Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
Nothing beats a light and satisfying soup like my Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup. It’s creamy and naturally slightly sweet, and it’s also naturally gluten—and dairy-free. I like to top my soup with goat cheese, toasted panko breadcrumbs, and a little Walnut oil, which makes this soup recipe extra special.
Soup season is the best season.
I love a great vegetarian-based soup, and I love the combination of textures and flavors that you can add as toppings to make a good soup, great. I love vegetable soups in all their variations. Sure, sometimes I feel like a hearty soup with loads of protein, but sometimes a good veggie-based soup hits right. This is one of those soups. (If you love veggie-based soups, try One Pot Roasted Butternut Squash Soup or my 10 Vegetable Soup!)
The taste is fabulous with the flavors of sweet carrots, creamy sweet potatoes, and a touch of garlic.
For this soup, I love using the panko and goat cheese combo; however, you can add some heavy cream, unflavored oat milk, or even coconut milk for added creaminess.
Table of contents
Why is Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup Healthy?
Oftentimes, simple ingredients make for the best dishes. There are times when recipes with more ingredients and complexity serve the occasion, but for daily, healthful meals, I find simple is best. This Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup is very healthy. I add an indulgent spin on this sometimes, like goat cheese, swirls of flavored oils, or even a little cream. But you can add your spin on this with some coconut milk, oat milk, croutons, or a little vegan/vegetarian parmesan cheese. The soup base is perfect without any of the above add-ons. But what’s healthy about it?
Nutritional benefits
Just two medium carrots are about 45 calories with 3 grams of fiber. Not to mention Vitamin A, Biotin, Vitamin K1, Potassium, and Vitamin B6. So they pack some dietary punch in a small, crunchy vegetable. What about sweet potatoes? One cup of cubed sweet potatoes packs 448 mg of potassium, 4 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein, as well as various vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, vitamin C, and Manganese. These veggies are inexpensive and easy to find in most markets nationwide, so this humble little soup ticks many boxes.
Let’s talk Calcium. One serving of this soup provides about 10% of your daily requirement—without dairy added. Add dairy, and it’s a great boost to your daily intake.
Ingredients
- Carrots – use organic carrots. Organic is often tender and sweeter.
- Sweet potato – excellent for texture and natural flavor. Also, chockfull of fiber and vitamins!
- Shallot – for the subtle onion flavor you want in the soup without overpowering the soup.
- Garlic- for a little flavor boost
- Thyme – I used dry Thyme leaves for convenience. If you are using fresh Thyme leaves, use one teaspoon finely chopped.
- Extra virgin olive oil – works great in this soup
- Vegetable or chicken stock/broth – Stock will have much more depth of flavor, but both work well with this recipe.
- Paprika – made of ground peppers, this adds a flavor boost and is anti-oxidant
- Turmeric – for additional depth of flavor and rich in phytonutrients
How to add protein to this soup recipe
If you want to add some extra protein, choose canned beans like Cannellini or garbanzo beans. Drain the liquid from canned beans, puree them with the soup, and adjust the broth or stock as needed.
Step by Step directions
This healthy recipe is easy to make but requires three main steps. Half of the ingredients are boiled, and the other half roasted. Fortunately, the time for both is the same. The last step is to puree the soup in a high-speed blender or a food processor.
Vegetable prep
Start by washing the vegetables thoroughly. Peel both carrots and sweet potato and chop into uniform pieces. Peel and trim the ends of the shallot and peel the garlic clove. NOTE: I suggest using organic carrots for this soup. When peeled, organic carrots are typically more tender and sweet.
How to Roast Carrots and boil sweet potato
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place a silicon baking mat or parchment paper onto a rimmed sheet pan. Next, place the carrots on the rimmed sheet pan and toss them with olive oil, dried thyme, and salt. Spread evenly to allow the vegetables to roast uniformly. Cut a small piece of foil, place shallot and garlic clove onto the foil, and drizzle a small amount of olive oil. Seal the foil and add to the sheet pan with carrots. Place in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until very tender.
In a small pot or Dutch oven, add sweet potatoes and one dried Bay leaf, cover with water, and place on the stove over medium heat. Boil the potatoes until soft, about 25 minutes. Drain, remove the bay leaf, and set aside.
