Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup Recipe

It doesn't matter what time of year it is — there's nothing quite as comforting as whipping up and enjoying a warm bowl of soup. If you're in the mood for an appetizer or a hearty lunch that's beautiful, flavorful, and jam-packed with health benefits, then look no further than this vegan carrot ginger soup recipe.

Bright orange carrots form the base of this delicious soup, and they are rich in natural sweetness and beta carotene (which the body transforms into vitamin A) that's essential for eye health. Carrots are a pretty amazing star of the show when it comes to this recipe. Seasoned with antioxidant turmeric, this vibrant orange veggie takes on an even deeper, richer golden hue and an almost buttery flavor. Ginger juice is the second star of this soup, adding a bright, zingy, almost spicy flavor. And it also lends its own proven health benefits including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

This soup is the absolute perfect dish to cook up when you feel like you might be coming down with a cold, or you're simply craving a cozy kind of meal. It's velvety and creamy, and with its carrot ribbon garnish, it may look like a dish you'd order up at a fancy restaurant. But it's deceptively simple to make — just let recipe developer Maren Epstein of Eating Works be your guide, and you'll soon be a master!

Before you get cooking, you'll first want to gather up all of the necessary ingredients so they are set and ready to go. Of course, carrots form the base of this vegan carrot ginger soup. They're cooked with sweet white onion and a pinch of salt in toasted sesame oil, which adds such a lovely depth of flavor to the finished product. The veggies are seasoned with turmeric and cumin before being joined by the liquid of your choice. Epstein says that either water or vegetable stock will work, although she prefers the former, which isn't just easier, but also paves the way for a "cleaner" final flavor, where the carrots remain the star of the show.

Ginger juice and oat creamer are added at the very end of the process after the soup has been blended. The latter, Epstein explains, is "a bit fattier [than oat milk and] similar to heavy cream." She also says, "You can sub any kind of creamer for the oat, including almond or coconut," so choose whichever one suits your fancy.

A touch of rice wine vinegar is an optional finishing touch, and a garnish of shaved carrot ribbons makes for the most picture-perfect presentation anyone you're serving it to will be excited about. Once all of your items are lined up, you're ready to prepare this mouthwatering recipe.

In order to whip up this vegan carrot ginger soup, you're going to start by cooking the base. In a soup pot over medium heat, heat up the oil until it's shimmering. Then, you're going to add in the onions and salt, and sweat for seven minutes, or until the onions are translucent. This step will also help bring out the natural sweetness of the onions.

Once the onions are cooked, add in the carrots, turmeric, and cumin to the pot. Cook until the carrots are slightly softened, which should take about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir every so often so that the mild, delicate spices can toast without burning.

When the vegetables are softened up, it's time to add the liquid to this soup. Epstein prefers water to help the carrots remain the star of the dish, but you could also opt for a mild vegetable stock, if you'd prefer. 

Either way, once the liquid has been added, cover the soup partially, and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat, and cook the soup at a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the carrots are tender enough to be pierced with a fork. Cooking the carrots through at this point is an essential step to ensure the soup is velvety smooth when blended, so don't cut corners!

When the carrots are nice and tender, it's time to blend the vegan carrot ginger soup. A blender or immersion blender will both work here — just make sure that no bits of carrot or onion remain. 

Once the soup is fully blended, it's time to add in the oat creamer, which will add an even richer, more velvety texture to the soup that everyone you serve it to will love. Stir to combine, and then, if you used a standard blender, return the soup to the pot. There's just one more step you have to do before the soup is ready to serve, so get excited!

It's time to season the vegan carrot ginger soup with its second headliner: the ginger! For this recipe, Epstein opts for ginger juice, which has all the flavor of ginger but none of the stringy texture. "I bought the ginger juice for this recipe," she says, "but you can easily make ginger juice by peeling the ginger, grating it, and then squeezing the juice out through a cheese cloth."

Stir the ginger juice through the soup, and check for seasoning, adding rice wine vinegar if you'd like to give the soup some extra zing. Garnish each bowl off with some carrot ribbons, which you can make by using a vegetable peeler to shave long slices of carrot. Then, it's finally time to serve the soup to your family or guests, and enjoy!