenses their flavor, which brings out the carrots’ best sweet-and-savory notes. This step makes all the difference between a ho-hum carrot soup and a why-is-this-so-good carrot soup.
2) Cook some aromatics and spices
Meanwhile, we’ll sauté some chopped onion in oil until tender. Then, we’ll add some fresh garlic, plus ground coriander and cumin. The spices make the soup taste more interesting in a subtle way. (If you’re out of coriander or cumin, though, you can omit them.) Cooking the spices in oil for about 30 seconds wakes them right up, while it mellows the garlic.
3) Simmer to bring it all together
Then, we’ll add vegetable broth, water, and the roasted carrots when they are out of the oven. We’ll gently simmer them all together for 15 minutes to bring all the flavors together.
Of note: I’ve been experimenting with using water instead of vegetable broths in soups, and I rarely miss the broth. If you’re cutting costs or watching your sodium intake, water is a great option here. I’ll share my notes on this subject in greater detail soon.
4) Blend in a stand blender
Stand blenders always yield ultra creamy results. Immersion blenders don’t come close! That’s why I always recommend blending soup in a stand blender instead. I don’t like cleaning extra dishes, either, but the resulting texture is worth the effort. You can find my favorite blenders in my Amazon shop (affiliate link).
Be careful while blending. Let the soup cool for a few minutes before transferring to a blender, never fill past the maximum fill line (it could explode), and be careful near the steam escaping from the lid (it’s hot!).
5) Finish with butter and lemon
You won’t believe how much difference a tablespoon of butter makes at the end. Once blended into the rest, it makes the soup taste more luxurious without dulling the other flavors like cream does (did you know that soups could be this creamy, without cream?). Adding some lemon juice brightens up the finished product and brings it all together.
Three Delicious Carrot Soup Variations
You know me—I couldn’t help but play around with this recipe. Here are three truly delicious variations on the “basic” recipe. Actually, let’s call the “basic” version classic instead. It does not taste boring!
1) Carrot Ginger Soup
Another classic! The carrot ginger variation is especially good if you are under the weather, or trying to warm up from the inside out. Add freshly grated ginger along with the garlic (see amounts provided in the recipe notes).
2) Curried Carrot Soup
This might be my favorite option. Simply add some Indian curry powder along with the other ground spices. Carrots and warming curry spices are a perfect match. You can also add some ginger to this variation, if you’d like.
3) Thai Curried Carrot Soup
You guessed it—add some Thai red curry paste for a lively carrot soup with irresistible Thai flavors. At the end, blend in some lime juice instead of lemon. This variation is especially beautiful when garnished with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro leaves.
Please let me know how your soup turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Wondering what to pair with this carrot soup? Here are a few suggestions:
- Arugula and Wild Rice Salad with Zippy Lemon Dressing
- Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
- Green Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas
- Kale Pecan Pesto over pasta
- My Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Mujadara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)
Looking for more creamy, lightened-up soups? Here are a few more favorites to bookmark:
- Classic Tomato Soup (Lightened Up!)
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Watch How to Make Carrot Soup
Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup
This homemade carrot soup recipe is ultra creamy (yet cream-less) and full of rich, roasted carrot flavor! It’s the best carrot soup you’ll ever have. Recipe yields 4 bowls or 6 cups of soup.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided, to taste
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- 2 cups water
- 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup, if desired.
- To prepare your carrots, peel them and then cut them on the diagonal so each piece is about ½″ thick at the widest part (see photos).
- Place the carrots on the baking sheet. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Toss until the carrots are lightly coated in oil and seasonings. Arrange them in a single layer.
- Roast the carrots until they’re caramelized on the edges and easily pierced through by a fork, 25 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway. (Heirloom carrot varieties will roast in as little as 25 minutes, but regular carrots are more dense and typically require 35 to 40 minutes.)
- Once the carrots are almost done roasting, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, coriander and cumin (if following a variation, see recipe notes for additions). Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour in the vegetable broth and water, while scraping up any browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula.
- Add the roasted carrots to the pot when they are out of the oven. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
- Once the soup is done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!)
