This thick and hearty carrot potato soup is easy to make in one pot on the stovetop. It’s a vegan soup packed with nutritious ingredients including potatoes, carrots, celery, and kale. Top the soup with parsley gremolata for a fresh and zesty flavor.

hands surrounding a bowl of carrot potato soup on a grey backdrop

Once fall rolls around, I am all about healthy soup recipes. Homemade soups are so cozy and comforting to eat in chilly weather, and as a Registered Dietitian, I love that you can pack lots of nutritious ingredients into soups. A few of my favorite vegetable soup recipes include farro and vegetable soup, vegan pumpkin soup, vegan chili with black beans and butternut squash, and creamy broccoli leek soup.

This vegan carrot potato soup is just perfect when you’re in the mood for a hearty vegetable soup. It’s got chunks of root vegetables (potatoes and carrots), and is partially blended for a thick & creamy texture. While the soup cooks, prepare a simple parsley gremolata to sprinkle on top. It adds such a nice fresh flavor!

This soup recipe is vegan, gluten free, nut free, soy free, and dairy free. It makes 3-4 servings.

Find more recipes to make with root vegetables here!

Ingredients in carrot potato soup

Here is everything you need to make this recipe:

  • Russet potatoes
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Kale
  • White onion
  • Garlic
  • Thyme
  • Vegetable broth
  • Parsley
  • Lemon
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Paprika
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

Kitchen tools needed

You will need a stock pot, a chef’s knife, a cutting board, and a lemon zester, and a vegetable peeler to make this soup. This soup is partially blended to make it creamy – you can use a regular blender or an immersion blender for this.

carrot potato soup ingredients measured out on a grey backdrop

How to make carrot potato soup

  1. Start by prepping your vegetables: clean and dice potatoes, slice celery, dice onion, peel and chop carrots. Wash and dry kale and remove the leaves from the stems, tearing leaves into bite size pieces.
  2. Heat olive oil in the stock pot on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cooking for a minute or two.
  3. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika.
  4. Add the carrot, celery, and potatoes. Give everything a good stir.
  5. Pour in the veggie broth. Then, add fresh thyme sprigs bundled together with twine or a rubber band.
  6. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
  7. Cook the soup for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
  8. Remove the bundle of thyme.
  9. Transfer 4-5 cups of the soup to your blender. Blend it up until smooth and creamy, then pour the blended soup back into the soup pot.
  10. Stir everything together and add the kale.
  11. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes until kale is wilted.
diced celery on a wooden cutting board
Chopped carrots on a wooden cutting board
Diced potatoes on a wooden cutting board
carrot potato soup vegetables in a pot
pot of carrot potato soup with broth and bundle of thyme

What is gremolata?

Gremolata is a fresh Italian condiment that adds bright and fresh flavor to this soup. It’s made with just three ingredients: parsley, lemon zest, and garlic.

How to make gremolata

  1. Wash and thoroughly dry parsley.
  2. Pick off the leaves from the thick parsley stems.
  3. Finely chop the parsley with a chef’s knife.
  4. Add zest of 1 lemon and 1 clove of grated garlic to the parsley (you can use the lemon zester to grate the garlic).
  5. Use your hands to mix everything together. I also mix in a pinch of salt at the end.

Gremolata is best served freshly made. You can store any leftovers in a small airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.

finely chopped parsley on a wooden cutting board
gremolata on a wooden cutting board

gremolata in a white speckled bowl on a white marble backdrop

What to serve with carrot potato soup

I love to pair this soup with a hunk of sourdough bread. It would also be delicious with cornbread or garlic bread on the side. Add a simple salad on the side for a larger meal that is abundant in vegetables!

To add a boost of protein to a meal with vegetable soup, you can bake up a frittata or mini frittatas in a muffin tin.

How to store leftover soup

Transfer leftover soup to an airtight container. Let it cool to room temperature on the countertop, then cover and pop it in the fridge. Soup will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Reheat this soup in the microwave portioned out into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1-2 minutes until heated through.

Pot of carrot potato soup with a wooden spoon on a white backdrop

Carrots health & nutrition benefits

Carrots are a nutritious root vegetable to include in your diet. Carrots are considered a relatively starchy vegetable, as a one cup serving of carrots provides 12 grams of carbohydrates.

