This simple, creamy root vegetable soup uses a mix chosen for how beautifully the flavours blend together – sweet potato, carrots, celeriac, parsnip, potato, garlic and onion. Nourishing, never boring, and flexible too – in case your harvest basket is missing one or two! 😅
Confession: I don’t harvest, and I don’t live in the country
I’m calling this a harvest root vegetable soup so it sounds like I casually threw in whatever we dug up from the garden during our latest harvest. But the truth is, there was no harvesting involved, and I definitely don’t live in the country. I’m smack bang in the middle of Sydney!
I just wanted to give it a cute name – “root vegetable soup” just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it! 😅 So hopefully I got your attention and now I can convince you to try this recipe. Did it work??!
Root vegetables make great soups because each one brings a different flavour into the pot, and the higher starch content means you get a creamy soup texture without using gallons of cream. A generous serving of this one comes in at just 350 calories – win!
It’s simple to make, and versatile too – switch vegetables out of season or pricey for whatever reason.
Rare soup made with water, not stock
I also love that this soup is nourishing but not boring, and made with water rather than stock. Usually, simple soups made without stock can taste flat because it lacks savoury depth or richness to carry the flavours of the other ingredients. But here, we have a secret ingredient that compensates – curry powder!
No, it doesn’t make it taste Indian. It doesn’t even put it into wannabe-curry territory, it just adds warm earthy spice flavour that lifts the flavours so you don’t need to buy or make vegetable stock for this soup to be tasty.
In fact, most people who tried this soup didn’t even pick that there was curry powder in this, but could tell there was “spicing of some kind” (the official feedback!).
What goes in root vegetable soup
Here’s what you need to make this country harvest root vegetable soup. No harvesting required! 🤣
The harvest root vegetables
Root vegetables are vegetables that are grown underground. Here are the ones we use – as mentioned above, this is a specific combination chosen so no single vegetable flavour stands out too much, but instead compliment each other. But, it’s a flexible recipe – see notes below for comment on substituting.
Onion and garlic – essential flavour base!
Carrots – 2 medium ones, or 1 very large one
Potato and sweet potato – These add creaminess and thickness to the soup in a way that other less-starchy root vegetables cannot, while the sweet potato also adds sweetness. Substitute – Feel free to double up on either of these, they are a good substitute for each other.
Celeriac – A knobbly root vegetable with a texture like radish and flavour like celery (hence, the name, I presume!). Substitute – 3 celery sticks, swede, turnip.
Parsnip – Looks like a white carrot, with a sort of nutty, sweet, earthy flavour. It’s unlike any other vegetable actually, I can’t think of something to compare the flavour to! Substitute – swede, turnip.
Changing the root vegetables – Swap and substitute as you like, especially with the listed root vegetables. Just keep in mind that celeriac and parsnip have stronger flavours, so if you use more, the flavour will be more dominant in the soup.
Non root vegetables – It’s ok! You can use non-root vegetables in this too! However, note that using vegetables with higher water content and lower in starch (like zucchini, capsicum/bell peppers) will make the soup less thick and creamy, and the soup colour will be affected if you stray from orangey/beige toned vegetables. I take no responsibility if yours turns out an un-appetising colour!!
Everything else for the soup
And here are the other things you need for this root vegetable soup. No stock – just water! (See above section for comment on this).
Curry powder (mild, not spicy) – As explained above, this is the “secret ingredient” which makes this soup tasty even though we’ve only used water rather than vegetable stock. I just use Clives (or Keens, though I prefer Clives here) – regular grocery shop Western curry powder.
Cream – Just half a cup of cream gives this soup a nice mouthfeel without making it calorie heavy. Substitute with milk and butter – see recipe notes.
Dried thyme – Just a touch of dried herb for flavour. Substitute with fresh thyme, or dried oregano.
Butter and oil (forgot to put in photo!) – The recipe needs 3 tablespoons of fat to effectively sauté the vegetables. Using just butter gets a little too butter-heavy in flavour so this recipe calls for a combination of oil plus butter. But – fine to use all of either! 🙂
How to make Country Harvest Root Vegetable Soup
Sauté (5 minutes) > simmer (15 minutes) > blitz (1 minute) > dinner!
Sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
Add the root vegetables, thyme and curry. Stir well for a few minutes. We’re not trying to cook the vegetables, just give the surface a gentle toasting which also brings out the flavour of the thyme and curry powder.
Simmer – Add the water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft (check with a knife).
Cream – Add the cream and simmer for another 1 minute.
Blitz with a stick blender, or in batches in a blender (remove the lid insert and cover the hole with a folded tea towel).
Blitzed and ready to serve!
Proof of thick and creaminess:
Garnishing and serving
I know it’s really un-original but a little drizzle of cream always seems to go a long way when serving soup. I only use 1 teaspoon or so per bowl, but it tastes like I’ve used so much more – great bang for your calorie buck!
Climbing a little higher on the originality scale is the suggestion to add a small pinch of curry powder for subtle boost of curry flavour. Then sliding right back down into un-original territory – finish with a sprinkle of parsley and pepper. 🙂
Ah well. Maybe my garnishing ideas won’t win any innovation awards. But the soup itself will hit the spot, especially if it’s a grey dreary day like it is here in Sydney! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Country harvest root vegetable soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter
- 1 onion , chopped into large dice
- 3 garlic cloves , chopped
- 1 tbsp curry powder (I like Clive, but any will do, Note 1)
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 litre (6 cups) water
- 2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt (halve for table salt)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup thickened cream (heavy cream, or regular), plus extra for garnish (Note 3)
Root vegetables (Note 4):
- 1 large potato (~300g/10oz), peeled, cut into 2.5cm/1" cubes
- 1 medium sweet potato (350g/12oz), peeled, cut into 2.5cm/1″ cubes
- 2 medium carrots , peeled, cut into 1.5cm/0.5″ pieces
- 1 small/medium parsnip (150g/5oz), peeled, cut into 1.5cm/0.5″ pieces
- 1 small celeriac (600g/1.2 lb), peeled, cut into 1.5cm/0.5″ pieces (~2 heaped cups)
Serving/garnish (optional):
- Warm crusty bread
- Parsley , finely chopped
- Pinch extra curry powder
- Pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Sauté – Put the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, cook the onion and garlic for 2 minutes until the onion is softened.
