If our vegan carrot soup and Thai-inspired butternut squash soup were to have a child, then this carrot ginger would be the baby! She has the best of both parents. It’s creamy and luxurious with a hint of spice and ginger, but not overly complicated. Oh, and the sweet and spicy topping with seeds? Highly recommended!
How to make creamy vegan carrot ginger soup
This easy, 1-pot soup with eight ingredients starts with a gingery, savory, sweet base made of onions, garlic, and ginger sauteed in butter. Two pounds of carrots, to be exact.
You can make this soup right now if you have the pantry essentials. We love recipes that don’t involve running to the grocery store!
You must have some salt! We think you have vegetable broth, salt, and coconut milk in a can. Cans of coconut milk? Red pepper flakes are you using? They’re always there but optional if you’re not into a spicy kick.
We strongly recommend that you prepare the optional sweet-spicy seed topping while the soup simmers! You can make it as easy as mixing pepitas and sunflower seeds with maple syrup and spices and then baking them until they are lightly golden.
Add the pureed coconut milk when the carrots have become super soft, and the flavors are developed. This will create a super rich, creamy texture. The seeds with a sweet and spicy flavor are the perfect contrast in texture!
This dish freezes well and is easy to make with pantry staples. It’s a good choice for when you have a surplus of carrots. We love to serve sriracha with our Crispy Peanut Tofu, or Crispy Brussels sprouts With Sriracha Aioli.
Ingredients
- Add more water if necessary.
- Peeled carrots are fine, but you can also use 2 pounds of carrots. This will yield approximately 6 cups or 15 medium carrots (7 inches / 18 cm).
- One medium-sized white or yellow onion diced (one onion yields about 2 cups or 275g)
- Fresh ginger minced in 1 Tbsp
- Three cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4-1 tsp sea salt
- 14 tsp of red pepper flakes ( optional )
- 3 cups vegetable stock or store-bought
- 1 (14-oz.) can of light coconut milk (or sub-cashew cream)
SWEET & SPICY SEEDS optional
- 1/4 cup raw pepitas (also known as pumpkin seeds)
- 2 Tbsp raw sunflower seeds
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp homemade curry powder or store-bought
- 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Optional FOR SERVING
- Sriracha
Instructions
STOVETOP
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and carrots. Stir occasionally until the carrots start to soften and the onions become translucent.
- Add the optional red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, and sea salt. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking for another 1-2 more minutes until fragrant.
- Bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot once it has simmered, and turn down the heat. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 15-20 minutes until carrots are very tender.
- Prepare the sweet and spicy seeds topping in the meantime (see instructions below the Instant-Pot recipe).
- Remove the pan from the heat, and add the coconut milk.
- Blend the soup with an Immersion blender until it is super smooth and thick. You can also let the soup cool down for a couple of minutes and then blend in a regular blender in small batches.
- Salt to taste and add more for a stronger flavor. Serve with sriracha and seedy topping (both optional but highly recommended!) ).
- You can store leftover soups in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the frozen for up to 1 month. Reheat the soup in the microwave or on the stovetop.