Am I boring you yet? You see, soup seems to be the only thing hitting the spot around here these days, and now that I’ve found this Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Ginger, it may be a while before I move on to anything else. I suspect that once you try it, you’ll want to stick around too.
This creamy carrot ginger soup is simple to make, warm without being spicy, and has a refreshing touch of citrus at the very end. Its rich and velvety and filling, which is going to trick you into thinking that I’ve added cream, but in fact this is an entirely vegan carrot soup.
It’s cozy, restorative, and I’ve been relishing having a big bowl every day for lunch. No matter how far the mercury dips (or since I don’t own an actual, old-school thermometer with mercury, no matter how low the “feels like” temperature my weather app displays), recipes like this carrot ginger soup fortify my body and soul alike.
Vegan and vegetable-based soups like this Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Ginger (or Potato Leek Soup and Curry Lentil Soup) are also ideal if you need a bit of a reset (ME!).
Between spending a week in St. Louis cooking and photographing 50 (!!) recipes for my upcoming cookbook (announcement details here; first behind the scenes recipe development post here), a week in Mexico, and Ben and my recent trip to Vail, healthy soups that satisfy my appetite and provide a wealth of vegetables are most welcome.
Of course, those healthy soups must be delicious too! This Instant Pot Carrot Soup is a fabulous mix of flavors. Here are the ingredients that make this easy soup taste positively exceptional, along with my tricks to make it super creamy too.
The Best Creamy Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Ginger (shhh, it’s VEGAN)
- Carrots. You don’t even need to peel them. Scrub, rough chop, DONE. Use regular (full-size) carrots, not baby carrots. They have far more flavor, and flavor is what we want in our carrot soup with ginger.
- Cauliflower. Part I of this creamy carrot soup’s lusciousness factor. I discovered the trick of using cauliflower to make soups creamy back when I made this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup, and I’ve been all-in with the approach since. You can’t taste the cauliflower; it’s role is to make the soup thick and magical. I’ve spotted a few potato carrot soups in the Instant Pot out there (which I assume would yield similar textural results), but I like that cauliflower is less starchy.
Plus I just finished off a pot of this Crockpot Potato Soup so it was time for something new…meaning something new that’s still soup. As I mentioned, I’m (happily) stuck here for a while.
- Cashews. Lusciousness, Part II. Toss a big handful of raw cashews into the Instant Pot prior to cooking, then let the pressure cooker do the work to make them soft and blendable. Once the soup is pureed (easiest with an immersion blender like this one), the cashews give the soup a richness that you’d miss without them.
I also included directions to toast extra cashews to sprinkle on top of the finished soup at the end. You’ll be very happy you did this.
- Almond Milk. More creamy. Extra dreamy. You can swap full-fat coconut milk for an even more decadent texture, though I prefer the neutral flavor of the almond milk here.
- Fresh Ginger. Ginger and carrots together forever amen. Because this soup has so few ingredients, I recommend using fresh ginger. Ground simply won’t have as lovely a result.
- Turmeric and Cumin. A few pinches of these golden, healing spices deepen the carrot soup’s flavor and pair beautifully with the ginger. Together, they create a bit of a curry carrot soup effect, without the need for curry.
- Fresh Orange Juice. As I was tasting this carrot soup with ginger, I kept thinking it was good but lacked that elusive “pop” that would keep me going back for more. A squeeze of fresh orange juice turned out to be the trick. It transformed this Instant Pot Carrot Soup from something I was reasonably happy with to something I have been enthusiastically devouring every day for lunch this week, and I am not even close to weary of it yet.
What to Serve with Carrot Soup with Ginger
Most days, I’ve been eating this carrot ginger turmeric soup its own, piled high with leftover roasted vegetables (if we have them), toasted cashews, and a dollop of Greek yogurt because a) protein and b) I usually overheat the soup and need to cool it down.
If you’d like some suggestions for sides, this Carrot Soup with Ginger would be wonderful with:
- Roasted vegetables: Crispy Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Baked Fries.
- A hearty salad: Moroccan Chickpea Salad; Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad; Broccoli Quinoa Salad; Winter Kale Salad.
- Grilled cheese: Apple Grilled Cheese with Turkey is a household fave. This Avocado Grilled Cheese is a tasty vegetarian option.
Craving carrot soup but don’t have an Instant Pot? Try my Roasted Carrot Soup or Curried Carrot Soup instead.
More Healthy Instant Pot Soups
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot French Onion Soup
Recommended Tools to Make Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Ginger
- Instant Pot (recipe tested using this 6-quart model)
- Immersion blender (one of my favorite tools for creamy vegetable soups)
Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Ginger
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds carrots scrubbed, skin-on, ends trimmed and chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small head cauliflower or 1/2 large head, chopped into florets (about 3 cups florets)
- 1 whole yellow onion small, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and left whole
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 can low sodium vegetable broth or low sodium chicken broth (14 ounces)
- 1/4 cup raw cashews plus additional for serving
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk plus additional as needed (for a more decadent soup, swap full-fat or light coconut milk)
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice about 1/2 of a large, juicy orange
For Topping
- chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the carrots, cauliflower, and onion. The Instant Pot will be very full. Let cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, salt, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne and let cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the broth and cashews. Stir, scraping a wooden spoon along the bottom of the Instant Pot to loosen any bits of stuck-on food (this helps prevent a burn warning). Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure (manual) for 15 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle is complete, immediately vent to release the remaining pressure. Carefully open the lid. Let cool several minutes, then stir in the almond milk.
- With an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy, adding additional almond milk as needed if the soup is thicker than you would like. Alternatively, you can transfer the soup to a blender and puree it in batches, then return it to the Instant Pot. (Be careful not to overfill your blender, as hot soup will splatter.) Stir in the orange juice. Season with salt to taste. Enjoy hot, topped with fresh cilantro and chopped, toasted cashews.
- TO TOAST CASHEWS FOR TOPPING: While the soup cooks, spread desired amount of raw cashews onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8 to 12 minutes, until the cashews are golden, smell toasty, and are crisp. Toss once halfway through and do not walk away during the last few minutes of baking to ensure the cashews do not burn. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool. Roughly chop, then garnish soup.
Notes
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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