This soup is a great way to use up any leftover vegetables. Traditional flavors blend into a creamy, tasty, warm potato and carrot soup – perfect for autumn or winter. You can make this soup from scratch in less than 30 minutes, making it an ideal weeknight dinner.
I seem to have endless supplies of leftover potatoes during the colder months of the year. We use potatoes with most of our roast dinners, stews and other hearty dinners (and my personal favorite garlic parmesan potato wedges), so there’s always a few bags of random sized potatoes somewhere in the kitchen. Which is great, because I am never more than a few moments away from a creamy potato soup. For this soup we use carrots for some flavor and that beautiful, orange color, along with some cupboard essentials.
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How do we make this soup creamy, thick and smooth?
The simple answer is potatoes. Potatoes are great in that they create this smooth puree when mashed. Thinned out with some water, we have a smooth and creamy potato soup! We usually use some type of dairy product like cream, sour cream, cheese or creme fraiche to make a creamy soup, but potatoes can manage this just fine on its own. This is also true for certain other vegetables. If you like this recipe, and want to try other naturally dairy free, creamy recipes, check out my spicy butternut squash soup.
How to make a potato and carrot soup
Dice and chop all the vegetables. Heat up some one calorie cooking spray, and saute the onion and garlic until translucent in a large pot, then add the potato and carrots with some stock. Boil the vegetables until they soften completely, then use a hand blender to blend them smooth. The trick is first of all boiling them until they are really soft, then using a good quality hand blender to make the soup super smooth right in the pot. You could also use a regular blender, but I prefer the hand blender as it creates less washing up!
Tips for a perfect result
- Make sure to boil the vegetables long enough for them to soften completely, or you will have a hard time blending the soup smooth. If you’re in a rush, chop the potatoes and carrots finely before boiling, as this will reduce the cooking time.
- We need to add 1 liter of liquid. I use water + stock cubes, but you can also use 1 liter of stock. Vegetable stock and chicken stock will both work fine.
- Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper! This dish will taste like bland, watery mashed potatoes if you don’t add enough seasoning. Pepper is fantastic in this dish, and I add a lot.
- Saute the onion and garlic properly before adding the other vegetables. The onion should be glossy and translucent, and ideally have a bit of coloring as well. This removes the bitterness from the onion, and brings out a lot more flavor.
- Some people prefer to add toppings to their soup. If you want, you can add some sunflower seeds, bacon bits, freshly chopped herbs or a swirl of Greek yogurt or creme fraiche to the portioned bowls of soup. To keep this simple and cheap, I’ve just put some black pepper on top; yum!
More favorite soup recipes:
- Slow cooker broccoli cheddar soup
- Spicy butternut squash soup
- Bacon and lentil soup
- Kale and chickpea soup with ham
Potato and carrot soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 200 g carrots
- 800 g potatoes
- 1 l water
- 2 stock cubes
- salt, pepper
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables. Peel and dice the potatoes, carrots and onion, and mince the garlic finely.
- In a large pot, heat some oil, butter or cooking spray on medium to high heat, and add the onion. Saute until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add all the other ingredients, and place the lid over the pot. Leave it to cook until the vegetables have softened through. Depending on the size of the vegetable chunks, this will take between 10-30 minutes.
- Use a blender or a hand blender to blend the soup smooth. This soup is very thick, and if you prefer a thinner version, you could add more water or stock until you reach your desired texture.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in soup bowl, and add some ground black pepper on top.
Notes
- Make sure to boil the vegetables long enough for them to soften completely, or you will have a hard time blending the soup smooth. If you’re in a rush, chop the potatoes and carrots finely before boiling, as this will reduce the cooking time.
- We need to add 1 liter of liquid. I use water + stock cubes, but you can also use 1 liter of stock. Vegetable stock and chicken stock will both work fine.
- Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper! This dish will taste like bland, watery mashed potatoes if you don’t add enough seasoning. Pepper is fantastic in this dish, and I add a lot.
- Saute the onion and garlic properly before adding the other vegetables. The onion should be glossy and translucent, and ideally have a bit of coloring as well. This removes the bitterness from the onion, and brings out a lot more flavor.
- Some people prefer to add toppings to their soup. If you want, you can add some sunflower seeds, bacon bits, freshly chopped herbs or a swirl of Greek yogurt or creme fraiche to the portioned bowls of soup. To keep this simple and cheap, I’ve just put some black pepper on top; yum!
- Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months, or stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
What to serve with this dish
- Soup is always great with bread, and these dinner rolls with cheese and bacon are perfect to scoop up creamy soup
- For a flatbread version, this Zaatar flatbread is a great fit too
- If you want to follow the potato and carrot soup up with a main, try pork with apple cream sauce or super easy slow cooker lemon chicken
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