A warming vegan soup full of rich root vegetables and sweetened with coconut milk. I added a little bit of spice too.
Time and time again “turnip” shows up in my search stats far more often than any other vegetable. It’s possible that there are just not that many recipes out there for the lowly turnip.
Things to know about Turnips
Turnip is a root vegetable, part of the Brassica family (same as cabbage). One of my favourite fall and winter vegetables. Easy to find and rather economical.
They do feel a bit old-fashioned. Some of us might remember chunks of turnip in grandma’s stew. A cheap and plain vegetable. And this could be why we pass over them in the produce section.
But when treated right, they are tasty, rich and comforting. This turnip soup recipe and this roasted turnip dish both prove that turnips belong on any fall dinner table.
And in case you were wondering, take a careful look my friends, this is a turnip.
Note that it is small and round, white with a tint of purple on the stem end.
A turnip is not the same as a rutabaga
Rutabagas are often confused for a turnip. Yes they are related, more like cousins. Here are the main differences.
I don’t have a picture of a rutabaga available to show you – they are large (small head of cabbage large), yellow-flesh, heavy, brownish and usually covered in a thick wax. Sometimes called yellow turnip.
I have nothing against rutabagas. In fact, I adore them. I have fond memories of sweet mashed rutabaga at our holiday dinner table. Which we called mashed turnip and which is why I feel I need to clarify this for everyone.
Turnips and rutabagas are very different vegetables. Turnip is also sweet, but rutabagas are sweeter. Turnip flesh is usually white and has a bit of a peppery bite to it. A little more zest. More kick.
And then someone will come along and tell me that they are in fact the same vegetables — just different varieties, and I will tell them that I don’t care. In my mind they are different. And the difference is important.
because look at this pretty soup you can make with a turnip or two…
I adapted this recipe from The Garden of Vegan by Sarah Kramer. Which I think is long out of print now. I needed to kick it up to suit our taste buds. We like spicy! So I added more seasonings and replaced 1 cup of soy milk with full-fat coconut milk.
This soup is pureed after the vegetables are tender so don’t worry about chopping them in uniform pieces, just small enough so they all cook at the same time.
How to make turnip soup
This simple soup comes together quickly:
- Start with a large pot over medium-high heat and sauté leeks in olive oil, until the leeks are soft and fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients, all except the coconut milk, to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Use just enough liquid to almost cover the vegetables – adjust as necessary. You can always add more liquid later to the pureed soup to get the consistency you like.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until the vegetables are tender – 20-30 minutes.
- Puree the soup and add the coconut milk. Blend and adjust seasoning as necessary. That’s it!
Ingredients
- 2-3 leek thinly sliced (white and light green parts only) , about 1 cup
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 turnips peeled and diced, about 3 cups
- 2 large carrot chopped
- 2 medium potato roughly chopped – leave the peel on or off, it’s all good
- 1 cups vegetable stock
- 3 cups water enough to just cover the simmering veggies
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. old bay seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 1 tsp. dried dill
- 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, over medium high heat, sauté leeks in olive oil, until the leeks are soft and fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients, all except the coconut milk, to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Use just enough liquid to almost cover the vegetables – adjust as necessary. You can always add more later to the pureed soup to get the consistency you like.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook the vegetables until vegetables are tender – 20-30 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in a high-speed blender, return to the pot, add the coconut milk and heat through. Taste for seasonings and serve. Serves 6-8.
Useful tools for this recipe:
More fall recipes
Hi, I’m Trish. I share quick and healthy recipes designed to get you through your busy days, balanced with a generous serving of sweet and decadent treats for weekends and special occasions. You will find vegan, gluten-free and plant-based recipes here too. Thanks for visiting!
realocalcooking
This sounds yummy…I’ve been wanting to make something with turnips!
Dan McCullough
My grandfather used to call rutabaga “yellow turnip”. Must be an Irish thing.
juniakk
this looks so delicious! i’ve never really eaten turnips before, but i love combining veggies and making homemade soup! must try this soon :).
Granny
Love the substitution of coconut milk. This must give the soup a unique and quite enjoyable flavor… A funny trick about rutabaga. Ask someone to repeat the following consecutive multiplications as written here: “5 times 5, twenty-five, times 5, one-twenty-five, times 5, six-twenty-five.” Allow the person to repeat this at least 10 times. Then, promptly ask them to name a vegetable. More than 75% of people say “rutabaga,” even if they have never seen or tasted one. It must be a powerful root!!
infinebalance
LOL love that. It must be a powerful root – a yummy one at least!
Tessa @ FlexYourFood
I’m a big soup fan (who isn’t?!) and this sounds so tasty. Love the contrast of the sweet veg and the spicy seasonings!
Melissa
Hi Trish, Melissa here from Food Bloggers of Canada. Just popping by to check out your blog and to let you know we’ve added you to our Membership Directory. Welcome aboard!
infinebalance
Thanks!
Jamie
This looks delicious! When do you add the coconut milk? Also, about how long do you cook it, ~40 minutes?
Trish @infinebalance
Editing the recipe… sorry. Of all the comments I’ve had on this one, no one has noticed that I didn’t say when to add the coconut milk. 🙂
Add it after the veggies have been blended and you return the puree to the pot to warm through.
As for how long you need to simmer the soup, it usually take about 25-30 minutes to get the turnips nice and soft.
Jamie
Thanks! It turned out great! I’m probably just not as savvy as the rest of the people who made it and knew when to add the milk :).
Trish @infinebalance
Great! So glad it turned out well for you 🙂
Olivia Lane
This was pretty yummy. Love all the spices. Hooray for flavorful foods!
Trish @infinebalance
So happy you liked it! Thanks
Robert
I didn’t have any coconut milk but had raw cashews. I used them for crankiness. Funny thing it kind of tastes and smells of coconut.
Robert
That’s creaminess not crankiness !
Trish @infinebalance
Very glad the soup wasn’t cranky!! 🙂
Marnie
Hi – love the spice combo – so delicious! Can I freeze this? Thanks!
Trish
Thanks for stopping by Marnie — I love these spices too. Honestly I have not tried to freeze this — but these ingredients, in my experience always freeze well. I would plan to use it within 3 months.
Marnie
Thanks for your quick reply! I’ll let you know how it goes!