- Add the butter, lemon juice (or lime, if following the Thai variation), and several twists of black pepper. Blend until completely smooth. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary, to taste. Add another tablespoon of butter if you’d like more richness, or a little more lemon juice if it needs more zing. Blend again, and serve.
- This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my creamy roasted cauliflower soup and roasted carrots recipe.
Carrot ginger soup variation: Add freshly grated ginger with the garlic and ground spices. Use 1 teaspoon for subtle ginger flavor, 2 teaspoons for more prominent flavor, or 1 tablespoon for relatively spicy carrot-ginger flavor.
Curried carrot soup variation: Add some curry powder with the garlic and ground spices. Use 1 teaspoon (mild) or up to 2 teaspoons (somewhat spicy), depending on your preferences. For curried ginger soup, also add 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger at this time.
Thai curried carrot soup variation: Add Thai red curry paste with the garlic and ground spices (be sure to choose a vegan/vegetarian option if you’re avoiding fish produces, such as Thai Kitchen). Use 1 ½ teaspoons (mild) or up to 1 tablespoon (relatively spicy), depending on your preferences. Substitute lime juice for the lemon. You might like to garnish your bowls of soup with some chopped roasted peanuts and fresh cilantro leaves.
Make it dairy free/vegan: A few options. One, if you enjoy the flavor of the blended soup without butter, you can skip it altogether. For more richness, you could blend in a tablespoon of good olive oil or use cashews instead of butter. Soak ¼ cup cashews for 4 hours, then drain and rinse them (if you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, you can skip this). Add the cashews when you would add the butter.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Can you use a food processor?
Sure! It may just not get quite as creamy.
Soooooo good. I put some red curry in mine, lime and cilantro topping. No hitter because I’m vegan ….. highly recommend (and simple to make).
Thank you, Erika! I’m happy you loved it.
Wow! Another winner. Every soup of yours that I have tried has been so delicious. I make several of them for our Foodbank volunteers and gets lots of comments how tasty they are. Thanks for all your hard work!
Thank you, Jennifer!
This soup was SO amazing! I had my husband blind-taste it with and without curry and he chose the curry (that was my choice too!). I used about 2c of chicken stock. I roasted the carrots in my new Ninja Foodi air fryer for 12 minutes which was quite the time saver! My husband is still raving. I elevated the name to carrot curry bisque, because it is more on par with a bisque! Thank you Kate!
Thank you for this recipe! It was delicious.
So good and full of flavor. My whole family enjoyed it. Easy to make.
Hi Melissa! I’m glad you loved it. Thank you for your review.
Bizarrely, this tasted exactly like I blended up some enchiladas. Very delicious!
Love love love your roasted carrot soup recipe. Adjusted ingredients each time I make it – always fabulous. Thanks Kate!
That was phenomenal! Most delicious soup ever!! Thank you and its so unbelievable. Just a few ingredients. Love ur blog Kate! Thanks for all ur hard work so we can also be healthy!
LOVE this soup!! I’m vegan, so I made the curried version, using both Thai red curry paste (vegan) and Indian curry powder, extra coriander and cumin, my homemade veggie stock, vegan unsalted butter (Myoko brand; made from cashews), and adding chopped celery with the garlic and a little less onion (because I LOVE celery). It was a little too spicy, so I added about 1/2 cup of vegan sour cream while still in the blender. I made it yesterday, and it’s even better today. I’ll definitely make it again.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Janice! Thank you for sharing how you made this work for you.
This was, without a doubt, the best version of carrot soup I’ve ever made! I added a little more fresh lemon juice and added 1T of ginger. I also roasted baby carrots, just for convenience. I did not use a blender but used my emersion blender right on the stove top so I could make, blend and serve right away. Everyone loved it!! I will definitely make this again soon!
I made the Thai version using a homemade veg stock. Wow – it was so good!!
I made this recipe exactly as stated and it was perfect. Smiles all around when I served it with parsley and croutons. This will definitely be added to my family’s meal rotation.
Wonderful, Jim! Thank you for your review.
Thank you so much! I made this carrot soup and went down very well with the whole family! We all loved it! Making it again tonight !
So delicious! The flavours are amazing!
Thank you for your review, Shelley!
