Carrot Ginger Soup With Fried Garlic Chips & Roasted Sesame Croutons
Naturally vegan, this Carrot and Ginger Soup is elegantly flavored with simple ingredients like fresh ginger and loads of crunchy vegetables, then garnished with fried garlic chips and roasted sesame croutons. A creamy soup with loads of Unami flavor that’s a great way to use up a lot of carrots.
It’s soup season, and like my Toasted Cashew Carrot Ginger Bisque, this wholesome, hot soup is a great source of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants.
It can be an appetizer, side or main dish. It’s easy to make in less than an hour and finishes with a drizzle of roasted sesame oil for the richest flavor ever.
Once the veggies are fork-tender, you simply use an immersion blender, food processor, high-powered blender or hand blender to puree to perfection for a healthy soup that’s freezes well, too, that’s only if you have any leftovers!
Ingredients (With Substitutions)
- Bread – you will use about 8 sandwich bread slices, such as white, whole wheat or a baguette. You can also use rye bread.
- Onion – a small, finely diced onion will work great. Any kind of onion you have on hand will work.
- Garlic – you’ll use fresh garlic for the this simple carrot ginger soup recipe as well as for garnishing with fried garlic chips. If you don’t have fresh garlic for the soup, you can substitute with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Fresh Ginger – I highly recommend using fresh ginger in this easy soup recipe; however, if you don’t have fresh available, you can use 2 teaspoons of ground ginger instead.
- White Miso Paste – you’ll use 1/4 cup if using white miso paste in this. If using red or brown, you can cut it down to 2 tablespoons of either. If you can’t find miso paste, 2 teaspoons of miso powder will do.
- Carrots – loaded with beta carotene, which is a wonderful antioxidant, you’ll use about 10 large fresh carrots. For extra flavor, you can use the roasted carrot version, which you’ll just drizzle the carrots with olive oil and sea salt and roast at 400F/204C for 20-30 minutes.
- Rice Vinegar – this gives the soup a power pack of added flavor, which balances everything very nicely. You can use 1 or 2 tablespoons (I prefer 2). TIP: Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are the same thing and used interchangeably.
- Vegetable Broth – store-bought veggie broth is great, however, feel free to use your own vegetable stock if you just cooked a bunch of vegetables.
- Soy Sauce – you can substitute with Tamari, to make the soup gluten-free.
- Vegetable Oil – you can also use extra virgin olive oil.
- Toasted Sesame Oil – this will be used to make the roasted sesame croutons. I don’t recommend substituting this ingredient. You can, however, use regular sesame oil, if you can’t find roasted.
- Scallions – optional for garnishing.
- Sesame Seeds – I prefer mixed black and white for enhancing the color of the soup but either will do.
- Sea Salt – you’ll use some for the soup, and additional salt for the fried garlic and the roasted sesame croutons.
- Garnishes – I chose to garnish this lovely soup with chopped green onion, roasted sesame seed oil, furikake, mixed sesame seeds, fried garlic and roasted sesame croutons.
For exact ingredients measurements, see recipe card below!
How to Make This Easy Carrot Ginger Soup
- Start by preheating your oven to 375F/191C (this will be for the croutons). In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add in the minced garlic, grated ginger and miso paste, cooking about 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
3. Stir in the diced carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 more minutes.
4. Turn the flame to high and deglaze the pot with rice vinegar. Pour in vegetable broth and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until carrots become fork-tender. Use an immersion blende to puree the soup until very smooth. Alternatively, you can transfer the soup to a high=speed blender in small batches if you don’t have a hand-held blender.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with soy sauce or salt. If the soup feels too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
How to Make Fried Garlic
5. While this best carrot ginger soup is simmering in your soup pot, heat oil in a shallow pan on medium-low heat. You don’t want it to high or it will burn the garlic.
Once the oil is hot, put thinly sliced garlic in the pan, moving it constantly for even browning.
6. The moment you see slight browning, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
Sprinkle garlic with sea salt to taste and set aside. The leftover garlic oil may be used for another time.
How to Make Roasted Sesame Croutons
7. While the soup is simmering, toss the bread in roasted sesame oil and salt in a medium bowl until fully coated.
8. Spread the coated bread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, tossing halfway through for even browning.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend eating this soup hot, especially on a cold day. However, eating it cold is also delicious, especially during the warmer months.
