Carrot Soup

This rich and creamy carrot soup recipe features sweet roasted carrots, warm ginger, and nutty brown butter for an out-of-this-world flavor! The post Carrot Soup appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Feb 18, 2025 - 17:03

Fresh carrots are one of the most budget-friendly and versatile ingredients at the grocery store. So when money is tight, grab a bag of carrots and make this truly outstanding, rich and creamy, warm and cozy roasted Carrot Soup. I used brown butter for nuttiness, cream to add body, and ginger and thyme to elevate the flavors and make it truly extraordinary! The incredible flavor in this carrot soup will blow you away!

Overhead shot of three bowls of carrot soup with sour cream swirled in them.

“Delish soup. I had a lot of carrots that I needed to work through so I made a double and half sized batch. Absurd amount of soup, really, but I’ve frozen it into single portions and I’m looking forward to making my way through it all this winter season.” MARLEY

I just love the extra flavor roasted carrots add to this homemade carrot soup. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness and adds a deep, caramelized richness that makes this soup taste like it came from a fancy restaurant…but for just a fraction of the price. Seriously, why grab a can of bland, watered-down soup when you can make a whole pot of this velvety, flavor-packed goodness for less? And because this soup is so incredibly easy to make, I urge you to make a double-batch and freeze the rest for later!

Carrot Soup

This rich and creamy carrot soup recipe features sweet roasted carrots, warm ginger, and nutty brown butter for an out-of-this-world flavor!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Total Cost $4.71 recipe / $1.03 serving

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings 2 cups each

Calories 504kcal

Author Monti Carlo

Equipment

Dutch Oven
Enamelware Sheet Pan
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

2 lbs. carrots $1.96
2 Tbsp olive oil $0.24
1/2 tsp salt $0.03
4 Tbsp salted butter $0.50
1 yellow onion $0.70
1 tsp thyme $0.10
3 cups water $0.00
3 cups chicken broth $0.27
1 cup heavy cream $1.42
2 tsp fresh ginger $0.24
2 sprigs Italian parsley (optional) $0.10
4 Tbsp sour cream (optional) $0.25

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Clean the carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch rounds. Add them to a sheet pan, then drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast the carrots at 400°F for about 35 minutes until they have softened and begun to caramelize.
While the carrots roast, dice the onions. Add the butter to a large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it foams and the milk solids start to brown. Turn off the heat, add the thyme and cook for one minute, to infuse the butter.
Turn the heat to medium and cook the onions in the browned butter until the onions are translucent, about two minutes.
Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, ginger, and water. Cover and leave the lid slightly ajar. Simmer until carrots are done. Do not boil, as the cream will curdle.
When the carrots have begun to caramelize, take them out of the oven.
Add the carrots to the chicken broth. Cook uncovered until carrots easily fall apart when pressed by a fork. There is no exact time for this, but it will be anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the age of the carrots, how thick you cut them, how long you roasted them, and the cook temp of your soup.
Add soup to a blender, Take the center cap off of your blender lid and cover with a towel. Blend in two batches and puree.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a few leaves of Italian parsley

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

How to Make Carrot Soup—Step by Step Photos

Overhead shot of sliced raw carrots in a sheet pan.

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Peel the 2 pounds of carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch rounds. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Roast the carrots at 400°F for about 35 minutes until they have softened and caramelized.

While the carrots roast, dice the onion. Add 4 tablespoons of salted butter to a Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it foams and the milk solids start to brown. Stir in 1 teaspoon of thyme and let it cook for a minute.

Add the diced onion to the browned butter and thyme. Cook the onion until they are translucent, about two minutes.

Overhead shot of chicken stock being poured into soup base.

Add 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 teaspoons of ginger, and 3 cups of water. Scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger. Cover and simmer with the lid on until the carrots are ready. It’s important that you not boil the soup, as the cream will curdle.

Overhead shot of sheet pan with roasted carrots.

Once the carrots have started to caramelize, take them out of the oven.

Overhead shot of carrots cooking in cream mixture.

Add the roasted carrots to the chicken broth mixture. Simmer until they soften so much they fall apart easily when pressed by a fork. There is no exact time for this, but it will be anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the age of the carrots, how thick you cut them, how long you roasted them, and whether you simmer or boil your soup.

Before blending the soup, remove the center cap off of your lid and cover the hole with a kitchen towel. This prevents steam from building up and blowing the lid off your blender. Add half of the soup to the blender and puree. Repeat.

Overhead shot of carrot soup in a white bowl with sour cream swirled in it.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you’d like to garnish your soup, try it with a dollop of sour cream, some Italian parsley, and black pepper.

If you want to add even more flare to your creamy carrot soup, try adding some of these ingredients:

Add curry powder when sautéing the onions
Replace heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk
Drizzle chili crisp over each bowl
Add a heaping spoonful of red Thai curry paste
Drizzle a little pesto on top
Add homemade croutons
Freshly cracked black pepper for even more of a peppery bite!

Serving Suggestions

This carrot soup recipe is very filling on its own, but nothing beats a side of homemade no-knead bread to dip in. Grilled cheese is also a must-have soup accompaniment, and our air fryer grilled cheese recipe is quick to throw together after blending the soup. Or, I sometimes like to serve it with a salad to cut through the creaminess, and the dressings in our kale chicken salad or shaved Brussels sprouts salad do just that. I also think this soup is a show-stopping (but budget-friendly) appetizer for the holidays, family gatherings, or dinner parties!

How to Store and Reheat

This homemade carrot soup will stay good in the refrigerator for about five days or frozen for up to three months. I freeze the soup in individual portions so I can thaw as much as needed at one time. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a pot over low heat, or pop the individual portion into a microwave straight from the freezer—cover to avoid splatter, and cook until it’s steaming.

Our Carrot Soup Recipe was originally published 9/17/22. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 2/18/25.

The post Carrot Soup appeared first on Budget Bytes.