There’s a certain type of autopilot I have to go on in the grocery store in order to not buy every eight dollar juice and bag of dark chocolate that my grumbling belly is asking for.ย My autopilot leads me past the avocados for a squeeze test, past the onions and garlic with a grab for both, and inevitably I end up strolling past the carrots and placing a bag in my shopping cart.
Honestly, I don’t know why I buy so many carrots.ย I definitely don’t need all these carrots.ย My produce drawer runneth over.
SO! Soup.ย Soup can disguise a multitude of over-shopping sins.
This is my latest rendition of Carrot Soup.ย It’s sweet, spicy, and creamy and I always have a container waiting for me in the freezer.
Get in on this!
Here’s what you’ll need:
โขย Carrots.ย Whatcha got in the fridge?ย Grab about 8 of them.
โขย Chicken stock or vegetable stock.
โขย Coconut milk, the canned sort.ย I like the light coconut milk because it’s just as delicious to me and has less fat.
โขย Onions and garlic and lots of fresh ginger.
โขย Red Curry paste.ย I used this one instead of making it from scratch.
โขย Salt and pepper.ย Cumin and lime.
Onions and garlic in a hot pan.ย I think this is where just about every good soup starts.
I added our boatload of peeled and sliced carrots to the sauteed onions and garlic.
Now for the ground cumin.
A lot of spicy fresh ginger.
And the Red Curry Paste.ย The paste is a combination of spice and bright so give it a small taste and add as much or as little as you can handle.
Aaaand whatever kind of stock you have on hand, whatever makes you feel nice.ย Ina would insist that you use GOOD HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK, but I’m not Ina and we all know it.
Simmer and simmer and soften.
We’ll cook the soup until the carrots are deeply softened. Not an ounce of bite in them- then off to the blender to blend the soup until smooth.
Return the blended soup to the pan and stir in the coconut milk.ย Taste and season with salt and pepper as you’d like.
To serve, I added a drizzle of olive oil, and coconut milk and a sprinkle of cumin seeds and fresh thyme leaves.
With a wedge of lime this soup is bright and zippy, sweet, and just lightly spicy.ย It also freezes quite well and makes for a nice surprise in your hour of need.ย Speaking from experience.
Photos with Jon Melendez!
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Carrot Coconut Red Curry Soup
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, or according to your taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4–5 cups diced peeled carrots
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth (you could also use chicken broth)
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- cumin seeds, olive oil, coconut milk, and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes more.
- Add ginger and curry paste and saute for another 4 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add cumin and diced carrots. Stir to incorporate. Add the vegetable broth, reduce heat, and simmer mixture until carrots are completely softened, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
- Using a blender, blend soup in batches until smooth. (You can also use an emulsion blender in the pot and never have to move the soupโฆ if youโre into that sort of convenience.) Return soup to pot, stir in coconut milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and toasted cumin seeds if you have them. Serve with a wedge of lime.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
23 Responses
Hello :) so am in the middle of making this pretty soup. But the question is: do i simmer with lid on or off? Thanks!
I start with the lid on to speed the softening of the carrots. Keep the lid on for most of the cooking time, removing the lid for the last 10 minutes or so.
Joy, this is such a delicious soup. Itโs so rainy here lately, my partner has a sore back making him miserable and work is super busy and stressful for me. I made this soup last winter and remember loving it, so made it again last night (with some bonus celeraiac that was looking sad in the bottom of the fridge). Itโs the perfect fit for a week where we need a little tlc.
This is my favorite soup. DEAL WITH IT.
Really Good!!! Used half carrots and half butternut squash because that’s what I had, and loved it! The citrus kick and olive oil drizzle were perfect. Thanks!! This is a keeper!
I bought Thai Red Curry Paste just for this recipe and I’m so glad I did! Used 2 Tbps but it ended up a bit too spicy for me while my husband LOVED it. Great recipe I’ll be making this again for sure, thank you!!
Made this comforting gem last night. Excellent!!
Made this tonight! I couldn’t find red curry paste at the store so I substituted a couple teaspoons of curry powder and turmeric, with a pinch of cayenne.
SO delicious. I served it with coconut jasmine rice at the bottom of deep soup bowls.
This looks delicious. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made this, and it was super good! 10/10 would make again. The leftovers also froze really well.
Ooooooh! Did you know that the light coconut milk is just watered down regular coconut milk? You can replace half a can of regular coconut milk with water and it’s exactly the same as a can of the light (except you’re basically getting two cans for the price of one).
Well that makes sense, now doesn’t it?
Looks delish! As for the coconut milk, I notice the brands differ. The Trader Joe’s brand (light) was very watery , but the Whole Foods light was much creamier. I think TJ’s has changed their suppliers since, so maybe I’ll try again. Time to make soup!
So I saw ‘red curry pasta’ and before I realized it was a typo, I got SO EXCITED for a second because I thought it was some interesting new ingredient I could buy on the internet and ship here to Utah. Paste makes more sense though, because I do think pasta in carrot soup would be a bit odd.
Sounds appetizing, will make it as soon as I can get the red curry paste. I have masaman Curry paste, maybe I will try that. Thanks.
Already thinking of how to hack this with the thai sauce from Trader Joe’s, because this looks so dang good.
Ohh dang I’m going to need this!
Am I crazy for wanting to eat this immediately with a side of gooey grilled cheese??
Seems like this would be an easy recipe to double too, so that there is definitely leftovers for the freezer! When freezing, any special tricks? Any need to keep the coconut milk separate?
This sounds fantastic!
I’ll make this soup, as I love satisfying veggie soups! You may want to change “pasta” to “paste,” when you mention the curry paste in your description-
If you don’t have too many carrots, you can add squash or pumpkin to fill this out. It’s a good combo.
Too many carrots, I feel you. There are enough of them in the fridge to feed a family of 6 and we’re only 2… So what’s the sensible thing to do? Send the recipe to my boyfriend and hope those carrots will become dinner tonight. Pray for me.
My gosh that looks so creamy and delicious ! I’m definitely trying this asap :P x
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