They can be stored together in a separate container and left on your counter top. It doesn’t need to be airtight. To reheat, place in a toaster oven. DO NOT MICROWAVE.
Furikake means to “sprinkle over” in Japanese. It’s normally used as a topping for rice or other entrees and is very versatile. Like miso, it has a lot of Unami flavor. The main ingredients are typically dried fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar and salt. This vegan version works great; however, there are many different ways and varieties on how it’s made.
Trader Joe’s has a vegan/vegetarian-friendly version. You can also buy a vegan version here at this link on Amazon.
Storing, Freezing & Reheating
Storage: Before storing, let the soup cool completely to room temperature before putting in an airtight container. It can last in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Freezing: This carrot soup freezes quite well. Once soup has cooled, leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bags for up to 3 months.
To defrost & reheat: Place in fridge overnight, then microwave or put in a pot over the stove and heat until warmed-through.
More Delicious Soup Recipes
- Toasted Cashew Carrot Ginger Bisque
- Vegan Tomato Soup
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
Serving Suggestions
Have you tried this? Why not leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and sign up for my newsletter!
Carrot Ginger Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup white miso paste
- 1-2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 lbs carrots about 10 large
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the Fried Garlic
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 8 cloves garlic finely sliced length-wise
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
For the Roasted Sesame Croutons
- 8 slices bread cut into 1/2 in cubes
- 2-3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- sea salt to taste
Optional Additional Garnishes
- toasted sesame oil
- black and white sesame seeds
- green onions chopped
- furikake
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 375F/191C (this will be for the croutons). In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the minced garlic, grated ginger and miso paste, cooking about 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in the diced carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 more minutes.
- Turn the flame to high and deglaze the pot with rice vinegar. Pour in vegetable broth and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until carrots become fork-tender. Use an immersion blende to puree the soup until very smooth. Alternatively, you can transfer the soup to a high=speed blender in small batches if you don’t have a hand-held blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning with soy sauce or salt. If the soup feels too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
- While this best carrot ginger soup is simmering in your soup pot, heat oil in a shallow pan on medium-low heat. You don’t want it to high or it will burn the garlic. Once the oil is hot, put thinly sliced garlic in the pan, moving it constantly for even browning.
- The moment you see slight browning, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle garlic with sea salt to taste and set aside. The leftover garlic oil may be used for another time.
- While the soup is simmering, toss the bread in roasted sesame oil and salt in a medium bowl until fully coated.
- Spread the coated bread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, tossing halfway through for even browning. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Ladle into bowls. Garnish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, furikake, chopped green onions
Ginger just makes everything taste better! Yum!
It sure does thanks AMy.
This carrot ginger soup is a flavor explosion! I tried it with the fried garlic chips and roasted sesame croutons, and it was so cozy and satisfying. The toppings add the perfect crunch—such a comforting and delicious meal!
Happy to hear you loved it. Thank you Criss.
This carrot ginger soup is sooo good! Perfect for those chilly days!
I’m eating some as we speak. Thank you Nora.
The ginger pairs wonderfully with the carrots in this tasty soup! It was the perfect addition to our dinner menu this week!
The carrot and ginger soup recipe is delicious, I loved the garlic chips, I have tried it.
This soup with carrot and ginger was very delicious and perfect for the weather this time of year. The fried garlic and roasted sesame croutons were a great combination with it.
My favorite for sure. Thank you Nisha.
I made this Soup and it tasted even better than it looked—if that’s even possible! And the photo was so beautiful and enticing, I almost couldn’t wait to make it! 😍
It’s brutally cold here in WI so I was looking for something comforting but also healthy. I think I found the perfect one. 🤤 Thanks for the great recipe!
Happy to hear. Thanks Juyali.
I’m not a soup person usually, but this looked just so good, I had to try it! And what shall I say: You converted me to a soup lover. The crunchy croutons on top and garlic chips had me looking for seconds!
Ahh haa, another soup lover conversion. My soups do it every time. Thanks Sonja.
This carrot soup was a perfect addition to our dinner this week! Easy to make and packed with flavor, it was a hit with my family!
Glad to hear. Thank you Liz.