Vegan Cashew Carrot Soup
on Mar 20, 2020, Updated Sep 18, 2024
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This creamy vegan cashew carrot soup is the perfect blend of cashews, carrot, coconut, and ginger and takes less than 30 minutes to make!
This soup is made with blended cashews and coconut milk, so it’s wonderfully rich and creamy but completely dairy-free and oil-free!
It’s made with just a few healthy, whole food ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Serve your soup topped with fresh cracked black pepper, a squeeze of lemon and finely chopped chives for a delicious meal or starter.
If you’re looking for something similar but a big lighter, this Coconut Ginger Carrot Soup is lovely. For more dairy-free creamy soups, try this Vegan Chickpea Vegetable Chowder, Vegan Tomato Soup and Creamy Vegan Potato Soup.
Ingredient Notes
- Cashews. Make sure you use “raw” cashews – they should not be roasted or have any added oil. Since they’ll be cooking for quite a while there’s not need to soak them in advance however if you don’t have a high-powered blender, soaking them first may result in a creamier soup.
- Coconut milk. Light or full-fat coconut are both suitable for this recipe. I prefer light coconut milk as I find full-fat to be just a bit too heavy when combined with the cashews. If you don’t have coconut milk on hand, or don’t enjoy coconut, it can be substituted with additional broth, almond milk or cashew milk.
- Ginger. This recipe has a somewhat strong ginger flavour. If you’re not a big ginger fan, I’d suggest reducing the fresh ginger by half or using 1 tsp ground ginger to replace the fresh ginger.
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Start by sautéing the onion, garlic, ginger and cashews in 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth until they’re starting to soften. This should take 6-7 minutes.
Add the spice and cook for another minute or two. If the pot starts to dry out, add another splash of broth.
Next, add the carrots and broth and simmer until the carrots are tender. Just poke one with a fork to test. If you thinly slice the carrots, this should take no more than 15 minutes. Finally, stir in the coconut milk.
After you’ve cooked everything up, carefully transfer it to your blender and process until smooth and creamy.
Quick Tip: Make sure you let the steam escape while blending hot soup!
A high-speed blender will give you the best result for this soup. If you don’t have a Vitamix, Blendtec or other high-speed blender, process the soup in a couple of batches for best results.
You might not be able to get it quite as creamy but it will still taste good, so don’t worry too much!
Storing
- Let cool before storing.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Soup will thicken after storing. Thin by stirring in a little water or broth when you reheat.
- Soup can be frozen up to 2 months in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
More Vegan Soups
Here are some more delicious soups you’ll love:
- Butternut Squash Lentil Soup
- Cauliflower Potato Soup with Peas
- Curried Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup
- Vegan Tortilla Soup
More Recipes to Try!
Vegan Cashew Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium white onion, diced (300 g)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large chunk, fresh ginger, minced (25 g, approx. 2 tbsp)
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, 100 g
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 4 cups peeled and chopped carrots, approx. 650 g
- 4 cups vegetable broth, plus more if needed to adjust consistency
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 1 tsp maple syrup, optional
- pinch of sea salt
- squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice
Instructions
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute the onion, garlic, ginger and cashews in 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth until starting to soften, about 6-7 minutes. Add the spices and cook or another minute or two, stirring often. If the pot starts to dry out, add another splash of broth.
- Add the carrots and the rest of the vegetable broth and simmer lightly until the carrots are easily pierced with a fork, approx. 12-16 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk and if using, the maple syrup.
- Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Be sure to allow steam to escape as you blend. Add more vegetable broth if needed, to adjust the thickness.
- Return to the pot and season with sea salt, pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on January 11, 2018.
Hi, lovely simple to make soup. I’ve just made it but with only “30g” of onions!!! instead of “1 medium white onion, … (300 g)”. Yep, a medium Tasmanian onion are only the size of a plum .
I used soy milk instead of cocoanut one and without the syrup…diet requirements and still very good and healthy, I will make it often, thanks. I enjoy most of your vegan recipes.
Nutrition facts very helpful.
Great! So glad you enjoyed it despite the little onion! 😉
Amazing recipe! I didnt use allspice, instead of the 2 tsp of curry powder I used 1 tsp of smoked paprika, and I may have gone a little heavier on the cinnamon & maple syrup.
So glad you enjoyed it, Amanda! Thanks for leaving a review, it’s much appreicated!
My Brother got me hooked on this soup from an organic store it was awesome. So you can just imagine how ecstatic I was to finally find the recipe online.
Huge disappointment!!!
Way too much salt in the vegetable broth next time I’ll make major alterations to this recipe. The curry was too much it and the ginger and salt we’re all you tasted in this recipe. The store bought one had just a hint of curry so next time I make this recipe instead of 2 teaspoons I will only add 1/4 teaspoon. I will make my own vegetable broth no salt to distract from the sweetness. The store bought one is so sweet and you could taste the ginger, cashews, carrots and coconut milk which you could not even taste in this recipe.
Not impressed
Sorry it didn’t work out for you. I’ve only had 5-star reviews for this here and on social media so I’m not sure what went wrong. Thanks for you feedback though!
Brilliant recipe. Filling, not heavy and energizing. Another hit for regular meal rotation during training and racing!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Totally perfect as written 🙂 Thanks so much!
This soup is very flavorful and yummy! Note that I did add another 2 cups of broth after blending it because it was pretty thick (maybe I simmered the carrots too long).
This is a keeper!
This soup is now a staple in our house… love it!
Well I’m very happy to hear that!!
I just ran across your blog. All these dishes look so yummy, this one in particular caught my attention – it looks and sounds INSANELY good!
When do I put in the cashews?
Sorry, I missed that in the recipe, I’ve added it now. They can go in with the onions, garlic etc. Thanks!
Thank you for creating this! It’s so hygge.