By: Denise Bustard78 Comments
Posted: 5/26/20Updated: 11/17/20
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Warm up with a bowl of creamy Instant Pot carrot ginger soup! Made with carrots, ginger, coconut milk, thyme leaves, and a squeeze of lime, this soup is both easy to prepare, and tasty to eat.
Soups and stews are one of my favorite things to make in the Instant Pot. From Instant Pot Tuscan chicken stew to Spicy Chickpea Chili to this delicious carrot ginger soup, I love that you can set it and not worry about stirring or the pot boiling over. So easy!
Easy to prepare and loaded with healthy vegetables, this carrot soup is just the thing to warm you up on a cold day.
It freeze/thaws great, and is the kind of soup that tastes better on day 2. Don't you just love it when that happens?
Reasons you’ll ♡ Instant Pot carrot ginger soup
- it's vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free
- it's made with simple pantry and fridge staples
- it freeze/thaws great and tastes even better on day 2!
Recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this soup. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Don't forget to pin this post to save it for later!
Building flavor with a few simple tricks
This soup is proof that humble ingredients can still pack a whole lot of flavor. There are a few important steps to help build flavor up in this soup:
Sautee onions + garlic
- We start by sautéing 1 onion in olive oil using the sauté function of your Instant Pot. This helps soften the onions while concentrating the natural sugars.
- Once the onions are soft and translucent, we add the garlic and ginger and cook for just one minute. Adding the garlic and ginger later on prevents them from burning and bringing a bitter flavor to our soup. Instead we get added flavor complexity and dimension from the mellowed garlic and ginger.
Add acid after cooking
The second important step is the squeeze of lime juice after cooking. The contrast between the sweet carrots and tangy lime juice is absolutely key to bringing out all the flavors.
Tips for rich and creamy soup
There are a few important tricks to getting ultra creamy and rich carrot ginger soup. Firstly, you will need a blender to puree your soup. You can either use an immersion blender, or carefully work in batches using a stand blender (I am loving this Vitamix right now). Blend until completely pureed, then stir in the coconut milk and lime juice.
Secondly, I recommend using full fat coconut milk. I love either Grace or Thai Kitchen brand, as they are always thick and creamy. Not only does the coconut milk give a rich and creamy texture, but it also brings a mildly sweet and coconutty flavor to the soup.
Swaps + variations
Thanks to our lovely readers for sharing how they made this carrot ginger soup their own.
Coconut milk
There are a lot of opinions on coconut milk in this recipe. Personally I love the slightly sweet and coconutty flavor that it brings to the soup, but here are some variations readers have made:
- Reader Mitchy swapped coconut milk for a combination of heavy whipping cream and milk
- Readers Donna and Suzanne make it with half a can of coconut milk
- Reader Bud has made it with coconut cream
- Reader Alana prefers it without the coconut milk
Lime Juice
- Reader Mitchy swapped the lime for a lemon
Added touches
- Reader Sarah swirled coconut aminos + sriracha onto the soup to serve
- Reader Colleen added half a teaspoon of curry powder
Prep ahead to eat later
This soup works perfectly for meal prep (and actually tastes better on day two!).
Here's how to prep it ahead and store:
Fridge
Portion out into meal prep containers, mason jars, or plastic freezer jars.
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot.
For best food safety practices, I do not recommend reheating more than once.
Freezer
Portion out into mason jars or plastic jars. Cool completely before freezing.
* I recommend leaving ¼ of the container empty to account for expansion. Leave lids ajar or off until the soup is fully frozen*
Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw and reheat in a pot or the microwave until steaming hot!
Find my favorite freezer containers here!
More tasty soup recipes
- Thai Curry Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Healthy Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
- Healthier Beef Barley Soup
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup (Vegan)
4.94 from 33 votesPrep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 15 minutes mins
Total Time: 25 minutes mins
Print Rate
Warm up with a bowl of creamy Instant Pot carrot ginger soup! Made with carrots, ginger, coconut milk, thyme leaves, and a squeeze of lime, this soup is both easy to prepare, and tasty to eat.
4 -6
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons ginger (grated or finely chopped)
- 5 cups carrots (peeled & chopped)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ¾ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 13.5 oz coconut milk (400 mL; full fat works best)
- ½ lime (juiced)
Instructions
Select the sauté function of the Instant Pot. Add olive oil and onion to the inner pot. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until onions are softened and translucent.
Add the garlic & ginger, cook 1-2 more minutes. Turn off sauté function.
Add carrots, broth, salt and pepper and thyme leaves to the inner pot. Stir to combine. Put the lid on, turn vent to 'sealed' and cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes.
After the timer beeps, allow the pot to sit for ten minutes (natural pressure release), before releasing the remaining pressure.
Blend until smooth with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer to a stand blender and puree in batches.
Stir in coconut milk and lime juice, and enjoy!
Stove Top
Cook onion in olive oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
Add the garlic & ginger, cook 1-2 more minutes.
Add carrots, stock, salt, pepper and thyme, and stir to combine. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until carrots are soft.
Blend until smooth with an immersion blender.
Stir in coconut milk and lime juice, and enjoy!
