This silky, creamy carrot soup recipe starts with a roux and simmers tender carrots with Cajun seasonings for just the right amount of spice for the best carrot soup ever.
Carrot Soup Recipe
Soup season is here, my friends, and I love it. I've been making a number of different soups, partly in experimenting in the kitchen but mostly because I just want soup!
I love that I can make a big batch and freeze any leftovers I want to enjoy later in the week for a quick lunch or dinner.
There are many different ways to make soup, but lately I've been making mine Cajun style. What that means is many of my more recent soups start with a roux, which is a mixture of flour and oil that is cooked down, giving the soup a thick and creamy base.
I'm also using a lot of Cajun seasonings, which always bring lots of flavor and sometimes heat, depending on your preferred brand or Cajun seasoning recipe.
The great thing about making soups this way is the method works so nicely with different bases for soups and stews.
It's a bit like making a gumbo, then deviates at the end. You can make it with corn, pumpkin, potatoes, squash, peppers, tomatoes, just about any vegetables you prefer, or combination thereof.
Today I'm making this soup with Carrots. Have you ever had a good carrot soup? This is it! Carrots are great in so many things.
The technique works so perfectly with sweet carrots, you'll never want to make it any other way again. Carrots have an inherent sweetness that truly shines when they're cooked down.
You can even try roasting the carrots first for roasted carrot soup.
Add in a few peppers (of course) and spicy seasonings and BOOM! You basically have the best carrot soup ever. Best I've ever had.
Let's talk about how to make carrot soup, shall we?
Carrot Soup Ingredients
- Oil. Use peanut oil or vegetable oil
- Flour. To make the roux. 1/2 cup.
- Fresh Carrots. Use about 1.5 pounds carrots, peeled and stemmed.
- Peppers. Bell peppers are great, but I used some Fresno peppers & jalapeno peppers for more heat.
- Other Vegetables. Onion, celery, garlic.
- Cajun Seasonings.
- Chicken Stock. Vegetable stock or broth is great, too.
- Heavy Cream. Optional for extra creamy texture and flavor. You can also use Greek yogurt, Mexican crema or sour cream, or coconut milk.
- Salt and Pepper. To taste.
- For Serving. Fresh chopped herbs, spicy red pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil
How to Make Carrot Soup with Cajun Spices - the Recipe Method
Make a Roux. First, add ½ cup peanut oil to a large pot and heat to medium heat. I use my Dutch oven for this, but any larger soup pot will do. Add the flour and stir.
Cook for 10-15 minutes, constantly stirring, until the roux turns a light blonde brown. You can cook it longer for a darker, richer color and flavor.
Check out my post on How to Make Gumbo to learn more about How to Make a Roux.
Add the Vegetables. Add carrots, peppers, onion, celery and garlic. Stir and cook about 5 minutes.
Seasonings and Stock. Add Cajun seasoning, chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom.
You can use most types of stocks or broths here - vegetable broth or stock, chicken broth, beef broth, or a combo.
Simmer the Carrot Soup. Cook at medium-low heat for 30 minutes to thicken. You can simmer longer if you’d like.
I often simmer for 1 hour. Everything will soften up and break down, and more importantly, develop in flavor.
Puree the Soup. Puree the carrots, onions and all the ingredients of the soup with an immersion blender, or transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor.
Process until smooth.
For Creamy Carrot Soup. This is an optional step to add cream. Stir in the heavy cream. You can use milk, yogurt, sour cream or crema for a lighter version.
Skip it for a dairy free carrot soup. It's still quite a creamy soup without it.
Serve the Carrot Soup. Serve into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped herbs, spicy chili flakes and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil, and season to taste.
And some spicy pepper slices, too, if you’d like!
BOOM! All done! Easy carrot soup, isn't it? Nice and spicy and wonderfully flavorful. I've already said it but I'll say it again, best carrot soup ever. It's my favorite.
Patty's, too. She loves it!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Lighten It Up. I like to add a bit of heavy cream to my soup for both an extra creamy texture and flavor. The soup is pretty creamy on its own, though, so skip if you’d like to save calories. Or, try a sour cream or crema mixed with a bit of water or milk to swirl into the soup.
- Spice It Up YOUR Way. I am using a spicy Cajun blend (Creole works great, too), but if you’d like to go with flavors that are more traditional to carrot soup, skip the Cajun blend and go with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. A good Jamaican Jerk seasoning blend works great with this recipe as well. Consider coconut milk with curry powder and fresh ginger for an interesting version.
- Other Bases. As mentioned, I'm using carrots here as my base, along with some peppers for flavor, but this works great with different bases or a combination of them. Substitute butternut squash for the carrots to make a great butternut squash soup. Sub in pumpkin for a great Spicy Pumpkin Soup recipe. Think Creamy Potato soup. Use all peppers for a creamy chili pepper soup. I'm getting on that right away!
That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy your spicy carrot soup. It doesn't have to be TOO spicy if you don't want it that way. Maybe just a little.
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Carrot Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
- ½ cup flour
- 1.5 pounds carrots peeled and stemmed
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped I used some Fresno peppers & jalapeno peppers for more heat
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium celery stalk chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped (or more as desired! I like a lot of garlic)
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning or more to taste
- 6 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream optional for extra creamy texture and flavor
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For Serving: Fresh chopped herbs spicy chili flakes, extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add ½ cup peanut oil to a large pot and heat to medium heat. Add flour and stir. Cook for 10-15 minutes, constantly stirring, until the roux turns a light blonde brown. You can cook it longer for a darker, richer color and flavor.
- Add carrots, peppers, onion, celery and garlic. Stir and cook about 5 minutes.
- Add Cajun seasoning and chicken stock. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom.
- Cook at medium-low heat for 30 minutes to thicken. You can simmer longer if you’d like. I often simmer for 1 hour.
- Process the mixture with an immersion blender, or transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream (or use Greek yogurt). Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped herbs, spicy chili flakes and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil. And some spicy pepper slices, too, if you’d like!
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 12/6/21 to include new information. It was originally published on 11/6/19.
Lisa says
what do you use the flour for?
Mike Hultquist says
For the roux. The full recipe is in the recipe card. See step 1.
Cynthia Hall says
I have a few bags of carrots in the fridge that need a recipe. So glad I found this. Love these recipies
Mike Hultquist says
Perfect way to use them! Thanks, Cynthia!
Jane says
we made this soup and it is so delicious. it's one of those soups that you just cannot stop eating.
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Jane! I appreciate it. This is my favorite way to make it. So good!
Jean says
Made this soup for our supper club. It was Cajun night. Everyone loved it. Gave everyone a copy of it. Was delicious.
Mike Hultquist says
Nice! Sounds like a great win, Jean! Glad you enjoyed it!
ANTONIO says
delicious
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Lois Carta says
My husband said carrot soup??? But then I made it and he said I love this soup! Its really delicious. I'll definitely make this again and again!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Lois! We love this version! Nice and spicy. =)
Patricia says
Sounds delicious! Do know it if freezes well?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Patricia. I does freeze very well. I freeze this soup and others like it all the time. Enjoy!