This creamy carrot parsnip soup is cozy, flavorful and has the most vibrant orange color. Loaded with fiber and protein, this vegetarian soup is satisfying and delicious.
When fall/winter weather kicks in, I could live off of cozy soups and stews. Soup screams healing comfort food to me and that’s exactly what we all crave during the fall and winter months… especially right now.
To be honest, when developing this recipe I was craving pumpkin soup but didn’t have any pumpkin puree on hand (surprising… I know), so I rolled with a blend of carrots and parsnips and then added a little quinoa to bump up the protein.
The end result was a cozy and delicious soup that was comforting and super delicious. Isaac and I both kept going on and on about how tasty it was the whole time we were eating it. It’s sweet from the carrots, but not too sweet, and has a great flavor from all the herbs and spices. Quinoa is the perfect addition because it makes this soup a little heartier so that it can be served as a meal and not just as an appetizer or side item.
Ingredients & Substitutions for This Soup:
vegetables – onion, shallot, garlic, carrots, parsnips, fresh thyme and fresh sage. Don’t skip the fresh herbs because they add so much flavor to this soup.
olive oil
vegetable broth – water works as well, but I like using broth for more flavor!
uncooked quinoa – you could substitute for a different grain if you prefer.
miso paste – either red or white miso works for this recipe! I highly recommend using this because it adds a wonderful umami flavor, but if you don’t have miso or can’t find it, you can omit it and season with additional salt.
seasonings and spices – cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper and sea salt.
optional toppings – scallions and gruyere cheese are the perfect toppings, but parmesan cheese also works well.
How to Make Carrot Parsnip Soup
Sauté – Sauté the onion, shallot and garlic in a large stock pot over medium heat. Cook until onions are translucent. Add in herbs and spices to the pot and stir.
Add vegetables – Mix in the carrots, parsnip, quinoa and vegetable broth or water to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-40 minute until veggies are tender.
Blend – Remove the soup from the heat and let it cool slightly. Use an immersion blender to blend the contents of the pot until a smooth, even consistency is reached. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the soup in a blender in small batches.
Add miso – If you’re using miso, dissolve in warm water and stir it into the soup. Garnish with scallions and shredded gruyere cheese and serve immediately.
What to Serve with Carrot Parsnip Soup
Some people enjoy soup as a meal on its own, but I love pairing soup with a side (or two!) for variety in texture and flavors. My go-to pairings for soup include bread, crackers and salad. Here are some things that would go really well with this soup:
If you make this carrot parsnip soup, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other readers who are thinking about making the recipe.
This healthy carrot and parsnip soup is both earthy and (a tad) sweet in flavor. Not only is it delicious, but it packs a punch of protein from the quinoa, and is full of fiber, too! Vegetarian and gluten-free.
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped finely
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and chopped
5 cups of vegetable broth or water
1/3 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon miso paste, dissolved in 1 Tablespoon warm water
sea salt, to taste
scallions, as garnish
1 ounce gruyere cheese (optional)
Instructions
In a large stock pot, heat oil on medium heat. Place onion, shallot and garlic into the pot and sauté for about five to seven minutes or until onions are translucent.
Once the onions are translucent, add the herbs and spices (thyme, sage, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and ground pepper) to the pot and stir.
Add chopped carrots, parsnip and quinoa to the pot, pour in vegetable broth or water and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for about 20-40 minutes until veggies are tender.
Remove from heat and let stand 3-5 minutes until cooled slightly. Using an immersion blender, blend the contents of the pot until a smooth even consistency is reached. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the soup in your blender in small batches.
Dissolve miso in warm water and stir it into the soup. Miso gives the soup a wonderful flavor, but if you don’t have miso, simply season the soup with a little sea salt.
Serve immediately garnished with scallions and shredded gruyere cheese and enjoy!
I love this soup! Have made it multiple times. I just add everything to my instant pot, when it has cooled use the immersion blender and you are good to go. I do eliminate the miso paste and will garnish with roasted seeds. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Delicious, easy and fast. This is quite filling thanks to the quinoa. It’s definitely going into heavy pandemic rotation. Definitely use the miso. I’ll Ed the flavor it gave to the soup and may even bump it up a little next time..
This was delicious! Very clean-feeling as well as filling. I used water instead of chicken broth to make it low-histamine and it was very good. I think chicken broth would have taken it to the next level!
We loved this recipe! Perfect for a chilly fall evening. Really yummy flavors. Didn’t have the miso, but still tasted delicious! Thank you for such an easy, awesome recipe!
Yes, I included the cheese in the nutrition stats. I used My Fitness Pal to calculate the nutrition info if you want to input the recipe minus the cheese to see what the difference is.
I made this and it was fantastic. I didn’t have any miso but it still turned out beautifully. So full of flavour! I looked at quite a few carrot/parsnip soup recipes before settling on this one and I’m so glad. Will definitely make it again.
Fancied making some soup, looked in the fridge and saw I had some oldish parsnips and a bag of carrots. Googled carrot and parsnip soup and this recipe was top of the list. Needless to say I don’t have half the ingredients listed including; coconut oil, miso paste, scallions, shallots, fresh sage and fresh thyme.
