Fresh, Light Carrot Coriander Soup

Sometimes – most of the time – I want soup to be the meal, and I develop the recipe with that in mind. That means added lentils, beans, something with protein to make it filling and suitable for dinner. This carrot coriander soup is not that, and it’s delicious. It’s an excellent side dish and we usually serve with something like an omelette.

With just seven ingredients including both dried and fresh coriander (cilantro) and a method that roasts the vegetables, it’s extremely easy to make. There’s nothing better than a good hands-off recipe that doesn’t need stove top time. Roasting the vegetables makes them sweeter and more complex so you get a simple soup that tastes great every time.

The strongest flavour here is the coriander, carried through with the mild carrot and sweet roasted onion and garlic. Vegetable broth is a good neutral base and you can top the soup with yogurt or crème fraîche and more coriander.

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

I almost never peel carrots (or potatoes, or beetroot, etc.) because it’s a waste and we only grow/buy organic anyway. If you prefer to peel them, go for it. These are my notes from recipe testing and you can find the full recipe card with complete measurements and instructions below.

• Carrots: any carrot will work, but keep in mind that purple carrots will make your soup a kind of muddy brown colour. This is a great time to use floppy older carrots that aren’t any good to eat fresh.
• Fresh coriander: this should be fresh coriander (cilantro) for the best result but frozen works quite well. Dried coriander or coriander seed shouldn’t replace fresh – the flavour is completely different. Fresh coriander is called cilantro in North America.
• Dried coriander: use either whole or ground, but note that you’ll have to grind it yourself if you’re using the whole seeds. I prefer the fruitier flavour of coriander seeds that I grind fresh in the mortar and pestle but pre-ground is fine if that’s what you have.
• Onion: pictured are three quite small onions because that’s what was available when I photographed the soup. I do recommend sticking to white or yellow onions to keep the vivid orange colour of the soup intact. Shallots are a very good substitute.
• Garlic: this should be garlic cloves with the skin left on so that they can roast in their skins. Note where they are in the dish so that you can easily remove them after roasting and remove the papery skins.
• Broth: use a good vegetable broth for the tastiest soup. That can be homemade or a decent store-bought option, even from stock cubes. I do recommend sticking with vegetable broth as any other option overwhelms the other delicate flavours.

How to Make Carrot Soup

You can see in picture three and four that there are a couple pieces of onion that got a little too dark. That’s normal and those little bits won’t make the soup taste burnt. (If yours darken more than that, or burn in general, you need to get an oven thermometer.)

Step 1: grind the coriander in a mortar and pestle. Since the seeds are round, it’s best to start with an up-and-down crushing motion before transitioning to the circular motion we usually use with a pestle.

Step 2: place the vegetables into a large roasting dish (pictured is my go-to 31×21 cm or 9×13 in. dish that I use for everything) and mix with the ground coriander, salt, and pepper.

Step 3: roast the vegetables until the carrots are soft, stirring halfway through if you notice any small pieces of onion browning too much. You can also cover loosely with foil if needed.

Step 4: remove the skins from the roasted garlic and transfer to a pot (or large bowl, but a pot is easier). Add the broth. To serve immediately I recommend heating the broth first.

Step 5: blend until very smooth using an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you’ll need to let the vegetables cool first before blending with the broth in a standing blender, then reheat on the stove before serving.

Step 6: stir in the fresh coriander (cilantro) and serve immediately. Be sure to taste for seasoning before serving.

Expert Tips for the Best Soup

• Use hot broth: heat the vegetable broth before blending with the vegetables so that the soup can be served right away. If you don’t want to do this, simply heat the soup up on the stove before serving instead.
• An immersion blender is best: I can’t recommend immersion blenders enough and I think every cook should have one. It’s one of my most-used kitchen tools – you can blend the soup while it’s still hot this way.
• Season to taste: any soup should be tasted and seasoned to your personal preference before serving. The amount of salt in different types of vegetable broth will vary and you can generally consider the amount of salt listed in the ingredient list to be a starting point.
• Use good ingredients: this is a minimalist kind of soup, and good basic ingredients will make a difference. While it is the right time to use floppy carrots, or slightly wilted coriander (cilantro) you do want a tasty vegetable broth as the base, and freshly ground coriander seeds make a real difference.