Warm up with a bowl of nourishing apple carrot ginger soup, made with simple ingredients! You can finish it with heavy cream for some extra smoothness or make it vegan with no cream and coconut milk instead. Either way, this healthy version of carrot apple soup is incredibly easy to make on a chilly fall or winter day.
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Lizzie’s Notes
One of my favorite things about vegetable soups is how easy it is to whip up something delicious with such simple ingredients. Choose some of your favorite seasonal produce, chop it up, add broth, simmer, blend…and voila. A nourishing meal that can suffice as most of your daily vegetable intake is born!
I’ve been especially keen on adding ginger to my soups in recent years to score some immune-supporting benefits in the face of cold and flu season with two young kids. So when I set out to design my latest fall vegetable soup, I intentionally chose produce that pairs well with this anti-inflammatory root. The final result is an apple carrot ginger soup that will wow your taste buds without much hassle.
I love to add heavy cream to complement the spicy kick from ginger, but coconut milk is an easy vegan substitute if you need it. Or you can leave the soup without any cream when you want the full ginger experience!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Carrots: Orange, purple, yellow, red…they all work in this recipe!
- Apples: I prefer to make apple carrot ginger soup with Honeycrisp or First Kiss apples, since they are some of the sweetest varieties. Feel free to use any variety you like. Granny Smith apples would be delicious if you want a tarter flavor!
- Onion: Use yellow or sweet onions or even leeks.
- Garlic: Fresh is best in this recipe. You could stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder if you don’t have fresh cloves.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger is a key ingredient, and I don’t really recommend a substitute.
- Broth: Vegetable broth is my preference, but you can sub chicken broth if that’s all you have.
- Thyme and rosemary: Consider subbing sage or another herb of choice if desired.
- Cream: Use heavy cream, half and half, whole milk, or coconut milk.
Instructions
The full recipe card for apple carrot ginger soup is at the bottom of the post. Scroll down to see it. Here’s a preview of the instructions with my equipment recommendations.
Roughly chop the onions, carrots, and apples.
Add them to a pot with the smashed garlic, sliced ginger, herbs, and broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Blend right in the pot with an immersion/handheld blender. You can also transfer the soup to an upright blender, such as a Vitamix, in batches. Do not overfill, leave the lid cracked, and cover with a dish towel while blending to prevent overheating and splattering.
Storage and Reheating
Store apple carrot ginger soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. This soup also freezes well! Let it cool completely then transfer to freezer-safe containers, leaving about an inch of headspace to allow for expansion. Seal tightly, label, and store in the freezer for 3 to 6 months. Use within 3 months for best taste.
Reheat refrigerated soup in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes until warm or in the microwave for 1-minute intervals, stirring in between them. Let frozen soup thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating or reheat straight from frozen in a saucepan with a lid over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
Serving
Apple carrot ginger soup is a delicious side dish for dinner or lunch! Serve it with roasted chicken or pork tenderloin, salmon, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, or salad. It pairs especially well with my Kale Wild Rice Salad or Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Salad.
More Healthy Soups
Love this nourishing soup?! Warm up with these other recipes:
📖 Recipe
Apple Carrot Ginger Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender (aka handheld blender; see notes for upright blender instructions)
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion - about 8 ounces/225 grams; roughly chopped into sixths
- 1 pound carrots - about 4 to 5 large, trimmed (no need to peel), roughly chopped into 2-inch pieces
- 1 pound apples - about 2 medium, cored and roughly chopped into 2-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic - smashed
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger - peeled and thinly sliced, about 2 heaping tablespoons
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme - more for serving
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary - more for serving
- ½ cup heavy cream - sub half and half or whole milk, or coconut milk to make vegan
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup - for serving, optional
Instructions
- To a large soup pot, add the roughly chopped onion, carrots, and apples, smashed garlic cloves, sliced ginger, vegetable broth, and salt. Stir. The liquid will not cover the ingredients entirely but that's OK. Place the thyme and rosemary sprigs in the pot and submerge them in the liquid.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the carrots are fork-tender.
- Remove the rosemary and thyme stems from the pot (some if not all of the leaves usually fall off into the soup).
- Turn off the heat and blend the soup right in the pot using an immersion/handheld blender. If you don't have one, see notes for blending in an upright blender.
- Stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with more herbs, and add a small drizzle of maple syrup if desired. Enjoy!
- Leave a rating or review by tapping the stars on this recipe card (above) or in the comments section (at the end of the post)!
Notes
- Upright blender instructions: Carefully transfer the soup to an upright blender in batches to prevent overfilling. Leave a corner of the lid cracked, or remove the plastic piece in the center, to allow steam to escape. Cover with a clean dish towel and blend on low until smooth. Transfer the blended soup to a bowl, and repeat until the soup is all blended.
- Storage and reheating: Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or in a bowl in the microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring between them, until warm.
- Freezing: Let the soup cool completely and transfer to freezer-safe containers. Leave an inch of headspace, seal tightly, label, and store in the freezer for 3 to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating or reheat from frozen in a saucepan with a lid over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
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