Creamy curried carrot soup is oh-so-smooth and luscious, yet it’s made from simple, affordable ingredients. Sweet, savory, and sour flavors intermingle, making this the perfect cozy dish for a chilly day.
I’ve been loving puréed soups lately. They’re so simple to make. They have the most comforting velvety texture. And they give modest, everyday vegetables like carrots the chance to shine in the spotlight.
Of all the puréed vegetable soups, carrot has to be my favorite. Oh, loyal carrots. Always available, always affordable. Sometimes I forget how delicious they can be. They also store for a long time in the fridge. This is extra important right now during this (indefinite?) period of sheltering-in-place.
You can make a basic puréed carrot soup with nothing more than carrots, onion, garlic, broth, salt, and pepper. This creamy curried carrot soup jazzes things up a bit with the addition of curry powder, coconut milk, lime, and cilantro. Yes, please!
How to make creamy curried carrot soup
Roast the carrots. Sauté the onions and garlic. Simmer all the vegetables in broth with curry powder, salt, and pepper so the flavors can get to know each other. Purée with an immersion blender or traditional blender. Stir in coconut milk. Serve with cilantro and lime. Done.
You can definitely make this recipe by sautéing and boiling the carrots, but I find that roasting them takes this soup to the next level. Those little caramelized, brown bits you get from roasting add depth to the flavor. If you choose not to roast your carrots, just sauté them with the onions for about ten minutes, and then simmer in broth until the carrots are soft.
Did you know that you can eat cilantro stems? They’re entirely edible and add tons of flavor, so anytime they won’t affect the texture of a dish, I like to throw them in. Everything gets puréed in this soup, so I toss the stems into the pot and let them simmer with the carrots and onions. Waste not, want not. But don’t add the leaves until serving–they’ll ruin the color of the soup if you blend them in.
You can serve this creamy curried carrot soup as appetizer or side dish, but I find that it’s filling enough to eat as a main course. A bowl of hot soup and a fresh slice of homemade bread makes the perfect simple weeknight meal for me.
Creamy Curried Carrot Soup
Equipment
- Blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 lb carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil separated
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ⅓ cup cilantro chopped, leaves and stems separated
- 1 lime sliced into wedges
Instructions
Roast the carrots
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Peel and roughly chop the carrots into 2-inch pieces. Lay them out on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix the carrots around with your hands to make sure they're evenly coated in oil.
- Roast the carrots in the oven for 40 minutes or until fork tender.
Prep the other ingredients
- While the carrots are roasting, prep the rest of the ingredients. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Set aside.
- Measure out the broth and coconut milk. Set aside.
- Remove the leaves from the cilantro, roughly chop them, and set aside. Then roughly chop the cilantro stems and set these aside separately.
Sauté the onions and garlic
- When the carrots have about 10 minutes left in the oven, heat one tablespoon of olive oil at medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the chopped onion and sauté for five minutes or until translucent.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more or until the garlic releases its aroma.
- Add curry powder, salt, pepper, and cilantro stems. Stir to evenly coat the onions.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Simmer
- About the time the broth starts to boil, the carrots should be done roasting. Take them out of the oven and add them to the pot.
- Turn the heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the carrots are very soft.
Purée and add coconut milk
- Transfer the soup to a blender, or use an immersion blender, and purée the soup until smooth and creamy. If using a traditional blender, work in small batches and don't exceed the max liquid fill level. The soup will be very hot and create a lot of pressure inside the blender–overfilling could cause a soup explosion.
- Add the coconut milk and stir until incorporated.
- Taste the soup and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
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