This easy carrot and parsnip soup is warming, filling and full of flavour. It’s deliciously smooth and creamy and a very comforting soup.
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I make a lot of soups this time of the year, whether it’s a hearty soup like my slow cooker lentil soup or a quick and easy vegetable soup, soup is always my go-to lunch when the weather starts to be cooler. It’s also a quick and easy option for busy weeknights!
Made with just a few simple ingredients this delicious soup is so easy to make and tastes lovely. It’s smooth and rich and everything you want from a big bowl of soup! It’s filling too so it’s great for a tasty lunch or light dinner.
What You’ll Need
- Carrots - You’ll need 3 medium carrots for this soup, I always peel them and they only need to be roughly chopped.
- Parsnips - I use 2 medium to large parsnips, again they will need to be peeled and roughly chopped.
- Vegetable Stock - stock made from stock cubes is absolutely fine for this recipe, a good quality stock cube will make all the difference though so if you can, buy a good quality stock cube.
- Cream - You will need double (heavy) cream for this soup, full fat is best.
- Onion, celery and garlic - One medium onion, two stalks of celery and one large clove of garlic or two small cloves.
- Herbs - Fresh is best here and I use rosemary and thyme, I love the flavour the rosemary brings to this soup, it reminds me of these roasted carrots and parsnips!
How To Make Carrot and Parsnip Soup
The full list of ingredients and detailed steps can be found in the recipe card below.
1. Start by heating some olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and celery along with a pinch of salt and cook for about 15 minutes until the onion has softened a bit. Next, add the garlic and herbs, and cook for a minute or until you smell the garlic.
2. Now add the carrots and parsnips and stock and simmer over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
3. Once the carrots and parsnips are tender you can now blend the soup. I use a stick blender to blend the soup until it is smooth.
4. Finally, add the cream, and stir well over a low heat for a minute or two then serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- Be careful when blending the soup, it will be very hot and can spit quite a bit so I always have the saucepan at an arm’s distance.
- If you don’t have a stick blender you can use a regular blender to blend this soup. Just be very careful as the soup will be very hot, you should wait a few minutes for the soup to come off the boil before you ladle soup into the blender,
- Try and chop the carrots and parsnips into roughly the same size pieces, this will make sure they are cooked evenly and at the same time.
Variations
- Make it spicy - If you would like a spicier soup then try my Spicy Carrot and Parsnip Soup, it's perfectly spiced and very tasty too!
- Make it dairy free - it’s really easy to make this soup dairy free, just make sure your stock is vegan and swap the cream for a medium potato. You’ll still get a creamy, tasty soup. Or if you like you could try it with coconut milk for a different take altogether.
- Add more veggies - this is a very adaptable soup, you can easily add more veggies if you want. Butternut squash or sweet potato works great, you could also add some spinach too.
- Make it extra hearty - Want to make this more of a meal, add in some chickpeas or red lentils.
FAQs
Technically you do not need to peel parsnips, but I recommend it for this soup. As the recipe calls for medium parsnips which can be a bit tougher than small parsnips, this means the skin will be tougher on the parsnips too.
I don't recommend freezing any soup with cream in it as the cream tends to split and this gives the soup an unpleasant grainy texture.
Parsnips are root vegetables that almost look like white carrots. They are in season between September and March and have a slightly sweeter taste than carrots. They are great roasted but are more often used in soups and stews.
What to Serve with Carrot and Parsnip Soup
We love this with some good crusty bread or a couple of slices of soda bread. You could also serve this soup with croutons, we love it with these homemade sourdough croutons.
More Soup Recipes
If like me, you love your soups then I have you covered! I have quite a few soup recipes on this blog, like my Roasted Carrot Soup with Fennel this is one of my favourite soups, it also comes with some delicious parsnip chips! Or try my Roast Butternut Squash and Parsnip Soup recipe, which is one of the most popular soup recipes on my blog for a long time now. Finally, my Spiced Sweet Potato Soup is a lovely simple soup which always satisfies.
More Soup Recipes
Carrot and Parsnip Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium brown onion diced
- 2 stalks of celery finely sliced
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1½ teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- ½ level tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves
- 3 medium carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 medium parsnips peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 100 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and celery and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning.Next, add the garlic and herbs, and cook for a further minute or until you start to smell the garlic.
- Now add the carrots and parsnips, and pour in the stock. Season with salt and black pepper and simmer on medium to low heat for 20 minutes or until the carrots and parsnips are tender.
- You will now need to blend the soup until it is smooth. I use a stick blender to do this. You could also use a regular blender just be careful adding the hot soup to a blender.
- Once the soup is smooth check the seasoning, reduce to low heat then pour in the cream and stir well. Cook for a minute or two on a low heat.Serve immediately with some good crusty bread
Notes
- Storage - Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, they should be used within 2 days. I don't recommend freezing this soup due to the cream. Soups with cream have a tendency to split, which can lead to a grainy texture.
- Reheating - You can reheat the soup on the hob or in the microwave, it may need a splash of water to loosen not slightly though.
- Nutritional Information - all nutritional information shared is an estimate based on third-party calculations. If calorie count and/or nutritional values are important to you, we recommend putting the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on which brands were used. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for best results.
Sue
Made this today and it's just lovely!
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Sue. I'm so glad you like it 🙂
Christine
Hello, I’m presuming that doing the option of potato vs cream it should be chopped the same size as the carrots and parnsnips and added at the beginning? Is that right?
Thank you,
Christine
Michelle Alston
Hi Christine, the potatoes don't have to be chopped the same size as the carrots and parsnips. They can be cut into quarters if they are medium potatoes, and if they are large I would chop them into eights. They will need to be added at the same time as the carrots and parsnips. I hope this helps, M x