Mary Berry Winter Vegetable Soup Recipe

Mary Berry’s winter vegetable soup is a hearty, deeply flavoured chunky soup packed with root vegetables — exactly what is needed on a cold day.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Roasting Time 25

Total Time 1 20

Servings: 6 Portions

Course: Soup

Cuisine: British

Calories: 175

Winter Vegetable Soup:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots 2 parsnips, 200g swede, 1 large sweet potato — all peeled and in 2cm chunks
2 celery sticks in 1cm slices
2 large leeks in 1cm rounds
1 large onion roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves crushed
1.5 litres hot vegetable stock
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
To Finish:
2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Swirl of cream or crème fraîche optional
Crusty bread

Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Spread carrot, parsnip, swede, and sweet potato on a large tray — drizzle with 2 tbsp oil, season, toss. Roast 25–30 minutes until golden at edges, turning once.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan. Cook onion 8 minutes. Add leeks and celery — 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme — 2 minutes.
Add roasted vegetables to pan. Pour in hot stock. Add bay leaf — season. Simmer gently 20–25 minutes until all vegetables completely tender.
Remove bay leaf. Roughly mash about one-third of the vegetables with a potato masher for a partly thick, partly chunky texture. Or blend smooth. Or leave chunky.
Stir in fresh parsley. Taste — season very assertively. Serve in deep bowls with cream swirl if using and crusty bread.

Roast the root vegetables first — gives caramelised sweetness and depth that boiling alone cannot.

Use hot stock — brings the soup to temperature quickly and starts cooking immediately.

Roughly mash a third of the vegetables — gives the best texture: partly thick, partly chunky.

Season assertively at the end — vegetable soup is frequently under-seasoned and it matters.

Make a big batch and freeze — this soup freezes perfectly for up to 3 months.