- Add root vegetables, thyme and curry powder. Cook for three minutes stirring regularly, until the outside of the vegetables starts to soften.
- Simmer 15 minutes – Turn stove up to high. Add water, salt and pepper. Stir, then once it comes to a simmer, lower heat to medium high and simmer rapidly for 15 minutes (no lid) until all the vegetables are soft (check with knife).
- Stir in cream, simmer for 1 minute.
- Blitz – Remove from heat and use a stick blender to blitz until smooth. (Note 5 for blender) Adjust to taste – water to thin, salt and pepper if needed, extra cream for more indulgent.
- Serve in bowls. Drizzle with cream, pinch of curry powder, parsley and pepper. Serve with warm crusty bread!
Recipe Notes:
- Parsnip and celeriac – if you increase these, they will dominate as they have stronger flavour than the other veg. They can also be exxy – sub with swedes or turnip.
- Potato – Any all purpose or starchy potato is fine here, I used Sebago (the dirt brushed ones in Australia).
- Non-root veg will also work but as they are typically more watery and less starchy, soup will likely be thinner and less creamy.
Nutrition Information:
More simple, nourishing-but-not-boring soups
Healthy doesn’t have to mean bland!
Life of Dozer
Wow. 700 birthday wishes for Dozer and counting in just one weekend – he’s officially more popular than any recipe I’ve ever published!!! He’ll be expecting a parade and public holiday in his honour next year….what are you doing to me? All this attention is going to his head!!!🤣
delicious, Nagi!
This soup is so good. I slowly cooked down onions carrot and celery, then added the other root veg (subbed jerusalem artichokes for celeriac) and added a tin of cannelini beans for protein before blending. Otherwise followed the recipe (lol) it was really good!
Fabulous soup. It seems so simple but soo tasty and filling. Ideal for those wintery nights.
This soup was so yummy 😋
Absolutely delicious. I could not buy celeriac at Woolies, but Coles had it. The combination of these vegetables is healthy ( except for the cream 🤪) I had bought garlic bread with it. Once more, thank you Nagi for a recipe I am sure I will make many times. I love winter eating soups. My adult daughter does not class it as a meal. But I sure do!
This soup is so easy to make, and delicious. I ate it with bought garlic bread. Lazy I know. But yummy. I couldn’t get celeriac at Woolies, but Coles had it. I’d never eaten this vegetable before. The total combined taste is absolutely delicious. Thank you Nagi for yet again a great recipe which I am sure I will make many times.
Super delicious!
I substituted the water with low sodium chicken stock and halved the curry powder. Turned out amazing 😋
A very yum soup, thanks Nagi, another winner recipe
Delicious! I did add a stock cube just for the hell of it and swede plus celery and just put the stick blender in the pot. Highly recommend grated cheese with the parsley on top.
Delicious, warming autumn soup, thank you. My curry powder seems fairly hot, so I only used 1/2 tbsp. That was definitely enough, any more would have overpowered the beautiful vegetable flavours.
You can substitute cream for Coconut if you’re dairy intolerant. I rarely use cream anymore. Coconut Cream is my go-to for every recipe calling for cream.
Everything about “root vegetables” makes me want to run in the other direction 😂 but I went for it anyway … absolutely delicious! So easy to prepare, amazing flavour and texture (especially with a dollop of cream or sour cream). Nagi’s Irish soda bread is super easy too and a great accompaniment. Making again tonight in wet and cold Melbourne!
For someone who never thinks of soup as a proper meal the video made me want to try this and OMG, it was delicious to say the least. I even went to the effort to find Celeriac which seems to be a challenge but got there in the end. So nourishing and makes heaps. Thank you yet again for another amazing meal (and yes I said it- soup is a meal)
This soup is so delicious. The celery root gives it a wonderful subtly sweet taste that takes this soup to a new level. And so quick and easy to make. Winner!!
What a delicious, hearty and warming vegetable soup! Made this because we had oodles of pumpkin I wanted to use up and substituted it in lieu of the celeriac. I also had to swap parsnip for turnip as I couldn’t get any at the shops but it was delicious. The soup has been thoroughly enjoyed by the whole family, including the toddler and baby. Bonus, the flavours get better overnight!
This was delicious, hearty and so simple to make! I subbed celeriac for celery (Woolies soup pack) and it turned out super yummy. I couldn’t believe all you need is water (wow) and the curry gave it “something” extra as you mentioned. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Just made this for lunch. I substituted celeriac with celery and had a bit of left over roast pumpkin that I also added. I used a litre of low salt chicken stock and 2 cups of water, and chose the unsalted butter & milk option as I had no cream. This is just a beautiful warming and comfort food soup. The curry powder is there – but not there. It adds just a wee bit of kick but not a curry powder flavour. I give this one 5/5! Thank you Nagi, you’ve done it again!
easy and delicious
This was so yummy. I loved the earthy taste and my Mum did too! Will definitely make again.
I served this yesterday. Half the guests loved it the other half found the celeriac flavour over powering. Will try next time using the substitutes Nagi suggested.