This quick and easy Instant Pot carrot soup is light, aromatic and super nutritious. It’s great for lunch or as a light dinner meal, and you can serve it as a lovely starter at a dinner party.
Carrots and sweet potato are full of vitamins and antioxidants, and their sweet flesh is perfect for making gorgeous soups and stews. We particularly love combining these vegetables with aromatic lemongrass and cilantro, for that lovely exotic flavour twist. Made with coconut milk, this soup is vegan and dairy-free, and is also suitable to those following a Whole30, paleo or gluten-free diets.
Coconut milk: we a can of full-fat coconut milk (the creamy solids and the water liquid), look for coconut milk that is 50-60% coconut and not the diluted coconut milk drinks. We like this brand or this brand from Amazon.
Lemongrass: this beautiful herb can be found in most large supermarkets, Asian grocers and online. If you can’t find fresh lemongrass, you can replace it with dried lemongrass or some lemon and lime zest.
Other variations: You can add a teaspoon or two of curry powder or turmeric to this soup, or a tablespoon of ready-made green or red curry paste, especially if you can’t get fresh lemongrass.
Fish sauce, if using for a non-vegetarian/pescatarian version: You can buy fish sauce in most supermarkets and online, this is our favourite brand. Don’t worry, you can’t actually taste the ‘fish’ sauce, but it does add beautiful umami, salty flavour to the dish. You can then use it in stir-fries, curries, and rice dishes. We love adding a teaspoon to most meat stews, even the non-Asian flavoured dishes. Otherwise, regular soy sauce or coconut aminos is perfect!
This soup freezes well and will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, so it’s perfect for make-ahead meal prep.
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Description
This quick and easy Instant Pot carrot soup is light, aromatic and super nutritious. It’s great for lunch or as a light dinner meal, and you can serve it as a lovely starter at a dinner party.
Ingredients
- 1/2 large brown onion, sliced roughly
- 2 lemongrass sticks, cut in halves
- 3 large carrots, roughly sliced in thick pieces
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and roughly cut
- 1 large celery stick, roughly cut in 3-4 pieces
- Handful of fresh cilantro (leaves and stems)
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1 can of coconut milk (see notes)
- 2 cups vegetable (or chicken stock)
- 1/2 red or green chile, diced roughly
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- For garnish: Fresh cilantro and sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except for lime juice in the pot and stir through. Lock the lid and make sure the valve is set to Sealing. Press the Manual button and set to High pressure for 7 mins. After 3 beeps, the Instant Pot will start to build up the pressure. Once the timer goes off, allow 5-10 minutes for natural pressure release and then use the quick release method to let off the rest of the steam.
- Remove the lemongrass piece and transfer the soup’s content to a blender or a food processor in 2-3 batches. Puree until smooth and return to another saucepan. Add the lime juice, stir through and taste for salt. You can add more salt or more fish sauce for extra seasoning. Serve with sesame seeds and fresh cilantro over the top.
Keywords: carrot lemongrass coconut cilantro sesame seeds soy sauce soup quick easy
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Looks like an awesome recipe. Although, having fish sauce kind of puts it out of the “vegetarian” category it is listed under.
“VEGAN” in the Pinterest graphic. “…this soup is vegan…” in the opening paragraph.
Here’s a tip. Fish sauce is not vegan. No way, no how. Not even one of those grey areas like honey.
I’m going to substitute soy sauce or miso for the umami, and recommend that you do the same in your recipe.
Thanks for the tip – we will mention a substitution is necessary to make it vegan.
Fish sauce is not vegetarian too! Fish are animals.
Thanks for clarification, I suppose pescetarian is accurate but the fish sauce can easily be omitted so I will make a note.
Neither my wife or I particularly like cilantro. How much flavour does the cilantro contribute to this recipe? What would you suggest as an alternative?
It’s definitely an additional flavour in this recipe BUT could easily be replaced with another herb. I think adding fresh basil would work well, or you can even try a couple of teaspoons of dried Italian herbs or something similar.
This soup is wonderful. I make this all the time for my family. Freezes well. I even add ginger sometimes. Slam Dunk recipe.
★★★★★
Thank you!