Tips:
Storage
Soup may be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Soup may be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, cool completely and portion out into wide mouth mason jars (leave ¼ of the jar empty and lids ajar until fully frozen) or in plastic freezer jars.
Video
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1/6 of batch, Calories: 200kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Sodium: 462mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g
Author: Denise Bustard
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Meet Denise Bustard
Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
Read more...
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Reader Interactions
Leave a Comment
Caroline says
I used a bag of shredded carrots and it was great short cut in prep! Great recipe!Reply
Denise Bustard says
Hi Caroline, that's so great to hear! THank you for sharing your tip with us.
Reply
Carly says
Very happy that I found this recipe and *bonus* that I happened to already have all of the ingredients! Thank you for sharing, we loved it!Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Carly, that is a bonus! So glad to hear you enjoyed it, thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review!
Reply
Paula says
Amazing!!Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Paula, glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back to leave a rating and review!
Reply
Cindy G. says
A creamy and comforting soup. Thank you Denise!Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Cindy, glad you enjoyed this soup as much as we do! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review!
Reply
Katrin says
I really like chunky soups. I divide into two parts, puree half of it and then stir it in with the rest for a super creamy but still chunky soup!
Reply
Ariel says
Hi I am not able to view the video and can't find it on YouTube either :/ Can you help me with this? Thanks!
Reply
Denise Bustard says
Hi Ariel! I just had a look and I can see the video just fine. If you want to send me an email at sweetpeasandsaffron@gmail.com, maybe we can get to the bottom of this?
Reply
Jackie van der Meer-Cairncross says
My husband, son and I all thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. A great combination of flavours. I only had light coconut milk so added half the quantity and substituted plant based unsweetened coconut yoghurt. I realised after that I forgot to add the lime but will do that next time. It was delicious without but I imagine would be even more delicious with.Reply
Denise Bustard says
Hi Jackie! I'm so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed. Thanks so much for reporting back with your modifications!
Reply
Katie says
Omg!! Sooooo delicious! The coconut milk and lime just brings it to a whole other level and the smell is to die for! I used carrots that were frozen and that I thawed and it worked perfectly. Will definitely make again because it was such little effort for amazing pay off!Reply
Denise says
Hi Katie! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed. Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review!
Reply
Mitchy says
This was great! Instead of coconut milk I used some heavy whipping cream and milk and an immersion blender. I also was out of lime so I used lemon. I chopped up 5 large carrots for it and it was perfect. I used a lot of garlic and onionReply
Denise says
Hi Mitchy! So happy to hear you enjoyed it, and thanks for sharing that it works with whipping cream as well. Way to make do with what you have on hand! Stay safe 🙂
Reply
Eva says
So the carrots are about 1.5 pounds?
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Denise says
Hi Eva, I cannot say without peeling and chopping 5 cups of carrots right now 😉 . I'd call this a pretty flexible recipe and if you have a few extra or a few less, it should still work out for you. Hope you enjoy!
Reply
Suzy Stein says
I used a 2 pound bag of baby carrots, and didn’t use the entire bag. So about 1.5 pounds is correct. Maybe a bit more.
Reply
Christina says
Hello I have a few questions about the recipe. The ingredients say chicken broth but the instructions say stock. Does it matter which one I use?
Also, for the stove top directions it says to cook the chickens for 20-30 minutes but do I keep it at medium heat or do I bring it to a boil and then reduce it to low?
Reply
Denise says
Hi Christina! For a vegan soup, use veggie stock. However the recipe works with any type of stock. Hope this helps.
For stove top cooking, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-30 min until everything is soft.Reply
Aman M says
Cant wait to try the recipe. Can’t have citrus items. Is lime important for the recipe?
Reply
Denise says
Lime definitely adds a layer of flavor to the soup but I *think* it would still be good without. If you give it a try would you let us know how it turns out for you?
Reply
Sarah says
This recipe is one of my go tos! ! I modified it a little bit by added just a little less broth so that it would be a thicker soup and topped it off it some coconut aminos/soy sauce and sriracha. So yummy!!Reply
Denise says
Hi Sarah, I'm so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review <3
Reply
Jordan says
Received an Instant Pot for Christmas 2019 and this was the first recipe I tried. We all loved it (four kids and two adults, plus grandma). That half of a lime left over calls for a second batch! Need to check out that Thai Curry Sweet Potato Lentil Soup too! Thanks and please keep it up.Reply
Denise says
So happy you enjoyed the soup, Jordan! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. Hope you enjoy the Thai curry soup!
Reply
Colleen says
I used the half a can of coconut milk (as others have suggested). To spice it up a bit, I added half a teaspoon of yellow curry powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Reply
Denise says
Love those modifications! Thanks for sharing, Colleen!
Reply
Jewelz says
I would like to know how many quarts this soup makes
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Denise says
Hi Jewelz, sorry I don't know how many quarts it makes. You will get between 4-6 servings so I'm guessing it's around 6 cups?
Reply
Paula Still says
I love your site!!! And it's a real PLUS to see the recipes streaming across the top of my screen. Keep up the good work!!
Reply
Denise says
So glad you are liking that feature, Paula! Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Reply
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