Simple, delicious Moroccan Carrot Soup with ginger, coconut milk, fresh orange juice, and warming Moroccan Spices. Vegan and gluten-free. Bright & cheery!
The flower doesn’t dream of the bee. It blossoms and the bee comes. ~Mark Nepo
Here’s a little sunny cheer to brighten up dark winter days—Moroccan Carrot Soup! Inspired by our recent trip to Morocco, one of the highlights of the visit was meandering through the old spice markets in Marrakech. Piles of oranges and pomegranates lined the little alleyways. Baskets and barrels full of spices overflowed with rich colors, textures, and scents. It was kind of like being in Chef Heaven!
This carrot soup is infused with ginger, coconut, and warm Moroccan spices. Fresh, juicy oranges make this soup sing with happiness. Somehow it infuses every shadowy nook and cranny. A mood booster for sure! Have a friend who is feeling under the weather? This will help. Pomegranates, oranges, and carrots are all in season right now and make such a delicious pairing.
Why You’ll Love This
- Cheery and nutritious! A bright, uplifting soup bursting with vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals.
- Vegan and gluten-free. A naturally gluten-free soup free of dairy. Coconut milk makes it creamy!
- Warm Moroccan flavor. Orange juice, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and cayenne bring layers of fragrant flavor.
Carrot Soup Ingredients
- Carrots: Peeled and sliced.
- Potatoes: Yukon gold, sweet potatoes, or russet.
- Apple: Honeycrisp, Gala, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, or McIntosh.
- Aromatics: Fresh ginger, garlic cloves, shallots (or sub onion).
- Olive oil: Use high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.
- Veggie stock: Or vegetable broth, or sub chicken stock.
- Coconut milk: For richness.
- Orange juice: Adds brightness and subtle acidity.
- Spices: Cinnamon, ground cumin, cayenne (or allepo), and salt.
- Maple syrup: Or sugar or honey.
How to Make Moroccan Carrot Soup
Step 1: Build the base. Heat oil in large pot, then add shallots (or onion) and sauté over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes. Reduce to medium heat, add ginger and garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add carrots, potatoes, apples, stock, and water.
Step 2: Simmer. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Carrots should be fork tender.
Step 3: Blend. Let cool, then blend in batches using a blender. Once smooth, return to pot.
Step 4: Finish. Add coconut milk, salt, and spices, stirring well over low heat. Add maple syrup (or other sweetener) and orange juice to taste. Start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed.
Step 5: Taste and adjust. Taste for salt and heat, adding a pinch more cayenne if you wish.
How to Serve Moroccan Carrot Soup
Pour into bowls or mugs, then garnish the carrot soup simply with fresh pomegranate and scallions, or if feeling inspired, scatter with fresh flower petals and microgreens. Either way, let this humble offering bring a little joy to your heart.
You can also serve with a dollop of yogurt or a swirl of coconut milk.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also store in the freezer for 4 months!
FAQs
Feel free to get creative with adding other spices like coriander, turmeric, paprika, or pepper. Add a little, then taste and adjust as you go!
The peel can be tough, dry, or chewy so it is nice to peel them, however you can toss them in with the peel if you’d like! Just make sure to give them a good scrub first, as the peel can be dirty.
You will not achieve the same creamy, smooth consistency with an immersion blender as you will with a high speed blender. Use a blender tp puree the soup if you have one!
Carrot soup can turn out bland if there is not enough acid. This is why the addition of orange juice is so great! Add 1/2 cup at a time and taste and adjust as you go until achieving just the right flavor.
I suggest using orange juice here! Orange juice is sweeter and less tart compared to lemon juice.
Health Benefits of Carrots
Carrots are not only a versatile and delicious vegetable but they are also brimming with a variety of health benefits!
- Rich in vitamins and minerals: Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, which comes from beta-carotene. They also provide vitamins K1, B6, and minerals like potassium and antioxidants.
- Eye health: The beta-carotene in carrots is converted into vitamin A in the body and is vital for eye health.
- Supports immune function: Vitamin A also plays a key role in maintaining the body’s natural defenses.
- Promotes skin health: The antioxidants and vitamin A in carrots help protect your skin from sun damage and can contribute to skin repair, reducing signs of aging and promoting a healthy skin complexion.
- Heart health: The potassium in carrots can help control blood pressure, while the fiber can help lower blood cholesterol levels.
- Blood sugar control: Carrots have a low glycemic index, meaning they cause a lower and slower rise in blood sugar levels.
Hope you enjoy this Moroccan Carrot Soup and have a beautiful week!
More carrot recipes you may like
Moroccan Carrot Soup
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Vegan Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Description
This bright and cheery Moroccan Carrot Soup is infused with orange juice, ginger and warming Moroccan spices. Vegan and Gluten Free it’s simple to make with delicious flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 fat shallots, or one onion, diced
- 1 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 lb carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
- 8 ounces potatoes, rough chopped
- 1 apple, rough chopped
- 2 cups veggie or chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup –1 cup orange juice ( juice from 1- 2 oranges)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon maple, sugar or honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or allepo, more to taste
Instructions
Heat oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Add onions and saute over med-high heat until tender and golden, 3-4 minutes. Turn heat to medium and add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, until golden and fragrant. Add the carrots, potatoes, apples, stock and water.
Bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until carrots are fork tender.
