Carrot Turmeric Miso Soup

A quick and healthy soup, Carrot Turmeric Miso Soup is made with sweet winter carrots, the super spice turmeric, and then seasoned with fermented miso. So simple, so delicious — it’s a delicious vegetarian weeknight meal, and perfect for Meatless Monday! {Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free}

One of the many super cool things about being a vegetable gardener is what happens in the winter. First, there’s the break. I love gardening, but it’s a full-contact sport, people, and by the end of the growing season, I’m ready to hang up the gloves, the knee pads, and the shovels for a month or so.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the end of my organic source of fresh food. Veggies like leeks, parsnips, kale, and carrots, and evergreen herbs like thyme, do very well in winter’s chill. In fact, some get sweeter after a hit of frosty temps, so there’s lots to love about the winter vegetable garden.

When the healthy soup cravings hit, all it takes is a little work with a hand shovel, a few pantry items, and some inspirational improv at the stove to create a rich, nourishing, and addictive plant-based soup.

In this case, the foundation for this carrot turmeric miso soup had set up shop in my brain when my friend and uber-talented Cincinnati food photographer, Gina Weathersby, posted a carrot soup to her Facebook feed one evening last month.

Her carrot soup had a healthy dose of turmeric, which just happens to be the shining star of so many of my off-blog … aaaand a few on-blog … dishes. I love its sunshine-yellow staining of everything it touches, and the bright-earthy scent and flavor it gives to winter recipes.

When the weather warmed a bit, I went out and freed some carrots and leeks from my frosty backyard gardens, did a little chopping, heated stuff up, blended it all through, and voila! A thick and creamy carrot turmeric miso soup that’s loaded with healthy goodness and oh-so-beautiful in the bowl to boot.

Look at that color! It’s the color of winter happiness. 😀

This soup is naturally and verrry flavorfully vegan, but if you’re using miso, double-check the ingredient label, as most misos are made with dashi that contains bonito (flaked shrimp or fish). My preferred miso is an American artisan creation made only with fermented grains and soybeans. (Ditto on checking for gluten compliance — miso is sometimes made with barley, which contains gluten.)

Oh, and speaking of miso, here’s a little tip for using it to its best health advantage. Miso is fermented, so you don’t want to overheat it. Add miso towards the end of cooking, when you’ve reduced heat to hold it for warming. Spoon the miso paste into a small bowl, and add a few tablespoons of the soup’s broth. Stir to loosen the paste, and then pour into the soup. This recipe calls for white/sweet miso, which is mild in flavor. Two tablespoons will look like a lot, but it’s juuuuust right.

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4.50 from 2 votes

Carrot Turmeric Miso Soup

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Karen Gibson

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon avocado or coconut oil
• 2 small leeks white and light green sections, chopped
• 1 pound carrots sliced (peel them if you don’t know their source)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons white miso optional, but recommended
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• chopped cilantro for garnish
• sliced almonds for garnish

Instructions

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium until shimmering.
• Add the leeks and carrots, stir to coat in the oil, and cook for 10-20 minutes, or until carrots are very soft (cooking times will varying depending on how thick the carrots were sliced). Sprinkle the vegetables with the salt and stir.
• Scootch the vegetables to one side, and pour in a splash of vegetable broth into the cleared spot. Spoon the turmeric, black pepper, ginger, and garlic over the broth, and stir to create a fragrant paste.
• Work the paste into the vegetables, then add 2 cups of the broth. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
• Measure the miso into a small bowl, and spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of the broth into the bowl. Stir or whisk until the miso is loose and pourable. Add to the soup.
• Use an immersion blender or regular blender to smooth out the soup. If very thick, add small amounts of the remaining vegetable broth until it’s the consistency you prefer.
• Add the coconut milk and thoroughly mix into the soup, testing to ensure the soup doesn’t loose its warmth.
• Serve immediately, topping with cilantro and almonds.

Nutritional information, if shown, is provided as a courtesy only, and is not to be taken as medical information or advice. The nutritional values of your preparation of this recipe are impacted by several factors, including, but not limited to, the ingredient brands you use, any substitutions or measurement changes you make, and measuring accuracy.