Can I freeze this soup with good results?
Hi! This would likely be a good one to freeze, although I don’t freeze all of my recipes.
I have frozen this recipe. It works perfectly. Just reheat gently in a pot, with perhaps a little extra water to get it going. Enjoy!
Soooo delicious thank you!
You’re welcome, Clare! I’m happy you loved it.
I have made several carrot soup recipes over the years, this one is number one. Don’t change this one folks, it’s perfection as written right down to finishing it with the lemon, butter and fresh pepper. I did use the 4 cups vegetable stock vs all water made with organic “better than boullion”
Thank you, Holly!
Absolutely the best carrot soup recipe. The flavor was so great- roasting the carrots is the game changer. We added a little smoked paprika, but was good without too! For sure will be a regular meal in this house!
This soup is devine!!! Roasting the carrots makes all the difference. I didn’t add any butter to mine, didn’t need it.
Girl- this recipe RULES. I’m not someone who really cares about online recipes… this is the ONLY one I’ve come back to again and again. Thank you!
I’m excited you loved it, Maya! Thank you for sharing.
I do not have a blender so I need to pick from a food processor or immersion blender. Thoughts? I could also try using my nutribullet.
Thanks for a delicious looking recipe!
Hi! I don’t actually use an immersion blender so I would vote food processor.
Just made the carrot soup as per recipe.. Loved it and will recommend it to others… Thank you!
Can I use homemade ginger salad dressing when making carrot-ginger soup? If yes, how much should I use in lieu of the fresh ginger? And if not, other than using the salad dressing AS salad dressing, are there recipes that call for ginger salad dressing? I hate the idea of throwing away any of our homemade ginger salad dressing. I welcome your thoughts, ideas and responses!
Hi Sue, I recommend this recipe as is. Sorry to disappoint.
Hi from the UK!
I’m looking to make the Thai version – at what point should I add the red Thai curry paste?
Hi Jo! All the details are in the recipe notes. I hope you love it.
This is the best carrot soup I have ever had. I followed the “classic” recipe without adding any additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice beyond the measurements in the recipe. I did add the extra 1 tablespoon of butter to increase creaminess. Roasting the carrots elevates this soup from good to sublime. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Thank you for your review, Bonnie!
Hi
Made this for dinner today. We had this with homemade Italian bread. Oh so yum!! This is the best carrot soup I’ve ever had! Keeper recipe. Thank you so much Kate!
Hi, Kate,
Your website is great and I have never been disappointed trying out your recipes. This soup is truly fantastic! I make the ginger variation to add some zing to it. It’s healthy, easy to make, and it feels light (no heavy cream). I usually make a batch and freeze some portions for later.
Thank you, Marie!
I have made the carrot soup several times and its s big hit for me! I love love curried version! One of my favs tor sure!
If I had not made it, you could not convince me it doesn’t have cream. It was so easy and delicious. I will make it often with different spices, thank you
This was delicious! I didn’t peel the carrots (from farmers market) and used immersion blender and came out so creamy! Kids loved it!!!
Thank you for this luscious recipe! I wanted a vegan carrot soup without coconut milk as I’m trying to lose some weight. I followed your recipe to the letter but didn’t serve it with butter for the reason mentioned. It was so thick , creamy and perfectly seasoned and definitely will be on the menu again!
You’re welcome, Fran! Thank you for your review.
Thank you for this luscious recipe! I wanted a vegan carrot soup without coconut milk as I’m trying to lose some weight. I followed your recipe to the letter but didn’t serve it with butter for the reason mentioned. It was so thick , creamy and perfectly seasoned and definitely will be on the menu again!
What a great simple recipe. Full of flavor. I was happy to rediscover the joy of a simple carrot soup. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
This is great! We used 6 cups vegetable broth instead of broth + water, and we didn’t have all of the spices, but it still worked out. Super simple and easy – we would definitely make this again!
Delicious! Thank you for this recipe…it’s definitely a keeper. One thing I’m confused about is the amounts of coriander and cumin. I noticed that in the video you use 1/4 tsp of coriander and 1/2 tsp of cumin, but the recipe calls for 1/4 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp coriander. Which is correct? It tastes wonderful as written, but it seems like in most soup recipes the cumin is used in larger amounts than many other spices.
