A creamy tahini carrot soup to brighten up the week! Flavored with peppers, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, tahini, and lime…this simple yet flavorful soup is simply so wonderful. It’s smooth and creamy, with fresh toppings for a crisp finish. Perfect soup for these very first weeks of spring.
creamy tahini carrot soup – the details
This carrot soup follows a basic formula for making a blended vegetable soup – layer in the aromatics, add the star vegetable, pour in the liquid, simmer until the vegetable is tender, and blend until smooth.
It’s such a great way to get creative with a single ingredient. There are so many different flavor profiles it can take on by swapping out aromatics, adding in spices, using different liquids, etc.
While this carrot soup has fennel and warm spices giving it its character, today’s recipe brings garlic, ginger, chile, coconut, tahini, and lime flavor into the mix.
While everything cooks in one pot, the key is to gradually add in the ingredients little by little, letting each new layer develop more and more flavor. First, the shallot, onion, and red pepper cook down until tender and slightly caramelized. Then, the chile pepper, garlic, and ginger cook for just a minute or so to become fragrant.
And finally, the carrots and liquid are added to simmer slowly and take on all of the delicious flavor developed in the first couple of steps.
The special touch for this soup is the tahini, which is a “saucy” paste made from toasted ground sesame seeds. It’s rich and nutty tasting, adding such a lovely depth of flavor and complimenting the sweet carrots.
After blended, you’ll add in fresh lime juice for a finishing pop of brightness. You’ll want to taste the soup at this point and season with salt if needed (it’ll help bring out all of the other flavors).
To top it all off, a few colorful, crisp garnishes (green onions, radishes, sesame seeds, and cilantro) to turn this creamy tahini carrot soup into a work of art! I also tried drizzling a little extra tahini over top which was absolutely delicious.
Enjoy!
PrintCreamy Tahini Carrot Soup
a creamy carrot soup flavored with peppers, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, tahini, and lime
servings: 6-8
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored + diced
- 1 small red finger chile pepper, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 2 lbs carrots, peeled + diced ½”
- 1 (13.5 fl oz) can coconut milk
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 ½ qts vegetable stock
- 2 limes, juiced
- toppings: sliced green onions, shaved radishes, sesame seeds, cilantro
Instructions
- Heat a 7qt Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add the shallot, onion, and red pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes until tender and slightly caramelized, stirring often.
- Stir in the chile pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cook for another minute or so. Stir in the carrots. Pour in the coconut milk, tahini, and vegetable stock. Stir well to incorporate.
- Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots are fully tender, stirring often.
- Working in batches, ladle the hot soup into a blender. Blend for at least a minute until smooth. Pour the soup into a large serving bowl. Stir in the lime juice and season with salt to taste.
- Serve the soup with a pinch of green onions, shaved radishes, sesame seeds, and cilantro over top. You could also drizzle on a little more tahini if you’d like.