About a third of the carbs in carrots comes from dietary fiber – in fact, a serving of carrots provides 13 percent of your daily fiber needs (3.6 grams).

Carrots are an excellent source of Vitamin A, providing 119 percent of your daily needs (1068.8 mcg). The form of Vitamin A found in carrots most abundantly is beta-carotene, which has potent antioxidant properties.

In addition to Vitamin A, carrots are a source of several other micronutrients, including:

  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin B6
  • Vitamin C
  • Potassium
two bowls of carrot potato soup on a light grey backdrop

Potatoes health & nutrition benefits

Contrary to what you may have been told, potatoes are actually a nutritious food. They provide dietary fiber (when the skin is left on) and valuable micronutrients. One half cup of white potatoes has:

  • 1.6 grams of dietary fiber
  • 1.5 grams of plant-based protein
  • 0.223 mg Vitamin B6 (13 percent of your daily needs)
  • 14.8 mg Vitamin C (16 percent of your daily needs)
  • 318.75 mg potassium (7 percent of your daily needs)

Potatoes also contain several antioxidants, including flavonoids and carotenoids. These plant compounds help fight inflammation and keep our cells healthy.

While potatoes are starchy, they contain a unique type of starch called resistant starch. This type of starch is not digested and absorbed fully. It passes through your digestive tract until it reaches the colon, where the good bacteria in your gut can use it as nutrients. Resistant starch has health benefits like improving blood sugar control.

Let me know if you love this post by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!

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hands surrounding a bowl of carrot potato soup on a grey backdrop

Hearty Carrot Potato Soup with Gremolata

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Alex Aldeborgh
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: serves 3-4 1x
  • Category: Soups and stews
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

Thick and hearty carrot potato soup is easy to make in one pot on the stovetop. It’s a vegan soup packed with nutritious ingredients including potatoes, carrots, celery, and kale. Top the soup with parsley gremolata for a fresh and zesty flavor.

Ingredients

Scale

Carrot Potato Soup

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into circles or half-circles (about 3 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups celery, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups white onion, diced
  • 2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1/2 inch cubes (3–4 cups)
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 quart vegetable broth
  • 10–12 sprigs fresh thyme, bundled together with twine or an elastic band
  • 3 packed cups kale leaves

Gremolata

  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 large garlic clove, grated
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
  2. Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the pot. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. 
  3. Add the potatoes, paprika, red pepper flakes, and a generous pinch of Kosher salt and pepper. Stir everything together so the vegetables are coated in the seasoning. Cook for about 1 minute until seasonings are fragrant.
  4. Pour the vegetable broth into the pot and add the bundle of thyme. Give everything a stir. 
  5. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
  6. Cook the soup covered for 18-23 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and fork tender.
  7. Remove the bundle of thyme leaves and discard.
  8. Use a ladle to transfer about 5 cups of the soup to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. *You can also use an immersion blender to blend up the soup partially right in the pot.
  9. Pour the blended soup right back into the pot and stir it all together.
  10. Add the kale and continue to cook for about five minutes until the kale has wilted.
  11. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper as needed.
  12. Serve bowls of soup topped with a generous sprinkle of gremolata (instructions below).

To make gremolata:

  1. Wash and thoroughly dry parsley.
  2. Finely chop the parsley – chop it as finely as you can!
  3. Add the lemon zest, grated garlic, and salt to the parsley.
  4. Use your hands to mix it all together.

Notes

What to serve with carrot potato soup

I love to pair this soup with a hunk of sourdough bread. It would also be delicious with cornbread or garlic bread on the side. Add a simple salad on the side for a larger meal that is abundant in vegetables!

To add a boost of protein to a meal with vegetable soup, you can bake up a frittata or mini frittatas in a muffin tin.

How to store leftover soup

Transfer leftover soup to an airtight container. Let it cool to room temperature on the countertop, then cover and pop it in the fridge. Soup will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Reheat this soup in the microwave portioned out into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1-2 minutes until heated through.

Keywords: carrot potato soup, carrot and potato soup, vegan soup recipes, vegetable soup recipes