Hi Margot! The post is correct. :)
I do not review recipes from food blogs, I usually lurk around and try them and then forget about them and writing a review the next day.
I HAD to leave a review for this soup. I live with a meatatarian partner who wants to have a side of bacon with his steak dinner, usually with a big ole glass of milk to drink. It is so hard to find vegetarian recipes that meet my need for a lighter, healthier dinner and his need for a substantial, often meat or dairy-based meal. This somehow blew both of us away. We made a double portion and half of it is already gone!
Even with a few mistakes, this soup is truly spectacular. It is so perfectly creamy, rich, and filling without making you feel heavy. The brightness of the lemon is a perfect contrast to the deeper, more savory profile from the veg. I used a plant-based butter and my partner couldn’t tell the difference – this is making its round into my mandatory 3 vegan meals a week rotation with that small adaptation. I picked up a fresh sourdough baguette from our local bakery and toasted a few slices for the perfect finish.
Signing off, gotta get a third bowl.
I literally devoured the soup! I couldn’t believe a carrot soup could be so satisfying…I added some crumbled feta on top along with some thyme…gorgeous…
Such a shame I only had 500gr of carrots…next time I’ll double it and freeze!
Thanks for sharing! :)
Hi Kate, this recipe looks amazing! I’ve read through many many reviews to find out if there was any reference about using baby carrots, but didn’t see anything pertaining to my question. I have an over-abundance of them and didn’t want them to go to waste. Thoughts?
Hi! You can use them, just be sure you use the same weight so get the same result. I hope that helps!
This was fabulous – one of the best soups I’ve ever had. We tried it with curry, and I can’t wait to try it with the Thai red curry paste!
Nice recipe. I used multi-colored carrots which did not give me the same gorgeous color as shown in the photos here. Nor did mine attain such a creamy looking texture, but I have no emersion blender and depend on my food processor. I added yellow Thai curry paste and some lime juice. The family liked it, and there is some leftover to bring an ill friend. Thank you.
This was so yummy!!! I cant believe the difference a stand blender makes compared to a stick blender!!!!
I tried making this in my soup maker. I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but it was absolutely delicious! Definitely one to make again.
Just made this for dinner. Had an excess of carrots and beef stew or chicken noodle don’t use enough. Found your recipe and thought it looked amazing and it WAS. So easy. Made it as written, minus the cumin and coriander bc cooking at my MIL’s and her spice selection is limited. I followed your advice and used a Vitamix stand blender and the result was silky smooth and deceptively creamy. I think the lemon juice and butter (I broke out the Kerrygold) gave it extra depth. DH, who doesn’t like tomato soup, thought it was good, which tells you how terrific this recipe is. As soon as I post this, I am forwarding the link to several friends.
This was excellent soup! I followed the recipe except I did 4 cups water and 2 cups of chicken broth and I did not add the butter, but it was still very good. Putting it in the blender made it very creamy! It made 8 cups of delicious soup.
Thank you for your review, Sandy!
Wow! This soup was AMAZING!!! I made the curried carrot soup variation and we were blown away. My picky 2 year old downed it in less than 5 minutes and is seriously one of the best soups we have ever had. Thanks for this recipe!!! It will be made many times!!!
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Sara.
This soup is the best! I only had a red onion, added some ‘scrap’ celery and it tasted great. It was so worth the peeling and roasting. I cut the salt in half, no lemon, used a 14oz can of vegetable broth and 2 cups water – still worked. Very forgiving recipe. I stayed with the coriander/cumin spices.
Soooo delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and used the Thai curry version, but did just simmer the carrots in the broth rather than roasting them as I didn’t have time for roasting. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad you were able to enjoy it, Audrey!
Immersion blender is perfect to make a creamy soup. Just you need how to use it. Do it strait in the pot when is really hot. (They are Made to stand the temperature, the other not. Unless you have a $500 blender..)
Absolutely no need for broth.
Water is perfectly fine.
OMG!
This is the bestest carrot soup I’ve ever had!!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m exited you think it’s the best.