I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. And after all those delicious, heavy meals, I’m sure you are looking forward to enjoying something light, for a few days at least. Christmas is not very far off 😀 This Instant Pot carrot soup with ginger is the need of the hour and I’m sure making this frequently during the coming months. Nothing beats a bowl of warm soup, that is full of anti-inflammatory and nourishing ingredients, and this carrot ginger soup is just that! This vegan carrot soup recipe is thick, creamy and is so easy to make in the Instant Pot. Yessss! guys, I finally got myself another kitchen gadget. I already have a traditional pressure cooker, so I never really thought about adding another appliance to my already cramped up kitchen counter.
For what its worth, I am actually enjoying this electric pressure cooker. I’ve tried making chili, pot roast, lentil curry, rice pudding, pasta, and even noodles so far, and I must say I’m in love with it. I love that it requires no babysitting, no spluttering, and the delay timer feature is one of my favorites. Simply set the timer and walk away, no more counting of whistles like it is done for the traditional pressure cooker. Cooking meals in the Instant Pot are absolutely perfect for busy days. Even if you own a traditional pressure cooker, I highly recommend you get one during deals this Black Friday. Oh well! I couldn’t wait, so I got one two weeks earlier 😀 So coming back to today’s post, this creamy Instant pot carrot soup with ginger is actually good-for-you. I love adding ginger to soup for the health benefits it provides. Ginger is an age-old ingredient that is used in Indian cooking. I, by default, always have some stashed up in my refrigerator. Adrak wali chai (ginger tea) is my remedy for a bad cold/cough, it just makes me feel good instantly. Please try and use fresh ginger in this recipe, while the commercial paste is okay, the extra time spent peeling and mincing fresh ginger is just worth it.
Ingredients required for this soup
To make this healthy Instant Pot carrot soup with ginger, you will need,
Carrots and ginger Onions Potato, which is kind of optional and may be omitted. But it adds a creamy texture to the soup. Garlic, which again is optional, but I love adding garlic to every and any savory dish. Coconut sugar/brown sugar, to lend some sweetness and counterbalance the kick from the ginger. Feel free to skip it. Vegetable or chicken stock or water plus some bouillon cubes Salt and pepper to season the soup
Best spices for carrot soup
A minimally spiced carrot soup tastes just as good, especially if you have some fresh carrots. However, it is nice to spice things up sometimes. You can use a number of spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, curry powder spice mix, or pastes like curry paste, miso, etc to add a punch of flavor to this Instant Pot carrot soup. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaves, etc are also great in carrot soup. Citrus like oranges, lemons, limes are also a wonderful flavor addition to carrot soup. Besides these, even lemongrass stalk is awesome for a slightly lemony flavor.
What does this soup taste like?
This Instant Pot carrot soup has a smooth, silky, velvety texture with a sweet and savory taste. You get that throat warming effect from the ginger after a few seconds of slurping the soup. It is really mild and you can control the amount of ginger by adding as much as you like. If you add other spices or pastes those will contribute to the flavors as well. So it is totally up to you, feel free to customize the soup and add your own flavors.
Carrot ginger soup benefits
The two main ingredients in this soup are carrots and ginger, both of which are loaded with numerous health benefits. Carrots are a good source of beta-carotene. They are also rich in vitamin A & K, fiber, minerals, and anti-oxidants. Eating carrots on a regular basis reduces your risk of diseases, helps improve immunity and a host of other health benefits. Ginger is known for its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. It is good to soothe an upset stomach, for treating cold, flu, to relieve nausea and much more. And since these two ingredients go into easy homemade carrot soup, it is obviously good for you since it provides so many health benefits. You should definitely make this healthy soup more often during this season. And you don’t even have to stick to this same basic recipe. I agree it can get mundane and boring having the same thing over and over. So as always, I’m listing out variations for you to try coz there is no dearth of flavors when it comes to soups. This is the best carrot ginger soup base recipe, and you can make it your own by varying the flavors.
What to serve with this pressure cook carrot soup?
Serve this vegan carrot and ginger soup with toppings of your choice and some crusty bread. A quick salad, or roasted veggies, grilled cheese sandwich are other hearty options.
Try some of these variations to switch things up
The following are some of my favorite variations of this basic carrot soup recipe.
