Carrot Soup Recipe with Cajun Spices

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.

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! The technique works so perfectly with 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.

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 and chicken stock. 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. 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.

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 some spicy pepper slices, too, if you’d like!

BOOM! All done! Quite easy to make, 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

• Creamy or Chunky. Blend the soup to your preference. I like mine very creamy, and this gets very creamy. If you prefer a chunkier soup, only process half the batch.
• 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.
• Make a Double Batch. This soup is very scalable, so if you’d like to make an extra large batch, you can easily double the ingredients. You may need to get a bigger pot, though! I like to make larger batches and freeze it for enjoying later on.
• 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.

CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER POPULAR SOUP RECIPES

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Spicy Pumpkin Soup
• Creamy Roasted Hatch Chile Soup
• 30-Minute Sweet Potato Soup
• Cheesy Guajillo-Potato Soup
• Sweet Pepper-Sweet Corn Chowder
• Spicy Sausage Soup
• Roasted Poblano Soup
• Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

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.

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Carrot Soup Recipe with Cajun Spices

This creamy carrot soup recipe starts with a roux and simmers tender carrots with Cajun seasonings for the best carrot soup I've ever had. My favorite!

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Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cajun, carrots, recipe, soup, spicy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Calories: 316kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings: 8 cups

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5 from 3 votes

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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

Calories: 316kcal   Carbohydrates: 24g   Protein: 7g   Fat: 22g   Saturated Fat: 6g   Cholesterol: 26mg   Sodium: 325mg   Potassium: 577mg   Fiber: 4g   Sugar: 8g   Vitamin A: 15755IU   Vitamin C: 26mg   Calcium: 52mg   Iron: 1mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 12/6/21 to include new information. It was originally published on 11/6/19.