Creamless Cream of Carrot Soup

A Creamless Cream of Carrot Soup

I’ve been playing around with creamless creamy soups the past few weeks, including a creamless Creamy Mushroom Soup, Creamy Cauliflower Soup, and Thai Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. To add to this collection of creamless creamy soups, I tried a Cream of Carrot Soup.

Carrots are usually relegated to the background in stocks, soups and stews, serving as one of the three aromatics in the base (carrots, onions and celery form the standard base, also known as "mirepoix"). Seldom have I seen carrots highlighted in a soup of itself.  They deserve it, after all, since carrots are such a nutritious powerhouse. Carrots are the richest vegetable source of pro-vitamin A carotenes. Its antioxidant compounds help protect against cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. I know a 70-year old cancer survivor who has been juicing carrots for the past 35 years and attributes her survival to her daily dose of carrot juice.

Carrots are naturally sweet, so a little savory flavor complements this gorgeous vegetable. I added some honey to round out the flavors in this soup. It really made this soup shine. Just a note that this soup is also gluten-free.

Creamless Cream of Carrot Soup

The honey definitely rounds out the flavor in this soup. If you like, add a little curry powder.

Printable Recipe
2 pounds baby carrots

6 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon turmeric

2 tablespoons honey or 1 tablespoon agave nectar

2 tablespoons light coconut milk

Place carrots, broth, onion, thyme, bay leaf, allspice and turmeric in a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook on low, covered, until carrots are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

Puree soup in blender in batches until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot and stir in honey. Serve in bowls, topped with a spoonful of coconut milk swirled in.

Serves 6.

More Carrot Soups:
Carrot Soup, 101 Cookbooks
Carrot Soup: The Original Moosewood Recipe, Slashfood
Baby Carrot Soup, The Stone Soup
Curried Carrot Soup with Pan Toasted Cornbread Croutons, Gluten-Free Goddess
Carrot Ginger Soup, Andrea Meyers
Fiesta Jalapeno Carrot Ginger Soup, Healthy Happy Life