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You are here: Home » Vegan Recipes

Published: Sep 26, 2014 · Modified: Nov 13, 2021 by Trish · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads ·

Sweet Turnip and Carrot Soup

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Sweet Turnip and Carrot Soup | www.infinebalance.com
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
This sweet fall soup makes a lovely starter for a formal dinner party.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Servings: 6 servings
Vegan
Soup

A warming vegan soup full of rich root vegetables and sweetened with coconut milk. I added a little bit of spice too.

turnip and carrot soup in a bowl, blue napkin, coconut milk on top

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.

a pretty turnip with greens

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...

turnip and carrot soup with coconut milk drizzle on blue napkin
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!

📖 Recipe

Sweet Turnip and Carrot Soup | www.infinebalance.com
3.74 from 41 votes

Sweet Turnip and Carrot Soup

This sweet fall soup makes a lovely starter for a formal dinner party.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Servings: 6 servings

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
  • ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp. black pepper
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • ½ tsp. old bay seasoning
  • ¼ tsp. cayenne
  • 1 tsp. dried dill
  • ¾ 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.
Trish Cowper | The infinebalance Food Blog
Tried this recipe?Mention @infinebalance or tag #infinebalance!

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    3.74 from 41 votes (39 ratings without comment)

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  1. realocalcooking says

    November 19, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    This sounds yummy...I've been wanting to make something with turnips!

    Reply
  2. Dan McCullough says

    November 19, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    My grandfather used to call rutabaga "yellow turnip". Must be an Irish thing.

    Reply
  3. juniakk says

    November 21, 2011 at 12:26 am

    this looks so delicious! i've never really eaten turnips before, but i love combining veggies and making homemade soup! must try this soon :).

    Reply
  4. Granny says

    November 22, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    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!!

    Reply
    • infinebalance says

      November 22, 2011 at 2:19 pm

      LOL love that. It must be a powerful root - a yummy one at least!

  5. Tessa @ FlexYourFood says

    November 24, 2011 at 4:13 am

    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!

    Reply
  6. Melissa says

    November 24, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • infinebalance says

      November 25, 2011 at 8:46 am

      Thanks!

  7. Jamie says

    February 03, 2014 at 1:55 pm

    This looks delicious! When do you add the coconut milk? Also, about how long do you cook it, ~40 minutes?

    Reply
    • Trish @infinebalance says

      February 03, 2014 at 3:12 pm

      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 says

      February 03, 2014 at 6:45 pm

      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 says

      February 03, 2014 at 8:37 pm

      Great! So glad it turned out well for you 🙂

  8. Olivia Lane says

    October 18, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    This was pretty yummy. Love all the spices. Hooray for flavorful foods!

    Reply
    • Trish @infinebalance says

      October 19, 2014 at 10:56 am

      So happy you liked it! Thanks

  9. Robert says

    November 02, 2015 at 12:34 am

    4 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • Robert says

      November 02, 2015 at 12:36 am

      That's creaminess not crankiness !

    • Trish @infinebalance says

      November 02, 2015 at 6:38 am

      Very glad the soup wasn't cranky!! 🙂

  10. Marnie says

    January 01, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    Hi - love the spice combo - so delicious! Can I freeze this? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Trish says

      January 01, 2020 at 7:04 pm

      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.

  11. Marnie says

    January 01, 2020 at 7:06 pm

    Thanks for your quick reply! I’ll let you know how it goes!

    Reply
    • Marnie says

      January 31, 2020 at 3:31 pm

      Frozen turned out very well! Thanks again!

    • Trish says

      January 31, 2020 at 3:38 pm

      Awesome. Thanks for letting me know!

  12. Melissa says

    November 11, 2022 at 3:05 pm

    If you like turnips, this is a great recipe! The turnip flavor totally came through and it was a creamy well-balanced soup.

    Unfortunately, my family is still not fans of turnips and the addition of the carrots and other ingredients wasn't enough for them to enjoy it. So if you aren't sure if you or your kids will enjoy turnips and are hoping to hide or build taste for a healthy ingredient, I'm not sure it can be done unless the turnip is a less dominant ingredient.

    Reply
  13. Tracy says

    June 14, 2024 at 7:21 am

    3 stars
    Was nice enough but the Middle Eastern spices completely drowned out the vegetable flavours. Could've been any vegetables in here as we couldn't distinguish either turnip or carrot in it. Probably won't be making it again.

    Reply

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Trish Cowper

Hi. I'm Trish.

I'm a curious home cook, just as enthusiastic about healthy ingredients and whole foods as I am about cookies.

more about me →

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