Anna Louise Carrot and coriander soup is one of those soups that manages to be deeply comforting and also genuinely bright and vibrant at the same time. The carrots give a natural sweetness and a beautiful deep orange colour that lifts the spirits before you have even taken a spoonful.
The coriander — fresh leaves stirred in at the end, ground coriander cooked with the vegetables for warmth — adds an aromatic complexity that elevates this from a plain vegetable soup into something that tastes genuinely interesting.
Mary Berry’s carrot and coriander soup is simple, fast, and completely delicious. Everything goes into one pot. There is no complicated technique. The blending takes two minutes.
And forty minutes after you start, you have a soup that is vibrant, warming, and far more flavourful than its short cooking time suggests.
This is the soup I make when I want something bright and nourishing on a cold day, when I have a bag of carrots in the fridge that need using, or when I want a starter for a dinner party that looks colourful and tastes wonderful without any stress.
What Makes This Carrot and Coriander Soup So Good?
Cooking the spices in butter first. Ground coriander — and a little cumin — cooked briefly in butter before the vegetables are added blooms the spices and develops their flavour in a way that adding them directly to liquid does not. This single step makes the soup taste genuinely aromatic rather than just seasoned.
Using sweet, ripe carrots. Carrots vary significantly in sweetness depending on their age and variety. Fresh, sweet carrots give a soup that is naturally bright and vibrant. Older, tired carrots can taste bitter and dull. Buy the freshest carrots you can for the best result.
Fresh coriander stirred in at the end. Ground coriander provides warmth and depth throughout the soup. Fresh coriander stirred in just before serving — with only the residual heat to wilt it — adds a bright, aromatic freshness that dried or ground coriander cannot replicate.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Carrot and Coriander Soup
- 50g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1kg carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1.2 litres good quality vegetable or chicken stock
- Juice of ½ orange (optional but lovely — adds brightness)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Large bunch of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks roughly chopped
To Serve
- A swirl of natural yoghurt or crème fraîche
- Extra fresh coriander leaves
- A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Crusty bread or warm flatbread
How to Make Mary Berry Carrot and Coriander Soup — Step by Step
Step 1 — Sweat the Aromatics
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes until completely softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Step 2 — Bloom the Spices
Add the ground coriander, cumin, and ginger to the pan. Stir continuously for one to two minutes, cooking the spices in the butter and oil. The kitchen should smell wonderfully fragrant at this point — that is the spices releasing their essential oils. Do not skip this step and do not rush it.
Step 3 — Add the Carrots and Stock
Add the chopped carrots to the pan and stir to coat in the spiced butter. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat.
Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the carrots are completely tender — a knife should meet no resistance at all.
Step 4 — Blend
Remove from the heat and add the fresh coriander — both leaves and stalks. The stalks have plenty of flavour and should not be wasted. Blend the soup until completely smooth with a stick blender, or in batches in a standard blender.
Squeeze in the orange juice if using — it adds a brightness that lifts the whole soup without making it taste obviously of orange.
Step 5 — Season and Serve
Return to the hob and warm through gently. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper — carrot soup needs slightly more seasoning than you might expect, as the natural sweetness of the carrots can make it taste flat if under-seasoned.
Ladle into warm bowls. Add a swirl of natural yoghurt or crème fraîche, a few extra fresh coriander leaves, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately with crusty bread or warm flatbread.
My Top Tips for the Best Carrot and Coriander Soup
Buy the best carrots you can. This soup is almost entirely about the carrots — their sweetness, their flavour, their colour. Fresh, sweet carrots — particularly in autumn and winter when they are at their best — give a vibrantly coloured, naturally sweet soup. Older carrots can taste bitter and give a duller, less vibrant result.
Cook the spices in the butter before adding anything else. One to two minutes of stirring the ground coriander, cumin, and ginger in the hot butter blooms the spices and releases their essential oils, producing a far more deeply aromatic soup than simply adding them to the liquid. Do not skip this.
Add the fresh coriander before blending, not after. Blending the fresh coriander directly into the hot soup — rather than adding it as a garnish only — distributes its fresh, aromatic flavour throughout the entire soup rather than just on the surface of each bowl.
Use both the stalks and leaves of the fresh coriander. The stalks are packed with flavour and significantly more robust than the delicate leaves. In a blended soup, there is no textural reason to leave them out — add everything.
Add orange juice at the end for brightness. A squeeze of orange juice stirred into the blended soup adds a lifting, bright acidity that balances the sweetness of the carrots beautifully. It is optional but I rarely make this soup without it.
Season more generously than you think you need to. Sweet vegetable soups — particularly carrot — can taste flat and one-dimensional if under-seasoned. Taste before serving and be generous with the salt. A little extra black pepper also adds a pleasant warmth that suits this soup well.
Serving Suggestions
As a lunch with warm flatbread or pitta for scooping. As a dinner party starter — its vibrant orange colour looks beautiful in white bowls. In a flask or thermos on a cold winter walk. As a nourishing light supper with bread and cheese alongside.
How to Store Mary Berry Carrot and Coriander Soup
In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the hob, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of stock or water if it has thickened too much.
In the freezer: This soup freezes extremely well for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the hob. The colour and flavour are very well preserved after freezing.
Mary Berry Carrot and Coriander Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Melt butter with olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook onion and celery for 8–10 minutes until softened. Add garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Add ground coriander, cumin, and ginger. Stir for 1–2 minutes to bloom the spices in the butter.
- Add carrots, stir to coat. Pour in stock and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook 20–25 minutes until carrots are completely tender.
- Remove from heat. Add fresh coriander — leaves and stalks. Blend until completely smooth. Add orange juice if using.
- Return to hob, warm through gently. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Ladle into warm bowls. Swirl over yoghurt, scatter coriander leaves, drizzle with olive oil. Serve with bread.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions About Mary Berry Carrot and Coriander Soup
Can I make carrot and coriander soup without fresh coriander?
You can use ground coriander only — increase it to 3 teaspoons — but the soup will lack the bright, fresh aromatic quality that the fresh herb provides. If you genuinely dislike fresh coriander, a handful of fresh parsley stirred in before blending gives a pleasant freshness without the distinctive coriander flavour.
Can I make this soup vegan?
Yes — use olive oil instead of butter, vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and serve with a swirl of plant-based yoghurt or coconut cream instead of dairy yoghurt. The soup is naturally vegan with these simple swaps.
Can I add lentils to carrot and coriander soup?
Yes — adding 100g of red lentils along with the carrots and stock gives the soup more body, extra protein, and a creamier texture without any blending. Red lentils dissolve almost completely during the cooking time and thicken the soup beautifully.
Why is my soup not vibrant orange?
Either the carrots were old and past their best, or the soup was cooked for too long at too high a temperature, which can cause the colour to dull. Use the freshest, most vibrant carrots you can find, and keep the heat at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil.
Can I use dried coriander instead of fresh?
For the herb element, yes — but reduce to 1 teaspoon of dried coriander added with the ground spices, as dried herbs are significantly more concentrated than fresh. The flavour will be less bright and aromatic than fresh, but still pleasant.
Can I make this soup without a blender?
You can mash the cooked vegetables with a potato masher for a more rustic, textured soup. It will not be smooth, but it will still taste delicious. Alternatively, use a food mill for a smoother result without an electric blender.
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