Roasted Carrot & Fennel Soup
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Roasted carrot and fennel soup is a simple, vegan soup. Roasting the vegetables brings out such great flavor!
If I send my kids off to college with any cooking ability, I hope it will be the skill to be able to put soups together without opening a can.
I get the convenience of the can, but I can’t get past the overwhelming taste of salt and tin.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret the canned soup people don’t want you to know. Soup is easy to make.
Plus, you can put practically anything into soup. Root vegetables are often the go-to because they hold up well in liquid, but don’t forget that tomatoes aren’t just for chili, and that greens can add bursts of color to otherwise dreary bowls.
We are carrotaholics in our house, so it is only fitting that I have a carrot soup recipe in my back pocket.
Carrots in soup are almost always a must for me, and they make a surprisingly wonderful base for creamy soups.
If you like butternut squash or sweet potato soup, you’ll enjoy this carrots and fennel soup!
Ingredients for creamy carrot soup
Generally, soup is just veggies, meat, beans, noodles, or any combination thereof, simmered in liquid. Easy-peasy.
Puree the soup and you’ve got an instant potion to dip your toasts into, or a new sauce for this week’s pasta.
I make homemade stocks when I can, but I don’t worry too much when I can’t get to it. Use your favorite!
Grab what you need:
- Carrots, peeled or unpeeled and scrubbed clean
- Fennel bulb (save the fronds for another use)
- Onion
- Ground ginger
- Ground coriander
- Salt & pepper
- Vegetable broth
How to roast carrots and fennel
Roasting the carrots makes them even sweeter and practically irresistible.
We roast the fennel too, because roasting reduces its strong anise flavor. This makes it a great recipe for those who are new to fennel!
If you’re already a fennel fan, save some of the fronds to chop and sprinkle over the top of the soup.
Cut the carrots and fennel into pieces of about the same size. This will help them roast more evenly.
Fennel bulbs can have hidden dirt in the crevices between layers, so give them a quick rinse before adding to the sheet pan.
Toss the vegetables with olive oil and spread evenly on the pan. Add salt and pepper here if you like, or save seasoning for once the soup is simmering.
Recipe tips
While the carrots and fennel roast, we’re going to saute the onions.
Cooking the onions on the stove allows you to add in the spices to the onion so they toast nicely and get really fragrant.
Once the veggies have roasted, add them to the onion spice mixture and give them a really good stir.
It’s fine here if the carrots start to break down; we’re going to simmer and puree anyway!
Add your broth and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes, to let the flavors meld.
When you’re ready to puree, carefully pour the soup into a blender. Vent the lid and blend until smooth.
You can also use an immersion blender to blend the soup right in the pot. Be careful to not yank the blender stick out while it is running.
The soup will be very hot, so take care no matter what method you use for blending!
Storage tips
This soup makes about four servings, and you can easily double it to have extra for later.
Portion the soup into individual containers and let cool before storing in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Because carrot fennel soup is dairy free, it’s a great candidate for freezing.
It will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Don’t forget to label it!
Be sure to leave room at the top of your container to allow for expansion in the freezer. You don’t want your containers to crack and make a mess in your freezer.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and warm on the stove in a small saucepan or in the microwave.
Other soup recipes you might like
- White Bean Sausage Soup
- Baked Potato Soup
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Carrot Miso Soup
- Persimmon Sweet Potato Soup
Roasted Carrot & Fennel Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots
- 1 bulb fennel
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup sliced onion
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Slice carrots lengthwise into planks. Trim fronds from fennel and save for another use. Slice fennel bulb thinly. Toss carrots and fennel with 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a stockpot or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add onion and stir to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until quite soft and starting to caramelize. Stir in ginger, coriander, salt, and pepper and let spices toast a moment.
- Add roasted vegetables and broth to the pot. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, then transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.
I love fennel, and this soup looks delicious. And since my husband doesn’t love the fennel flavor, I’ll have the whole pot to myself 🙂
Why does Bloglovin’ send my email late at night… too late at night to make this soup and the grilled cheese that is begging to go along with it? sigh.
This made me think about Christmas. Weird, I know. But I made dinner for James and the kids one night when we were watching them, and I made roasted carrots. Neither kid would touch them. Too sweet, declared David. Too “burnt”, declared Ava. Turns out Chellee doesn’t like cooked carrots either, but will eat them all day raw. I should have pulverized the leftovers into soup. 😛
Reading this recipe in the midst of an ice storm; I want it now! We are also a family of carrot-o-holics and will love this one.
This made me think about Christmas. Weird, I know. But I made dinner for James and the kids one night when we were watching them, and I made roasted carrots. Neither kid would touch them. Too sweet, declared David. Too “burnt”, declared Ava. Turns out Chellee doesn’t like cooked carrots either, but will eat them all day raw. I should have pulverized the leftovers into soup. 😛
I recently tried this recipe and am now going to make it again tonight! I have never been big on soups but this is certainly the sweet exception, not to mention the fact that it also kept my fussy housemates satisfied (a very big win for me!) Now just to double the amount and stock up on too much crusty bread to feed their never ending stomachs… 😉
I recently tried this recipe and am now going to make it again tonight! I have never been big on soups but this is certainly the sweet exception, not to mention the fact that it also kept my fussy housemates satisfied (a very big win for me!) Now just to double the amount and stock up on too much crusty bread to feed their never ending stomachs… 😉
Delicious. Added some roasted sweet potato too. Lovely
Delicious. Added some roasted sweet potato too. Lovely
What a gorgeous soup! These flavors are my favorite!!
Thanks Jenny!
How much does this recipe yield?
@Abby It makes about 4 servings, approximately 1 1/2 cups each.
Thank you for this recipe. I had left over roasted fennel, carrots, a few asparagus spears, and one garlic clove. I added this to the suatÉd onion. and ZOUNDS! with your directions and spice selection, this was the BEST tasting soup ever.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for this recipe. I had left over roasted fennel, carrots, a few asparagus spears, and one garlic clove. I added this to the suatÉd onion. and ZOUNDS! with your directions and spice selection, this was the BEST tasting soup ever.
THANK YOU!
@Suzanne You’re welcome! The addition of asparagus sounds great. Thanks for stopping by!
I tried this recipe. The only thing I did differently was, I made my own stock with onions, carrots, fennel scraps and a handful of green chillies.
I made a big batch and am so glad I did because it was really really really delicious!!
It was so good!! The soup was creamy and fragrant and so amazing! Thanks a ton for the recipe! Can’t wait to try the others!
Lots of love!??
I didn’t have this exact recipe, but just had my first taste of a Roasted Carrot & Fennel Soup… This is really good… The flavors remind me of the broth from a stew after the meat and potatoes are gone.
Loved this recipe! Only problem for me was the the carrots weren’t quite done in the alloted time, I think next time I’ll add 5 minutes to the roasting and 5 minutes to the simmering to see how it comes along. I used a sort of small fennel from the farmers market and you can’t really taste it (but I was scared to add two haha) so next time I’ll know I can add 2 of my small farmers market fennels. Lastly, I added 1/2 cup of coconut cream and it brightened it up and made it wayyy creamier. Still vegan and whole30!