This classic vegan carrot ginger soup with lentils is an easy weeknight dinner, perfect for cold winter evenings. Made with wholesome ingredients, it’s thick, creamy, and full of flavor. You will make it over and over again!
This carrot lentil ginger soup is one of my favorite dinners to make when the cold weather outside is not cooperating.
It’s healthy, quick, easy to cook, and has a creamy sweet texture that I love. I make this soup with the usual suspects: fresh carrots, ginger, onion, and a hint of turmeric. But my special trick is to add some split lentils as they make it more filling and delicious!
And a splash of coconut milk as a garnish adds a layer of creaminess that helps to make this soup very satisfying!
Plus it’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.
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I love eating it with a toasted slice of wholegrain bread: the perfect vegan dinner recipe for cold evenings or with my favorite vegan sandwich or quinoa salad for an easy weekday lunch.
If you enjoy this soup, you might also love this red lentil soup with spinach and carrots with its chunkier texture and savory flavor, or this creamy vegan butternut squash soup.
Ingredients
This soup has only 8 ingredients (if you count water as one!). Its richness and creaminess come from the carrots and protein-dense red split lentils.
- Carrots: The star ingredient, carrots are full of fiber and vitamin A, and with their antioxidant and phytochemical properties, they help to keep colds at bay.
- Ginger: For a hint of freshness and a spicy touch.
- Red split lentils: Lentils help to fill you up and add more protein to this plant-based soup.
- Onions: For more depth of flavor.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Add flavor and richness.
- Turmeric: The perfect addition in the cold months, with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
- Sea salt
- Water: To blend all the ingredients together. Yes, you can also use vegetable broth, but I always use water instead of stock, to make things easier. Carrots and lentils give the soup everything you need, so why go through the trouble of adding stock?
And for additional toppings this is what I used:
- Coconut milk: To add some extra creaminess.
- Sesame seeds: For a little crunch plus they are a nutritional powerhouse in a tiny packet! Full of magnesium, protein, and zinc, sesame seeds will give you an extra health boost.
- Fresh thyme: To balance the sweetness and because it looks pretty! I also added some microgreens too.
How to Make Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup
You are not going to believe how quick and easy this soup is to make!
You just saute the onion in olive oil to add some flavor, chuck all the veggies and spices in the pot, add water, cook for twenty minutes, blend, and you are ready to go!
Just follow these 5 simple steps:
1. Prep the veggies: Wash and peel the carrots and cut them into chunks and rinse the lentils and drain.
2. Cook: The onions in olive oil. Then add the spices and fresh ginger to the pot.
3. Add: The carrot chunks and drained lentils to the pot.
3. Stir: For a couple of minutes.
4. Cook: Add the water and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Blend: Blend the soup until smooth using a blender. I use an immersion blender like this one to save time on washing up. Yep, lazy person here!
5. Make it pretty: Sprinkle the soup with the finely chopped parsley, a tablespoon of coconut milk per serving, some sesame seeds, and serve while it’s still hot.
Plus:
If you are tight on budget, this soup is also very cheap to make, but looks amazing and tastes divine!
How to Store
Fridge: You can store vegan carrot ginger soup in the fridge for up to three days, which makes it great for meal prep. Once the soup is fully cooled, transfer it to an airtight container, mason jar, or pretty glass bottles. When you’re ready serve it up again, reheat on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium-low heat mixing well, until warmed through.
Freezing: Once cooked, blend it and let it cool a little before placing it in airtight containers (I like to use glass containers) for up to three months. Once you are ready to eat it, remove it from the freezer and then reheat it on the stovetop or microwave. As soon as it’s hot and ready to serve, add the toppings.
Tips
Blending: I use an immersion blender like this one to save time on washing up.
Go fresh: I always use fresh ginger as it’s much richer in flavor.