Let this cool then blend in batches ( in a blender) until very very smooth and place back in the pot.
Add coconut milk, salt, and spices and stir to combine, while reheating over low heat. Add the honey and orange juice to taste- starting with 1/2 cup, and more as needed.
Taste, adjust salt and heat, adding more salt or cayenne if you like.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 142
- Sugar: 10.3 g
- Sodium: 339.5 mg
- Fat: 6.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.3 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
What a delicious soup. I’m dreaming about having it for breakfast! Makes enough to freeze half for the two of us. Wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you.
Thank you for this recipe! It has quickly become one of my family’s favorite dinners.
This soup is such a nice change from my traditional vegetarian-based soups. The flavours are wonderful and so unique! I chopped up a bit of parsley and cilantro to serve on top (I didn’t have pomegranate seeds on hand but will try in the future!) and it was absolutely delicious! Thanks for this tasty recipe!
The flavors are fantastic! Is there a way to turn it into a chunky soup without spoiling it? My family much prefers chunky over creamy.
Recipe is great, but not really vegan. You could substitute agave syrup instead of honey for a real vegan recipe.
Yes, you can always sub another sweetener, I just forgot to mention. Updated the recipe and thanks for pointing it out.
I can never stick to a reciepe… so I roasted butternut, carrots and sweet potato in the oven with olive oil and honey, then added it to the fried onions and ginger along with 2 chicken breasts. Added 2 cups water, 2 cups chicken stock and simmered for 30 minutes. Added the coconut milk, cinnamon, cumin and orange juice and cayenne. It is DIVINE! Loved it. Makes more of a substantial soup…but super yummy
Awesome, great to hear your adaptions and glad you liked this!
Made this today and it was flavorless, I had to add a lot more spices to it. Could it be that I used carrot pulp from my juiced carrots?
That would be my guess. The juice has all the sugar and earthy flavor to balance the soup.
oh my god, this is wonderful, it is totally a new flavor for me, but after my first taste , i was like waowowowowowow!!!!!
thank you so much for sharing this sweet comfortable different soup !
I just made this soup, and it absolutely delicious. The orange juice is such a great addition. Thanks for another wonderful recipe, Sylvia.
Beautiful soup! I’ve made this a lot in the last year and it’s always a big hit. We even made a double batch for our son’s family after the birth of their first child. They were blown away. Thank you again and again!
Thanks so much~!
Delicious! I didn’t have apple or orange juicevso I subbed pineapple and pineapple juice! I also made it healthier by adding black beans, mushrooms, and spinach after blending. Hubby and I loved it!
This soup has the most beautiful mix of flavours! Made it for dinner last night and we were complimenting it after every. single. bite. Yum 🙂
Thanks so much Brenda!
Amazing! I made this as part of a Moroccan themed dinner party. It was a hit! Also my two year old granddaughter loved it too.
Such an amazing soup! I added a bunch of extra protein; spinach, chickpeas, beans, and tomato, and it is so rich and delicious.
Really beautiful flavours. I used sweet potato instead of potato.
I personally find it too spicy and I only used 1/4 tsp of cayenne. So if you don’t LOVE spicy things, then maybe go easy on that.
Oh my goodness!! This soup is heavenly. There is no way to describe the flavors. You just have to try it yourself and savor each spoonful. Absolutely perfect to warm the body and awaken all the senses on this cold winter Michigan day 🙂 (I subbed sweet potato for the potato and used a homemade veggie broth that has a hint of cinnamon and clove.)
Thank you, Sylvia. I love your recipes. Being in soup mode right now, I have made in the past week: lentil soup with beets; Moroccan carrot soup; and simple celery soup!
So good to hear! Glad you enjoyed this Deb!
Aromatic, complex, and magical. Transportive. What a wonderful soup, Like perfume for the tongue! Incredible.
Thanks for your wonderful comment and for bringing a huge smile to my face.
This sounds amazing. Just checking, is this recipe okay for freezing? Also, how long will it last in the fridge?
Hi Claire! I think it should be OK? Honestly, haven’t tried freezing, so if you do, will you let me know how it worked out?
This is absolutely delicious! I love the layers and depths of flavors. perfect balance of sweet, spicy and complex. I added more ginger because I got carried away with chopping it…and used reduced fat coconut milk.
So glad you liked it!!!
Wow. This looks great. Would it be okay without the potatoes? My husband doesn’t eat potatoes.
Yes, just sub more carrots. Does he eat sweet potatoes?
yes, he loves sweet potatoes
Yummy. Such a tasty flavour. We didn’t have any coconut milk so substituted cream. Love the ginger flavour throughout.
Yay Jenny- so glad you enjoyed and that you improvised! Good job!
I made this for a dinner party, topped with edible flowers from the farmer’s market, and it was a huge hit. Such a beautiful soup and full of flavor!
Glad you liked it Linda and love that you topped with flowers!
Such a beautiful combination of flavours, can’t wait to try your recipe this weekend! I’d like to make it for a dinner party – can I make this the night before and just reheat gently before serving?
Absolutely Stephanie!
This recipe is fabulous, the ingredients combine into tasty flavor layers of deliciousness.
Thanks Helen, glad you like it!!!
I’ve made the carrot soup… from the post in Edible Seattle …. and it’s absolute deliciousness… I went a little too crazy on the cayenne though!