Creamy Tomato Carrot Soup with Red Curry
This simple creamy tomato carrot soup recipe gets a boost of flavor and spice from red curry paste and rich coconut milk. It’s perfect for those early fall nights to kick off soup season!
When I was in second grade, I received some devastating news.
I learned I needed glasses.
Yes, I was to be a four eyes, a pretty difficult pill to swallow for the new kid who was not only the new kid in school, but also unbearably awkward. But don't worry guys, I had a plan. Rumor had it carrots give you perfect vision, and everyone knows . And so my carrot bender began…
As an FYI for anyone thinking of doing the same, apparently no amount of carrots can cure a -10.5 prescription. Who knew. However eating carrots every day will make you incredibly sick of carrots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, carrots became my least favorite vegetable soon after.
Thankfully, after a bit of a hiatus, carrots are back on the menu for me. And thank goodness, because as I learned to cook, I found that carrots prepared for the adult palette are vegetable perfection. The carrots of my youth, raw carrots for dip or glazed with cinnamon and sugar are perfectly fine, but where carrots really shine is when you hit them with a bit of spice. Chipotle and orange roasted carrots…blended into a gingery dressing for avocado and butter lettuce…and of course, this creamy tomato carrot soup that’s spiked with red curry!
Why I Love This Creamy Tomato Carrot Soup with Red Curry
When it’s soup season, I love to whip up creamy vegetable soups, especially since getting my Vitamix blender. Y’all, I used to think a blender was a blender, and I know they are stupidly expensive, but my goodness do they make soups and smoothies deliciously creamy!
This creamy tomato and carrot soup gets kicked up a notch with red curry paste and canned coconut milk, which gives it Thai-inspired flavor. The red curry paste, which you can find in the Asian food aisle, is made with red chili, garlic, lemongrass, shallot, coriander and lime leaf. It adds spice, but also a really lovely depth of flavor. The coconut milk adds rich creaminess along with yummy coconut flavor.
How to Make This Creamy Tomato Carrot Soup with Red Curry
Making this tomato carrot soup is super simple, as are most pureed vegetable soups. Start by sautéing aromatics in butter or oil - for this recipe I used garlic and onion. Next add the spices - turmeric and red curry paste- and cook until fragrant. Warming the spices in oil for a minute helps “bloom” the flavors, releasing the fat soluble compounds in the spices. Next add the carrots and tomatoes, cover with broth and simmer until the veggies are tender. Blend the soup using an immersion blender or (very carefully because it’s hot) in a blender and stir in the coconut milk.
Then it’s time for soup bling! For this recipe, I went with fresh cilantro to brighten things up, a scoop of quinoa for carbs and texture, toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch, and diced avocado, because avocado makes everything more delicious.
Tomato Carrot Soup Serving Suggestions
This soup is nice on it’s own for a light meal, but usually I like to round it out a bit with crusty bread and/or a side salad. It would also be perfect as part of a soup and sandwich combo with something like my chickpea pita with yogurt and muhammara or roasted cauliflower sandwich with sweet potato chips.
If you enjoyed this creamy tomato carrot soup recipe, follow my vegetarian soups Pinterest board for more recipe inspiration!
This creamy tomato carrot soup with red curry recipe was originally published March 2016. Recipe, images and text have been updated to give you the best possible content.
Creamy Tomato Carrot Soup with Red Curry Recipe
Serves about 6
Adapted from Green Kitchen Stories
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
4 cups roughly chopped carrots, unpeeled (from about 8 medium carrots)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
Cooked quinoa
1 avocado, peeled, and thinly sliced
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in curry paste and turmeric and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in carrots and tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Pour in broth, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots are tender.
Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and puree, or use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot. Stir in coconut milk and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Divide soup between bowls. Top with a scoop of quinoa, and garnish with diced avocado, pumpkin seeds and cilantro.
If you like this recipe for creamy tomato carrot soup with red curry, you might also like:
Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Curried Coconut Corn Chowder
Simple Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup
