This healthy carrot and orange soup recipe is not just delicious but also incredibly nourishing, filling, and made with only good-for-you ingredients.
A one-pot orange vegetable soup that's LIGHT and easy. Let's make it!
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Recipe features
- Beautiful orange vegetables like carrots and bell pepper are prepped in extra-virgin olive oil with simple ingredients like onions and garlic.
- Then everything is deliciously infused in vegetable stock with leafy greens, orange juice, and a hint of spices.
- It's one of those soup recipes that quickly come together in one large pot with the help of an immersion blender.
- The soups' lovely velvety texture contains no heavy cream.
- I also share a few substitutions and adaptions to suit your mood and taste.
Ingredients & notes
OLIVE OIL: You only need a little to sauté the garlic, shallots, and bell pepper. It will release their aroma and create a beautiful, tasty base for this soup.
SHALLOTS: Their mild and sweet flavors are released by sautéing them first in some oil. Although part of the onion family, they are much softer in taste with a garlic hint and make this soup incredibly hearty.
GARLIC CLOVES: They give flavor to the base of the soup.
BELL PEPPER: Choose a red or orange one. Its flavor is still sweet but much softer, and the slight citrus elements complement the carrot's flavor.
SIMPLE SPICES: You want to add a few pinches of salt to the base and a royal amount of black pepper. It will wake up the flavors of the sautéed veggies.
CARROTS: I'm only coarsely chopping the fresh carrots since we are pureeing everything anyway.
VEGETABLE BROTH: I usually use a low-sodium packaged vegetable broth to keep this recipe simple. If you want to use homemade leftover vegetable broth, you'll need about 4 cups.
FRESH PARSLEY LEAVES: You won't notice the parsley's flavors per se, but it will nicely balance the sweetness of the carrots while adding a wide range of vitamins and minerals (especially vitamin K and the immune-boosting vitamin C).
FRESH ORANGE JUICE: enhances this healthy orange soup's overall flavors, adding a tangy delight.
Note: If you juice them at home, which I recommend, go for firm, full-colored, thin-skinned oranges to get the juiciest fruits. I have even made it with freshly squeezed juice from blood oranges, giving this orange soup a deep reddish color.
Recipe steps-highlights
Sauté garlic, shallots, and bell pepper for 5 minutes in olive oil. Season with sea salt and royally with black pepper
Stir in the chopped carrots and add the vegetable broth. Cook until carrots are tender, then stir in the parsley leaves.
Carefully puree the vegetable soup. Stir in the fresh orange juice while the soup is still hot—season to taste with more salt, if necessary.
Garnish with red pepper flakes or dried chili pepper and roasted peanuts (optional).
Substitutions
- Yellow onion for shallots: I prefer shallots because they are so aromatic and create a beautiful flavor when added early on. Your next best option is a medium-sized yellow onion.
- Chicken stock for vegetable broth: using chicken stock will make the soup much richer.
- Spinach leaves for parsley: If you really don't like parsley, you can opt for spinach leaves. They will give the soup a more earthy flavor and slightly tone down its orangy color. But still a good option.
- Shaved almonds for roasted peanuts: the almonds work better when you use spinach in the soup instead of parsley.
Note: substitutions might slightly change this carrot and orange soup's color, texture, and taste.
Spices and garnishes
- Extra parsley: I love to garnish this soup with extra parsley (flat or curly)—I am a lover of this herb packed with antioxidants. It also creates a beautiful contrasting color.
- Lightly salted and (chopped) roasted peanuts: This is, of course, optional, and omit it if you have any nut allergies. They pair well with this soup and taste so darn good, adding a salty, sweet, and oily crunch.
- Red pepper flakes: If you love a little heat in your soup, then add a few red pepper flakes or chili flakes. It compliments this hearty dish. Or, if you can find them, try chili-roasted peanuts.
- A tad of cashew cream makes this excellent soup extra creamy if preferred. Just make sure to add it before you puree the veggies.
- A tad of coconut milk or sour cream can also add extra creaminess if preferred. Swirl a small teaspoon into your hot soup at serving.
- Extra salt and pepper: taste test and adjust seasoning according to preference.
Storing tips
Make-ahead: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 or 5 days.
Freezing Instructions: Transfer the soup to freezer-safe containers for extended storage.
I like to freeze them in individual-sized portions and only take out what I need for a quick lunch or light dinner.
Reheating instructions
- Usually, I take the soup out of the freezer the night before enjoying it, but it's not required.
- You can also place the frozen soup straight into the saucepan and warm it over low heat.
- When reheating it, add some extra broth to thin it out just a little, if preferred—always taste test and add more seasoning if desired.
Serving suggestions
Vegetable chips or rice crackers: Serve it with your favorite healthy veggie crisps like TARO chips from TERRA (I'll leave a link below in my notes.) or multiseed crackers from Crunchmaster—delicious.
Try crusty bread or these homemade gluten-free biscuits with a notch of butter or extra virgin olive oil.
A beautiful and filling salad: Some of my favorites are green apple-kale salad, avocado quinoa salad, and Gluten-free homemade chicken salad!
FAQ
That's a personal preference. Usually, I peel them. But you can skip this step.
Instead, scrub them with a brush in a water bowl, then rinse and coarsely chop to add to the soup base.
A high-powered blender does the job. But of course, a food processor always works too, but you might not be too fond of the extra clean-up that comes with it.
An easier kitchen tool is an immersion blender which also purees your soup until you get a smooth, creamy, and velvety texture.
Always handle pureeing with extra caution because the soup is hot!
More vegetable soups you might like
Looking for more vegetable soups?
More hearty soups and chicken stock made with vegetables you might like as well:
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Have questions? Simply comment below or message me. If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a starred review below. Thank you!
📖 Recipe
Carrot and orange Soup
Mariska RamondinoIngredients
- ¼ cup olive oil about 50 ml
- 3 large cloves garlic chopped
- 4 shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped 5 ounces/150 grams (or replace with yellow onion— up to 250 grams)
- 1 large red or orange bell pepper coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more if needed
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped 465 grams
- 32 oz low-sodium vegetable broth 4 cups (946 ml)
- 1 cup packed parsley leaves or one large handful, plus extra for garnish (or replace with fresh spinach leaves up to 30 grams)
- ½ cup fresh orange juice 113 ml (the equivalent of 2 large oranges juiced)
- Lightly salted and roasted peanuts optional (or sliced almond)
- Dried chili flakes or red pepper flakes to taste if you love some heat
Instructions
- Place the oil in a minimum 5-quart pot and melt over medium heat.
- Stir in the garlic, shallots (or yellow onions), and bell pepper.
- Season with sea salt and royally with black pepper.
- Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots and stir to combine. Then add the vegetable broth.
- Cover the pot and let the liquid come to a simmer.
- Continue to cook, pot half-covered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Don't let the soup come to a full boil. Instead, reduce the heat if necessary to maintain a steady simmer.
- Stir in the parsley leaves (or spinach leaves) until wilted (1 to 2 minutes).
- Remove the pot from the stove, and with an immersion blender, carefully puree the soup. Of course, you can always puree the soup in batches using a stand blender or food processor.
- Stir in the fresh orange juice while the soup is still hot—season to taste with more salt, if necessary.
- Garnish with fresh parsley leaves, roasted peanuts if you have parsley in the blended soup, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Garnish with sliced almonds and red pepper flakes if you've used spinach in the soup.
Notes
- When reheating it, add some extra broth to thin it out just a little—always taste test and add more seasoning if desired.
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Nutrition (% Daily value)
Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.
This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated with new pictures and new information.
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