Healthy carrot and apple soup is comforting and delicious and perfect for a chilly day. Easy carrot soup with apples is packed with nutritious ingredients and is great as a light lunch, or a starter.
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What you'll love about the recipe
- Carrot, apple and onion are a delicious flavour combination that tastes of Autumn
- You'll need just a few everyday ingredients to make carrot and apple soup
- It's rich and flavoursome with a velvety texture but this healthy carrot soup is made without cream
- An easy way to get two of your five-a-day. Soup is a perfect way to include a few extra veggies in your diet. It's filling, and it's easy to make a really healthy soup which will taste delicious.
- Carrot and apple soup is gluten free and easily made dairy free and vegan
- Budget-friendly and simple to make in one pot. The recipe is cooked entirely on the hob, so you won't need to heat up the oven
Ingredients for healthy carrot soup with apples
This carrot soup made with apples is naturally sweet and delicious, without the need for any unhealthy ingredients. The apple enhances the flavour of the carrots, and the sweetness is balanced by the savoury flavour of the onions.
This is a great store cupboard soup recipe, and you may already have the ingredients in your pantry.
You might also like this apple and celery soup recipe.
- Carrots. Carrots are great for your health and high in beta carotene which your body can convert to vitamin A. They are also a great source of fibre. There's no need to peel your carrots, just give them a scrub and cut them into slices.
- Apples. It's best to use a cooking apple for this carrot soup recipe as dessert apples can be a little too sweet. If you do want to use a dessert apple, try to use green apples which tend to be a little more tart than red. For a smooth creamy soup, you'll need to peel the apples.
- Onions. For a bright orange soup, white onions are best, although red onions will taste equally delicious if that's what you've got available.
- Herbs and spices. A bay leaf, nutmeg and some sage add a lovely warm seasonal flavour to this healthy carrot and apple soup. If you are using fresh sage, then chop it very finely, but save a leaf for decoration. Remember to remove the bay leaf before you blitz the soup
- Stock. If you have it, then fresh stock would add a delicious depth of flavour to this carrot and apple soup. But a stock cube will also work fine, either vegetable or chicken. If you do use a stock cube or other purchased stock, you probably won't need additional seasoning
- Butter and olive oil. Using olive oil and butter together allows the vegetables to colour slightly without burning, and the butter adds a lovely velvety richness to the soup. However, if you'd prefer to omit the butter and make a dairy-free carrot soup, just use a little more olive oil
How to make healthy carrot and apple soup
Start by preparing the vegetables. Wash the carrots and cut into slices. Peel and chop the onion, and peel the apple, cut off the core and slice.
Heat a large pan and add the butter and oil. Add the prepared veggies, and saute for about 5 minutes until they are starting to colour slightly (which adds extra flavour).
Add the stock, herbs and spices. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 20 minutes. The carrots should be soft if you try them with the point of a knife.
Remove the bay leave, and blitz until smooth. I like to use an immersion blender and blitz the soup in the pan which saves on the washing up. But if you prefer, you can blend it in batches in a food processor.
Recipe tips
- If you want vegan carrot and apple soup, then use all olive oil and vegetable stock
- You can store this healthy carrot soup recipe in the fridge for two or three days. It also freezes very well, so why not make a double batch so you've got some easy healthy lunches ready prepped
- Add extra herbs and spices if you like. Try ground allspice or cinnamon instead of nutmeg. Ginger, carrot and apple is a good mix, or you could also substitute fresh thyme as an alternative to sage.
- You might also like this spiced carrot and swede soup. If you've got carrots with the green tops left on, you can make this carrot top soup recipe.
Serving
Carrot soup with apples is perfect for an easy healthy lunch, or try a mug of soup for a warming snack, along with a savoury cheese scone, or one of these other healthy savoury bakes.
A bowl of carrot and apple soup as a starter before dinner will boost your veggie intake, and for a daintier soup appetizer, try serving it in pretty teacups.
Garnish ideas
This soup is pretty colourful as is, but you can add extra flavour and texture with different garnishes. Any of these complement this carrot soup well:
- Chopped nuts will add protein as well as extra texture. Almonds or cashew nuts go particularly well. Or try these crispy roasted chickpeas.
- Toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
- Herbs: try a fried sage leaf, or the bright green of chopped parsley adds a lovely contrast
- Fried bacon bits or slices of sausage add a tasty, savoury hit of flavour
Oat and wholemeal crackers with healthy mackerel pate, healthy tuna pate or 2 ingredient hummus would easily turn this carrot and apple soup into a quick protein-rich meal.
Frequently asked questions
There's no need to precook carrots to make soup. They'll be cooked along with the other ingredients. Cooking the carrots in stock as part of the recipe will give them more flavour. In this carrot and apple soup, the carrots are also sautéed in butter and oil which helps to bring out their sweetness.
There's a few tips which will improve the flavour of soup.
1. If you've got time, brown some of the vegetables first. This will caramelize them slightly which will bring out their sweetness. You can use oil, but if you add some butter as well you'll get an even richer flavour.
2. Stock is a key component of soup, so use the best that you can. A homemade stock will add a great depth of flavour, but even a humble stock cube can make pretty good soup. Make sure that you don't over-season your soup, as bought stock is already well seasoned.
3. Fresh herbs and spices will also help to make soup taste great. Most herbs will also add a splash of colour which will make the soup look even more inviting. If you've using delicate herbs such as parsley and basil, add them at the last minute.
Other healthy soup recipes
You might also like to try these other healthy soups:
- Quick and easy pumpkin soup - no roasting required with this tasty, easy soup
- Butternut squash and red lentil soup - lentils add extra protein and make the soup a little more filling
- Healthy courgette soup - a light, low calorie soup
- Sweet potato and red pepper soup - bursting with colour and flavour and easy to make
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Recipe
Healthy Carrot and Apple Soup
Ingredients
- 450 g carrots
- 1 large cooking apple or 2 green eating apples
- 1 onion
- 15 g butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage or ⅓ teaspoon dried sage
- grated nutmeg or ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion. Wash and slice the carrots. Peel, core and chop the apple.
- Melt the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped veg and apple and stir gently until starting to colour - around 5 mins. Add the stock, herbs and seasoning if using. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf, and puree with a stick/immersion blender. Or if you prefer, blitz in batches in a food processor.
- Heat through gently to serve. Decorate with sage or bay leaves and sunflower seeds.
Notes
- For a vegan carrot and apple soup, use all olive oil and vegetable stock.
- You can store this healthy carrot and apple soup recipe in the fridge for two or three days. It also freezes very well.
- Add extra herbs and spices if you like. Ginger goes very well with carrot and apple, or you could also add some fresh thyme in place of the sage.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Jada says
A lovely soup recipe thank you, flavour is delish!