This carrot and swede soup is perfect for using up highly underrated swede (rutabaga) which together with carrots becomes a bowl of comfort food at its best.
If you have ever been wondering what you can do with swede (aka rutabaga) then look no further as this simple carrot and swede soup can transform this humble root vegetable into something truly special.
Swede, as delicious as it is in its own right, has been paired with some carrots, red lentils, herbs and spices for even more veggie goodness and heaps of flavour.
Looking for more swede recipes? Try this simple carrot and swede mash - perfect little side dish.
Jump to:
✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect recipe for using swede.
- Filling, nutritious and delicious winter soup.
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
- Perfect for batch cooking and freezer friendly.
- Easy to adapt.
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here's what you will need to make my Carrot and Swede Soup:
Swede & Carrots - Our stars of the show here.
Onion & Garlic
Celery
Red Lentils (Optional) - It's up to you whether you add them or not but in my opinion they work so well in this soup.
Not only do they add substance but also lots of nutritional goodness. They cook really quickly too without the need for soaking.
Vegetable Bouillon / Veggie Stock Cube / Homemade Vegetable Stock - You will need anything between 1-1.2 ltr (4.2-5 cups) depending on how thick you'd like your soup.
Coconut Milk - To add creaminess and extra luxurious feel to the soup. Feel free to use your favourite plant based cream alternative here instead.
Oregano - You could use marjoram, mixed herbs or Herbes de Provence
Fresh Thyme (or dried)
Bay Leaf
Smoked Paprika - You could use regular sweet paprika here.
Ground Cumin
Lime Juice (Optional) - Great to add if you like that bit of acidity against creamy soup. I don't always add it myself, depending on how I feel.
🔪 How to make Carrot and Swede Soup
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Heat up couple of tablespoons of oil in a large pot with a lid.
Add chopped onion, celery and garlic and sauté until they're starting to soften (approx. 5 minutes) stirring often to prevent veggies from colouring too much and garlic from burning.
Feel free to add a splash of water to help veggies along.
Next, add all your herbs and spices, mixed them in and fry for another minute, stirring. The smell will be incredible.
Add prepared cubed swede, chopped carrots and red lentils (if using) followed by the stock and give it all a good stir.
Bring the soup to boil, cover, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 20-25 until swede is tender.
Using immersion blender, puree the soup to your preferred consistency adding a splash more stock if needed.
Add desired amount of coconut milk to adjust creaminess and consistency.
Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
You might want to add some freshly squeezed lime juice for a touch of acidity (completely optional).
Your soup is ready to serve!
🥡 Storing
Carrot and swede soup will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This soup is also great for freezing in the freezer friendly container or reusable freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Quick Tip: When freezing, make sure you allow for the slight liquid expansion and never fill your bag or container all the way to the top.
💭 Pro tips
Feel free to adjust consistency of the soup to your own liking. Add more stock or coconut milk if you find it too thick.
Always taste and adjust seasoning once you've pureed your soup once all the flavour have been blended in together.
How much extra seasoning (especially salt) you will need, highly depends on the saltiness of your stock.
🍴 Serving suggestions
I like to serve this soup very simply with a sprinkle of fresh coriander (cilantro) and my favourite smoky air fryer chickpeas.
Freshly baked bread is also almost always a must when it comes to any soup. Try it with my no knead wholemeal, soft crust white, Irish or vegan soda bread. My homemade vegan garlic bread will work nicely too.
My kids love dipping these easy (no yeast) flatbreads or 2-ingredients Indian chapati in the soup as well.
You also cannot beat crunchy homemade croutons!
❓ FAQs
I would recommend peeling the swede as well as cutting off the bottom end.
Lentils are completely optional so feel free to leave them out if you want.
The amount of stock will depend on desired consistency. I used approximately 1.2 litres of stock and half a tin of coconut milk for quite a thick soup. Remember that you can always adjust consistency once you've pureed the soup.
Have you tried my Carrot and Swede Soup?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
📋 Recipe
Carrot and Swede Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g swede peeled and cut into cubes
- 300 g carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 60 g celery roughly chopped
- 100 g red lentils (optional) rinsed
- 1 onion (yellow or red) peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped or minced
- 1-1.2 ltr vegetable stock can be homemade, stock cube or vegetable bouillon
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed/olive oil
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- fresh thyme (few sprigs) or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tin (400ml/13.5 fl oz) coconut milk use as much or as little as you want
- lime juice (optional) to taste
- fresh coriander (cilantro) to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot with a lid heat up couple of tablespoons of oil.
- Add chopped onion, celery and garlic and sauté until they're starting to soften (approx. 5 minutes) stirring often to prevent veggies from colouring too much and garlic from burning. Feel free to add a splash of water to help veggies along.
- Next, add all your herbs and spices, mixed them in and fry for another minute, stirring. The smell will be incredible.
- Add prepared cubed swede, chopped carrots and red lentils (if using) followed by the stock and give it all a good stir.
- Bring the soup to boil, cover, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 20-25 until swede is tender.
- Using immersion blender, puree the soup to your preferred consistency adding a splash more stock if needed.
- Add desired amount of coconut milk to adjust creaminess and consistency.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if required. You might want to add some freshly squeezed lime juice for a touch of acidity (completely optional).
- Your soup is ready to serve!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving based on 4 servings and should be treated as a rough guideline only. It's been calculated without coconut milk as the amount used may vary.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Jean says
This soup was really delicious. My husband insists on buying a net of swede every year. I like swede but am always at a loss as to what to cook with them apart from putting in stews and my favourite “mashed with lots of butter and black pepper “, and mashed with parsnips. I now have a new recipe to add to favourites! Thank you.
joskitchenlarder says
So pleased to hear that Jean, thank you! 😊