This Chilled Carrot Soup Is the Perfect Transition to Fall

A smooth, bright, and creamy option.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated September 09, 2024
A bowl of chilled minty carrot soup with dukkah yogurt.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Chilling the blended soup base before adding mint ensures the mint retains its fresh flavor.
  • Fine-straining the soup is an optional step that offers an even more professional final texture.
  • Adding olive oil and vinegar at the end enriches and brightens the soup.

An ideal warm-weather soup, this bright orange bowl is naturally sweet with the flavor of carrots and is incredibly refreshing, thanks to a subtle whiff of mint. A dollop of aromatic yogurt—flavored with dukkah, the Egyptian seed-and-spice blend—adds richness and complexity.

You can read more about the nuance of dukah in our explainer here. We've also got a recipe for it, which is called for in the ingredient list below.

June 2019

Recipe Details

This Chilled Carrot Soup Is the Perfect Transition to Fall

Total 2 hrs
Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 medium yellow onion (12 ounces; 340g), peeled and thinly sliced
  • One medium leek (10 1/2 ounces; 300g), white and light green parts only, washed well of dirt and sand, sliced in half lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into thin half-moons
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and smashed under the flat side of a knife
  • 10 medium carrots (2 pounds; 900g), peeled and sliced into thin rounds
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley (optional)
  • 10 fresh mint leaves, plus more as garnish
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) white wine vinegar, plus more if desired
  • Water or carrot juice, as needed
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or labneh
  • 1 tablespoon dukkah, plus more for sprinkling

Directions

  1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, leek, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in carrots and season with salt. Add parsley, if using.

    Collage of sauteeing carrots and link for chilled carrot soup.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  2. Add enough cold water to cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain simmer, and cook until carrots are tender enough that a fork can easily pierce them. Discard parsley.

    Stirring stock into sauteed carrots and leeks for soup.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  3. Ladle liquid and solid ingredients into a blender jar. Remove blender lid plug (this will allow steam pressure to escape), cover blender, and set a folded clean dish towel on top to cover the hole in the blender lid (keep your hand on the towel to keep it in place). Starting at the lowest speed and gradually increasing to the highest, blend the soup until it is completely smooth. If an even smoother texture is desired, pass soup base through a fine-mesh strainer.

    Chilled carrot soup being pureed in blender.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  4. Refrigerate soup base until chilled (alternatively, you can use an ice bath to speed up the chilling time). Return soup base to a clean blender jar, add mint leaves and blend until leaves are chopped into tiny flecks. Transfer soup base to a large mixing bowl, and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil along with the vinegar. Thin soup base with enough water or, if you have it, chilled fresh carrot juice to desired consistency (you do not want the soup to be a thick purée, but instead a silky, creamy, soup-like one). Season with salt and, if needed, additional vinegar. Return to refrigerator until well chilled.

  5. Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, thoroughly mix yogurt with dukkah. Season with salt. Keep cold.

  6. When ready to serve, check soup for seasoning once more, adjusting salt and vinegar only if desired. Portion into bowls (chilled bowls are even better). Dollop some chilled yogurt mixture into each bowl, then sprinkle some additional dukkah on top. Garnish with mint leaves, drizzle with olive oil, and serve cold.

Special Equipment

Blender, fine-mesh strainer, large pot or Dutch oven

Make-Ahead and Storage

The soup can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated in an airtight container. Mix together the yogurt garnish shortly before serving.

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