Wow I just made this soup (with the pumpkin) and it was so so delicious! It was so much better than I thought it would be. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I love the idea of using miso in soup instead of salt – very interesting, and a great way to use up the miso that always gets pushed to the back of the fridge.
I love it when I make something that is so good I can’t stop saying how good it is the whole time I’m eating it! This is such a pretty soup, too. Can’t wait to try it!
This sounds amazing. Too many ingredients for me to do myself, but maybe I can talk someone into doing it and sharing. 🙂
OT, I have been reading your blog forever, and one thing I miss is your meals. I often struggle with what to put with what, or even think of healthy meals when I am rushed or stressed. Maybe take a poll, see if others think this way too, but like all the style blogs that show us how to put that same top with different things to get a totally different style, I’d love more info on mixing and matching easy meals. I think you could be famous for this! Thanks for listening.
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I love this soup! Have made it multiple times. I just add everything to my instant pot, when it has cooled use the immersion blender and you are good to go. I do eliminate the miso paste and will garnish with roasted seeds. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Ahh yay!! So glad you’ve been loving this soup, Brittney. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Wonderful recipe, many thanks for sharing. Wouldn’t you have a similar one on a tomato basis?
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this soup, Anton! I don’t have a tomato soup on the blog yet, but it’s on my list!
Delicious, easy and fast. This is quite filling thanks to the quinoa. It’s definitely going into heavy pandemic rotation. Definitely use the miso. I’ll Ed the flavor it gave to the soup and may even bump it up a little next time..
★★★★★
Woo!! So glad you enjoyed this soup, Anne! I really appreciate you coming back to leave a review. 🙂
Loved this soup! The sage in it just gives it an amazing flavour. Warm and cozy for the colder months. My 16 MO also loved it!
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad this soup was a hit, Lauren. Thanks for making it – I so appreciate it!
This was delicious! Very clean-feeling as well as filling. I used water instead of chicken broth to make it low-histamine and it was very good. I think chicken broth would have taken it to the next level!
★★★★★
So glad you loved this soup, Maria! I appreciate you coming back to leave a comment + star rating. <3
We loved this recipe! Perfect for a chilly fall evening. Really yummy flavors. Didn’t have the miso, but still tasted delicious! Thank you for such an easy, awesome recipe!
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this soup, Meredith. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
This soup recipe is perfect for the fall season. I love the flavors of this recipe; so delicious. I made sure to double up the batch for leftovers!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this soup, Jo Ann! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Hi! Do the nutritional value includes the gruyere cheese? If yes – how would it change without the cheese? Thanks!
Yes, I included the cheese in the nutrition stats. I used My Fitness Pal to calculate the nutrition info if you want to input the recipe minus the cheese to see what the difference is.
Just tried this soup and it tasted amazing! So rich! Thanks for sharing.
Yay! So glad that you liked it. 🙂
deliciously perfect for a fall day! Made mine in crock pot then pureed w/ hand blender. Really easy and clean!
★★★★★
I made this and it was fantastic. I didn’t have any miso but it still turned out beautifully. So full of flavour! I looked at quite a few carrot/parsnip soup recipes before settling on this one and I’m so glad. Will definitely make it again.
Hi Lucy. Thank you so much for trying this recipes. It’s one of my favorites so I’m glad you enjoyed it!
i made it and got 4 generous servings at roughly 200 cal/serve
Thanks for an amazing recipe by the way!!! Love this blog
x
4 servings at 208/ serving
This soup looks so delicious. Going to make it today. Thanks for sharing.
Fancied making some soup, looked in the fridge and saw I had some oldish parsnips and a bag of carrots. Googled carrot and parsnip soup and this recipe was top of the list. Needless to say I don’t have half the ingredients listed including; coconut oil, miso paste, scallions, shallots, fresh sage and fresh thyme.
This soup was perfect for finishing up some produce I had from my farm share! It froze well too.
Fantastic recipe, perfect for these wintery days.
★★★★★
Wow I just made this soup (with the pumpkin) and it was so so delicious! It was so much better than I thought it would be. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I love the idea of using miso in soup instead of salt – very interesting, and a great way to use up the miso that always gets pushed to the back of the fridge.
My thoughts exactly! 🙂
I love it when I make something that is so good I can’t stop saying how good it is the whole time I’m eating it! This is such a pretty soup, too. Can’t wait to try it!
Nice you are doing good job keep it up!!
Nice soup, good idea. Will try something like this!
Must. make. Is it weird that I want to take a bath in this soup?
This sounds amazing. Too many ingredients for me to do myself, but maybe I can talk someone into doing it and sharing. 🙂
OT, I have been reading your blog forever, and one thing I miss is your meals. I often struggle with what to put with what, or even think of healthy meals when I am rushed or stressed. Maybe take a poll, see if others think this way too, but like all the style blogs that show us how to put that same top with different things to get a totally different style, I’d love more info on mixing and matching easy meals. I think you could be famous for this! Thanks for listening.
I tried making carrot soup before and ruined it! Maybe I will try again 🙂