This French carrot soup (Potage de Crécy) will warm your soul with simple ingredients and vibrant flavour. With a smooth texture and a beautiful vibrant orange colour, this soup is both aromatic and sweet. It checks all the boxes: healthy, easy, and delicious.
The ingredients for this soup are minimalist and likely already in your kitchen: carrots, onion, and broth, staples for winter cooking. This version is easy so you can build around it and add as you wish.
For the little background note, Potage de Crécy is how this carrot soup is called in France. It is in reference to Crécy, a town in the northern France where the best carrots of the country would grow.
If you are a French soups amateur, you need to try my leek soup or my onion soup. May I suggest my savoury cake to accompany it?
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⭐ My Take On This Soup
- Easy and nutritious: This is the perfect cosy winter soup to warm up!
- Minimalist recipe: Simple ingredients and minimal steps!
- Budget friendly: Nowadays, you want to score a great recipe on a budget!
- Family-friendly: Great for both adults and kids but also for all diets!
- Versatile: Customize it as you like, add some ginger, rosemary, make it your own!
🥕 Pro-Tips for Ingredients
As you gather your ingredients, here are a few notes on some of them.
- Carrots: Use fresh carrots rather than frozen.
- Onion: I prefer using yellow onions, there are best to cook.
- Fresh rosemary: for flavour, I like to add an herbs, feel free to swap it for something else.
- Vegetable stock: You can use homemade broth or store-bought. Chicken broth is also fine.
🥣 Some Fun Swaps
Here are a few ideas to give your French Carrot Soup your own special twist:
- Spice it up: Add a pinch of ground cumin, coriander, or smoked paprika for a deeper, spiced flavour profile.
- Citrus burst: Stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or orange zest for a sweet and tangy finish.
- Herby goodness: Experiment with fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, or parsley to enhance the soup’s aroma.
- Crunchy toppings: Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds, croutons, for a nice crunch.
- Creamy upgrade: Stir in a dollop of heavy cream for a velvety soup.
- Sweeten it: Enhance the sweet carrots with a drizzle of maple sirup or even a pinch of sugar.
📖 Instructions
There are only 3 steps for this carrot soup recipe: chop, cook and forget about it and blend it. That is it! Here are a few details:
First, start by washing and chopping the carrots, onion, and potato. If you're new to cutting techniques, I’ve shared a handy guide to different vegetable cuts.
Then, in a large soup pot like a dutch over, melt butter or olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped carrots, onion, and potato. Stir occasionally and let them sweat gently until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are starting to soften (picture 1).
Next, pour in the vegetable broth or chicken stock to cover the vegetables. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer on medium low heat (picture 2).
Now, let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender. Carefully transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender) (picture 3), be careful with the hot splashes.
Lastly, puree until smooth and velvety (picture 4).
Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish if you’d like, and serve warm with some freshly ground black pepper to enhance the sweetness of the carrots. Or transform it into a creamy soup with crème fraîche. It's simple, comforting, and oh-so-delicious!
💭 Recipe FAQs
Yes! While carrots are traditional for this recipe called potage Crécy, you could substitute or add sweet potatoes, or butternut squash for a different flavour but same bright orange.
An immersion blender is another option, as you can blend directly in the pot. If using a countertop blender, let the soup cool slightly, blend in small batches, and be cautious with hot liquids, it may splash!
Yes, this soup stores beautifully. Let it cool completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. I use Mason jar to freeze my soup but remember to not fill to the top so your jar does not explode in the freezer.
This soup pairs well with bread, a quiche, or a savoury cake. You can also pair it with the French-style grilled cheese.
For a thinner soup, add more broth while blending. For a thicker soup, reduce the broth or simmer longer to evaporate more liquid.
More Delicious soups for the Winter
📖 French Carrot Soup (Potage de Crécy)
Equipment
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 5 carrots
- 1 potato
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbs butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash and peel the carrots before slicing them into coins. (I did half coins because my carrots were big.)
- Peel and cube the potato.
- Chop the onion and rosemary.
- In a large pot, melt some butter over medium heat. Add the chopped carrots, onion, and potato. Stir occasionally and let them sweat gently until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are starting to soften .
- Carefully transfer the soup to a blender. You may allow the vegetables to cool down before transferring into the blender. Be careful of any splashes when pouring.
- Puree until smooth and velvety and serve.
Notes
- Refrigerate 3 to 4 days in an air-tight container or freeze up to 3 months.
- To thicken the soup, take a small ramekin and stir a tablespoon of flour with 3 of water and add it to the soup and cook a few minutes, it will thicken.
- Use an immersion blender if you don't have a blender.
- Add more flavour with ginger or some spice.
- Add creaminess with a dollop of sour cream or heavy cream or some crunch with croutons or seeds.
Nutrition
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating on the recipe card below & and a comment about your experience. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, thanks!
Claudia Lamascolo says
Delicious flavors and such a perfect fall soup I have this one my must make menu for the thanksgiving holiday!
Azlin Bloor says
This ginger and carrot soup looks perfect, Mélanie! All my kids are down with a nasty cold, and this is what I'll make for them today. Perfect shot of vitamins and antioxidants, thank you!
Mélanie says
this is will be the perfect hug in a bowl with all the nutritious benefits!
Byron Thomas says
Carrot soup is one of my favourite. I think it's extremely underrated. This recipe is absolute perfection!
Julie says
I made this with the family and everyone loved it! What a great soup using carrots and ginger. So fresh and tasty.
Tatiana says
I feel like this soup will help us a lot with the cold season. When both kids are in school its important to stay healthy and eat more ginger.
Natalie says
Lovely soup. Looks super creamy and delicious. Warming and cozy. I will give this recipe a try, for sure.
Gail Montero says
I love that you added a lot of ginger here giving this soup such delicious and aromatic flavor!
Christine says
Trés bonne soupe pour réchauffer et réconforter !!
Mélanie says
Merci Christine !