In March it will be five years since my Grandmother passed away and as the holidays pass year year I am reminded how much she loved to celebrate them. She loved spending time with the family, taking in the meaning of the season and she also loved to cook.
By today’s standards, my grandmother would have been considered a foodie. She called it gourmet and every year during the holidays she came up with new dishes that didn’t always seem to fit in with “traditional” holiday meals, but would have been applauded by chefs.
As a child, I didn’t appreciate this. I wanted the normal and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, not a bunch of food that was the product of thinking outside traditional constraints.
Like all kids, I was hesitant to eat certain things, but she once said to me, “How do you know you don’t like it if you haven’t tried it?”
That stuck with me my entire life. In many ways, it helped shape me into being adventurous with tasting and making different kinds of foods.
As I grew older, I grew to appreciate her style. She started making a carrot soup fairly consistently as an appetizer for holiday dinners when I was a tween and teen. The nostalgia of the season has had me craving that soup. She was the cook though and I don’t think anyone else in the family has tried to make the soup since we lost her, especially at holiday time.
I love soups, especially in the winter. This one is delicious, although it’s more of a take on my grandmother’s recipe versus her actual recipe. I actually don’t think anyone has her recipe anymore. Instead this recipe is inspired by her love for pushing the boundaries of holiday dinners and her ability to create new traditions.
I should note that even though it is carrot soup, it’s not vegan. However, if you use all vegetable broth (as opposed to some of the chicken stock I use) and leave out the heavy cream (there’s not much) you can make this vegan, vegetarian and Whole 30 approved.
Grab the whole recipe below!
Carrot Soup with Caramelized Onions
- Ingredients for Carrot Soup
- 2 Tbsp. of olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. of butter
- 2 large onions
- 2.5 lbs. of carrots
- 4 Tbsp. of freshly ground ginger
- 2 small potatoes or one large potato. I used Yukon.
- 2.5 cups of chicken stock
- 2.5 cups of vegetable stock
- ½ cup of heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Ingredients for Parsley Olive Oil
- 3 Tbsp. of parsley
- ½ cup of olive oil
- ¼ Tsp. of salt
- Wash and peel carrots, potatoes and onions. Chop onions and potatoes into quarters.
- Slice your carrots thinly. I used a Veggie Bullet (built to slice versus spiralizer and shred) one by one. I was done chopping all my veggies in less than three minutes.If you don't have a machine that can chop or spiralize then you will have to cut them by hand. 🙁
- Add olive oil for the soup to a pan on the stove and then add all your onions. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally and then add the butter. You will cook these for just less than 10 minutes to get a good caramelization on them. Make sure you are occasionally stirring so that they don’t burn.
- While the onions are caramelizing, add your parsley and olive oil to the blender and blend thoroughly. Remove and season with salt. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- Add your ginger, potatoes and carrots. Cook everything together for about 15 minutes until it starts to soften.
- Add your vegetables to the blender with 1 cup of the vegetable stock or 1 cup of the chicken stock per blend. If you can’t fit it all in at once, break it up into batches. Just make sure you break your liquids up too.
- Once everything is well-blended add the soup mixture to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add your additional vegetable and chicken stock and additional ginger. Mix thoroughly.
- Add your cream and mix thoroughly again.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for at least 30 minutes. If you can give it a full hour that would be great, but 30 minutes will do.
My husband and I ate this on Sunday night with some salmon for dinner. He loved it and went in for seconds. I was a little nervous because he isn’t a soup person, but he loved the rich flavor of the carrots with the caramelized onions.
It may not be my grandmother’s but it has a flavor all its own that is warm, comforting and filling.
We topped this off with the parsley infused olive oil and some homemade breadcrumbs.
Happy eating, friends.
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Looks yummy!!! I need to try this will let you know how it goes.
This is a great way to use up some of those carrots who might being going limp and not looking their best. Adding the onions that way is perfect.
That looks amazing! I have a whole bunch of carrots that I have not used yet and I think this might be a great way to make something healthy and delicious and use up everything in my fridge at the same time.
This looks amazing! This time of year, I’m always looking for more soup recipes — and this one will definitely make it into my rotation. I’ll let you know how it goes!
This looks fantastic! I love a cup of warm soup on a cold day. I have this bookmarked to make soon.
My husband is big into soups. He takes soup with him for his lunches at work pretty often, so I bet he would like this.
That sounds delicious! I love the addition of the caramelized onions. It adds such a sweet, earthy layer to it.
Soup is always good for the soul, but even better when they bring back those sweet memories. I has a wonderful grandma too who was a farm cooing woman who could bake like no tomorrow. She made a mean macaroni and cheese too! This looks so yummy and I am saving this for later!
This looks os cozy, comforting, and delicious!
Wow, this is so needed on a cold day like today! Looks so cozy and tasty. That Parsley Olive Oil sounds amazing 🙂
I need to try this for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever had a carrot soup before. I’m intrigued by the flavors going on here. I’m sure I’ll love this.
This soup looks so savory and yummy! I have some carrots on hand that this recipe would be perfect for.
Oh man, this sounds fantastic! Since carrots are one of the few vegetables my oldest daughter will eat I might have to give this a try soon!
I’m with your grandma on this one – “How will you ever know you don’t like it if you don’t try it”. This recipe looks so good and with temps in the mid-30s today is a GREAT day for soup.
Looks delicious. Will try your recipe even if I have to use some vegan options. Thanks for sharing x
Oh yummmm! This looks so fresh and tasty! I’ll have to try it!
Such a mouthwatering dish. My daughter loves carrots and Want to try this right away. Will let you know the taste.
Looks amazing! Thank you for breaking it down into steps I think I could actually follow. My family thanks you!
This looks amazing and makes me want to have it with this cold weather.
This sounds really good. I have always been a big fan of carrots. They are one of my favorite vegetables.
This soup recipe sounds great! I love anything with caramelized onions! I need to add this to my menu!
What an interesting combination, I never thought of mixing carrots and onions together for soup. I will have to try this!
I’ve never tried carrot soup (actually never heard of it before today), but this looks amazing. Your photos are gorgeous.
I am definitely making this over the weekend! I’m such a soup fan and carrot soup sounds delicious.
I haven’t had carrot soup before. It looks sublime. I tell my kids the same thing about not knowing if you like it until you try it. And I will try anything once. You never know what you will like.
This Carrot Soup looks so hearty and delicious! The addition of caramelized onions makes it irresistible!
I love carrot soup, I once made it when i had so much from my garden. I should make it again, thanks for the inspiration.
I love eating soup when it’s a bit chilly outside and I have just enough carrots on hand to try out this recipe. It look delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I can’t wait to make this Soup to share with my son’s teachers because they work so hard.
I know that I would love this, wow, the color is amazing and the texture is so enticing!
What a delicious and colorful soup! I just wanna dive in with a crusty piece of French bread!
Gorgeous photos! This soup looks so warm, comforting and delicious!
Soup looks delicious I need to try it, I am fan of carrot soup, your recipe sounds really good.