Can I boil potatoes and carrots at the same time? The reason I recommend roasting the carrots is to bring out the sweetness through the roasting process. The sweet potatoes are boiled to make the soup smooth and velvety when it’s pureed.
How to finish the soup
Remove carrots from the oven and place them in a high-speed blender or food processor. Add cooked shallot and garlic, as well as boiled sweet potato and vegetable broth. Puree until completely smooth, and return the soup to the pot the potatoes were cooked in. Add spices and simmer on low for about 10 minutes until thoroughly heated. Check for salt and adjust as needed.
NOTE: Sometimes, our veggies are not as flavorful as we’d like. If your sweet potato or carrots are not as sweet as you were expecting, you can add a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup to sweeten the soup if needed. Start with a tiny amount first, make sure it’s stirred well before you add more.
Serving suggestions for Roasted Sweet Potato and Carrot soup
I like to look at this Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup as a blank canvas. You can add a touch of cream for richness or unflavored nut milks. My favorite is with a creamy dollop goat cheese, toasted buttered panko and a drizzle of Walnut oil. It gives it just the right amount of richness and texture.
Another option is Parmesan cheese, croutons and a drizzle of olive oil. Another favorite is topped with plain, greek yogurt. Again, for a touch of richness.
A grilled cheese sandwich is always good with soup, any soup. Our Little Gem Pear Salad and Gorgonzola Salad is a perfect side for a great flavor balance. Another perfect salad for this soup is my Apple Spinach White Bean Salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t recommend it for this soup; we need the moisture content, and softened sweet potatoes will result in a smoother soup.
Yes! Just one cup has 195 calories with the toppings. Subtract the toppings and you have a slim 110 calories. So it’s chock full of vitamins and minerals plus low on calories.
This freezes perfectly. I freeze in two-cup portions and four-cup portions. Allow the soup to defrost in the fridge for a day or so.
Once the soup has defrosted, place it in a small pot over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until thoroughly heated.
Yes, you can add cream, nut milk, or coconut milk to add creaminess.
If needed, you can add a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup to sweeten the soup. Start with a tiny amount first, making sure it’s stirred well before you add more.
If you tried this recipe, please help other readers by commenting below and sharing some stars! We 🫶🏼 appreciate you!
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
January 30, 2023
Equipment
- 1 3 qt dutch oven or heavy pot with lid
- 1 high speed blender, food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 5 medium carrots organic, peeled, chopped into uniform chunks
- 1 large sweet potato peeled, cut into uniform chunks
- 1 medium shallot peeled
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1/4 tsp Thyme dried
- 1-2 tbsp olive olive extra virgin or regular
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp turmeric
For serving
- 1/2 cup panko toasted
- 1/2 tbsp butter salted
- Walnut oil for drizzling
- Goat cheese for serving
Instructions
Roasted carrot and sweet potato soup
- Start by washing vegetables thoroughly. Peel both carrots and sweet potato and chop into uniform pieces. Peel and trim ends of shallot and peel garlic clove.
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Place a silicon baking mat or parchment paper onto rimmed sheet pan. Next, place the carrots on a rimmed sheet pan, toss with olive oil, dried thyme and salt. Spread evenly to allow roasting to be even.
- Cut a small piece of foil, place shallot and garlic clove and drizzle a small amount of olive oil. Seal the foil and add to the sheet pan with carrots. Place in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until very tender.
- In a small pot or dutch oven, add sweet potatoes, one dried Bay leaf, cover with water and place on the stove over medium heat. Boil the potatoes until soft, about 25 minutes. Drain, remove bay leaf and set aside.
- Remove carrots from oven and place in a high speed blender or food processor. Add cooked shallot and garlic, boiled sweet potato and vegetable broth. Puree until completely smooth and return soup to pot that potatoes were cooked in and add spices and allow to simmer on low for about 10 minutes until thoroughly heated through. Check for salt and adjust as needed.
Serving suggestions
- In a small nonstick pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add panko breadcrumbs and sauté until nicely golden and toasted. Remove panko from pan onto a plate.
- Serve soup in a bowl and top with panko breadcrumbs, a drizzle of oil, a small slice of goat cheese and freshly ground pepper.
Note:
- NOTE: Sometimes our veggies are not as flavorful as we'd like. If your sweet potato or carrots are not as sweet as you were expecting, you can add a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup to sweeten the soup if needed. Start with a tiny amount first, make sure it's stirred well before you add more.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com