Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup

This homemade carrot soup recipe is ultra creamy (yet cream-less) and full of rich, roasted carrot flavor! It's the best carrot soup you'll ever have. Recipe yields 4 bowls or 6 cups of soup.

NOTE: When I made this on 11/21/21, I used the Curried carrot soup variation (see notes). YUM!

Ingredients

2 lbs carrots
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil divided
¾ tsp fine sea salt divided, to taste
1 medium yellow onion chopped
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1½ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
see recipe notes for additional ingredients if you want to try a variation

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy cleanup, if desired.
To prepare your carrots, peel them and then cut them on the diagonal so each piece is about ½-inch thick at the widest part.
Place the carrots on the baking sheet. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Toss until the carrots are lightly coated in oil and seasonings. Arrange them in a single layer (NOTE: I needed to divide the carrots onto 2 sheet pans in order not to overcrowd the pan).
Roast the carrots until they're caramelized on the edges and easily pierced through by a fork, 25 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway. (Heirloom carrot varieties will roast in as little as 25 minutes, but regular carrots are more dense and typically require 35 to 40 minutes.) NOTE: It took me 45 minutes to roast my carrots and I tossed them every 15 minutes and rotated the trays between 2 different racks in the oven.
Once the carrots are almost done roasting, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the garlic, coriander and cumin (if following a variation, see recipe notes for additions). Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour in the vegetable broth and water, while scraping up any browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula.
Add the roasted carrots to the pot when they are out of the oven. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
Once the soup is done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!)
Add the butter, lemon juice (or lime, if following the Thai variation), and several twists of black pepper. Blend until completely smooth. (NOTE: I blended my soup on a fairly high speed for 30 seconds.) Add additional salt and pepper if necessary, to taste. Add another tablespoon of butter if you'd like more richness, or a little more lemon juice if it needs more zing. Blend again, and serve.
This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 4 days, or for several months in the freezer.

Notes

VARIATIONS

Carrot ginger soup variation: Add freshly grated ginger with the garlic and ground spices. Use 1 teaspoon for subtle ginger flavor, 2 teaspoons for more prominent favor, or 1 tablespoon for relatively spicy carrot-ginger flavor.

Curried carrot soup variation: Add some curry powder with the garlic and ground spices. Use 1 teaspoon (mild) or up to 2 teaspoons (somewhat spicy), depending on your preferences. For curried ginger soup, also add 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger at this time. (NOTE: I added 2 teaspoons of curry and used the rasp grater to grate 2 teaspoons of ginger, which I thought was perfect.)

Thai curried carrot soup variation: Add Thai red curry paste with the garlic and ground spices (be sure to choose a vegan/vegetarian option if you're avoiding fish produces, such as Thai Kitchen). Use 1 1/2 teaspoons (mild) or up to 1 Tablespoon (relatively spicy), depending on your preferences. Substitute lime juice for the lemon. You might like to garnish your bowls of soup with some chopped roasted peanuts and fresh cilantro leaves.

Make it dairy free/vegan: A few options. One, if you enjoy the flavor of the blended soup without butter, you can skip it altogether. For more richness, you could blend in a tablespoon of good olive oil or use cashes instead of butter. Soak 1/4 cup cashews for 4 hours, then drain and rinse them (if you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, you can skip this). Add the cashews when you would add the butter.

This recipe is from the Cookie + Kate website (https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-carrot-soup-recipe).