Simple Potato Carrot Soup (Vegan)
Well. Would you look at that. It’s the last week of October. It’s our last recipe of October. It’s over a month into fall. It’s cold out. Here in New York. And all roads lead to this soup.
Hot. Cozy. Steaming. Wholesome. Flavorful. Simple. Homestyle. Comforting. Soup. That’s what I have for you today.
It’s a vegan potato carrot soup, with thyme and parsley and sautéed onions and garlic and it’s so quick and easy and so perfect for every dinner night starting now till spring, give or take a couple (dozen) lunchtimes when this soup should make an appearance in addition to the evening meals.
Wow. I can’t believe it. I just checked, and the last time I posted a soup recipe on the blog was back in April 2018. Damn. Two and a half years ago. (It was an asparagus soup, by the way.) That’s cray. Firstly, time flies, because I feel like that asparagus soup hasn’t been in my life for that long. Secondly, why has it been so long what’s my problem I’m so sorry.
Anyway.
Let’s focus on today’s soup. This simple potato carrot soup. Really, it couldn’t be simpler. I’ll explain why.
First, you sauté some diced onions in olive oil. Then, you add freshly minced garlic (a lot, cuz yum) and sauté a couple minutes more, until the onions are succulent and translucent, and the garlic is golden and fragrant.
Then, you add in everything else: diced potatoes, sliced carrots, water, salt, pepper, thyme (fresh or dried, we’re keeping things open and available here), parsley (dried, no need to dash to the grocery store), and dasssss it.
Ten ingredients total. Nothing obscure or pretentious. All basic and delicious. So quick and easy. And so, so good.
Something else I wanted to mention: you can have this potato soup two different ways. And the two ways are actually quite distinct.
Either, after the soup is finished cooking and the vegetables are tender, you can leave the soup as is. OR. You can use an immersion blender and blend the soup up into a thick, creamy, smooth mixture.
OR. You can blend up half of the vegetables and leave the other half whole, so you have some chunks and some creaminess.
So wait. That’s three variations actually!
This vegan potato soup really tastes disparate depending on which version you try.
The unblended variation will be more savory and light, with a golden, glimmering broth and chunks of carrot and onion and potato in every spoonful.
The blended version will be thicker and creamier and more richly colored, and quite a bit sweeter, thanks to the blended-up onions and carrots.
I prefer this potato carrot soup unblended; every other person I’ve broken bread with over this soup has preferred the blended version.
I’ve depicted both variations of this soup above and below. Your prerogative.
Quick and easy. Wholesome and vegan. Cozy and comforting. Light and simple. Hearty and homestyle. Flavorful and nutritious.
A hunk of crusty bread. A bowlful of this steaming potato carrot soup. I gotta say — suddenly the idea of an impending winter doesn’t seem all that threatening.
Simple Potato Carrot Soup (Vegan)
Yield: about 6-8 servings
3 tablespoons olive oil
One large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 baking potatoes, peeled and diced
5-7 cups water (enough to cover all the vegetables)
2-3 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Few sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
1. In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add in the diced onion and sauté until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the minced garlic and sauté another few minutes, until garlic is fragrant and golden.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot, lower heat, and cook soup until the potatoes are very soft, at least 45-60 minutes.
3. Leave the vegetables whole or use an immersion blender to blend up some (so you’re left with some vegetable chunks) or all (so you’re left with a smooth mixture) of the soup. Serve, with fresh thyme for garnishing, if desired.