Which lentils? Make sure you are using split red lentils. Their flavor is lighter and pairs perfectly with the carrot and ginger. Plus they will fall apart in the soup and blend up perfectly into a creamier soup.
Variations & Substitutions
Don’t have fresh ginger? You can use ginger powder if you don’t have fresh ginger. Just make sure you add some more.
Don’t have olive oil? This soup also works with coconut oil. But remember that coconut oil is full of saturated fat, so extra virgin olive oil is always my go-to cooking oil!
Add some grains. For a slightly heartier soup, especially when serving for the main course, add in your favorite cooked whole grains after blending the soup.
Topping ideas: I love sesame seeds but you can also use toasted pecans or walnuts, shredded coconut, chopped peanuts, a swirl of vegan cream, chopped cilantro, chopped cream onions, microgreens, or crushed red pepper flakes.
F.A.Q.
Carrot ginger soup is creamy with a touch of natural sweetness from the carrots and coconut milk while the ginger adds a bit of brightness and zestiness to the overall flavor.
Not necessarily. I prefer to peel carrots when making this soup but if you give them a good scrub it’s not 100% required especially since the soup is blended and you won’t see the uneven edges of the carrots.
The easiest way to blend any soup is to use an immersion blender. This particular kitchen tool makes it easier to blend it without burning yourself and means less to clean up later. If you don’t have one, a regular blender will work but use caution when transferring the hot soup to the blender so you don’t burn yourself. Also, I recommend blending in batches so you don’t overfill the blender and have any accidents involving hot soup.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Full of warming, healthy, and nourishing ingredients.
- A simple preparation of fresh ingredients.
- I can make ahead for the week to use it for quick meals when time is tight.
- It makes a delicious, hearty main course or a side dish or appetizer to pair with my meals.
More Warming Recipes You’ll Love
If you liked this creamy carrot soup, I am pretty sure you should give these other winter warmers a go:
If you try this Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it.
Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup
Ingredients
- 8 medium carrots
- ⅔ cup red split lentils
- 1 onion
- 3 teaspoons finely grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons coconut milk
- A pinch of sea salt
- A pinch of fresh parsley for garnish
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- fresh thyme leaves - or microgreens
Instructions
- Wash and peel the carrots and cut them into chunks.
- Rinse the lentils and drain.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil, add the finely chopped onion and cook it until it starts to soften.
- Add the carrot chunks and drained lentils to the pot. Stir for a couple of minutes and then add the water, salt, grated ginger, and turmeric.
- Bring to the boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes before removing from the heat.
- Blend the soup until smooth using a blender.
- Sprinkle the soup with thyme, a tablespoon of coconut milk per serving, some sesame seeds, and serve while it’s still hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!
Ina Jacobson says
Looks yummy. I will give it a try.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
I hope you’ll like it Ina 🙂
Danielle says
Loved this carrot ginger soup! And adding lentils is a great idea. I make it once a week now! Thanks!
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Amazing! I am so glad you like it, Danielle! 🙂
Sammy says
can you quantify how much 1 serving of soup is in terms of # of cups? from the pictures it looks like 1 serving is 1 big bowl of soup (so appr 2 cups of soup?). Let me know if this is correct.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Hey Sammy,
Yes, you are right! Each serving is a big filling bowl of soup, which is about 2 cups!
SKD says
Loved the addition of the red lentils for protein. Super easy to make. I used fresh turmeric chopped and heated with shallots and garlic in a bit of olive oil before adding the carrots and ginger. Even snuck in a bit of chopped red beets.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Thanks so much SKD! So glad you liked the soup 🙂 Beets sounds lovely in it too!
Becky says
This soup seemed a little bland at first but got better each time I reheated it. I kept throwing in a little more ginger and cayenne pepper each time I made it. I was sorry when I was done with it and will definitely make it again. Easy and warming for the coming winter.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
So glad you liked it in the end Becky! It’s not overpowering but I agree it gets better and better when you warm it up 🙂