Carrot lentil ginger soup: Wash, and soak 1/2 cup of red lentils or any other lentils of choice for about 15-20 minutes. Drain, and add it after sautéing the carrots. Add 1 quart of stock and 1 cup of water. Pressure cook on high for 10 mins. Let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes then do a quick release. Carrot orange ginger soup: Add 1 cup of freshly squeezed or store-bought orange juice along with a tbsp of orange zest after pureeing the soup. Turn on sauté and cook just until heated through. Skip the ginger for a plain carrot orange soup. Sriracha carrot soup: If you like spicy carrot soup, add some kick by adding as much Sriracha or other hot sauce to this soup. Carrot soup with yogurt: Replace the coconut cream with yogurt in this recipe. Carrot and cinnamon soup: Replace the nutmeg with cinnamon or use 1/4 tsp or more of both the spices if you like. Thai carrot soup: Add 2-3 tbsp Thai red curry paste song with minced ginger and garlic, sauté until it is fragrant. Carrot apple ginger soup: Add one apple, cored and chopped along with the potatoes and carrots in this recipe. Skip the ginger for a plain carrot apple soup. Carrot ginger turmeric soup: Add about 1/2 tsp of ground turmeric, along with ginger and garlic. Do not use too much turmeric, as it makes the dish bitter. Sweet potato and carrot soup: Use half of the carrots and sweet potatoes in this recipe, so a pound of each. Butternut squash carrot ginger soup: Use a pound each of butternut squash and carrots. Curried carrot soup: Add 1 tbsp or more as required of curry powder or individual ground spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, etc along with ginger and garlic. Sauté until the spices are fragrant.
You may also like these vegan soup recipes
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How to make Instant Pot carrot soup with ginger – Step by step instructions
Step 1: Saute chopped onions
Press the ‘SAUTE’ button, and set it to ‘NORMAL’. Once its displays, ‘HOT’, then add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and let it heat up. Then, add 1 cup of chopped onions, and sauté until translucent.
Step 2: Add ginger and garlic
Add 2 tablespoons of minced ginger and 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic, sauté until aromatic, about 30 seconds to a minute
Step 3: Add carrots, potatoes, and seasonings
Next, add the diced carrots (2 pounds) and potatoes (about 1 medium), along with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper, and 1 tp 2 teaspoons of coconut or brown sugar. Sauté for a minute.
Step 4: Add the broth and bay leaf
Add 4 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth and 1 bay leaf, give everything a good mix.
Step 5: Pressure-cook the soup
5.Press CANCEL’ close the lid of the Instant Pot with the valve on ‘SEALING’ position. Press the manual or pressure cook button and pressure cook on high for 6 minutes. It will take some time for the pressure to build up, about 10 minutes after which the timer will start.
Step 6: Natural pressure release (NPR) for 5 minutes
Let the pressure release gradually for about 5 minutes. Then release any leftover pressure by doing a quick release.
Step 7: Puree the soup
Once the silver pin drops, turn the knob to ‘VENTING’ and open the lid away from you. Discard the bay leaf. Blend the contents in the pot until smooth, using an immersion blender. Or let it cool down a little and puree the soup in a blender in batches.
Step 8: Add coconut cream and nutmeg
Add 1/4 cup of coconut cream and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Give it a good stir, check for seasonings and adjust with more salt and pepper if required.
Step 9: Serve
Dish out the soup in serving bowls, and garnish with soup toppings like cream, croutons, nuts, seeds, herbs, etc or anything of your choice.
Notes
You can dump all the contents of this soup in the pot, and let it cook. But I love to sauté the onions and the aromatics until they are fragrant. It simply adds a depth of flavor and complexity to the soup. You can also add some chopped celery along with the onions. Cooking time includes the time taken for the pressure to build up and natural pressure release time. The actual cooking time is about 12 minutes. Stovetop version: Use a soup pot and follow up to step 4, bring to a rapid boil, then lower the heat, cover and cook for about 25 minutes or until carrots are tender. Proceed from step 7.
★ If you try this Instant Pot carrot ginger soup recipe, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Feel free to share your feedback and suggestions at [email protected]. Thanks so much 🙂 You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram & Twitter
