Spicy Peanut Soup

When I worked as a personal chef from 2018 to 2023, a rendition of this Spicy Carrot-Peanut Soup was a regular on the menu. I kind of laugh about that “personal chef” part. I’m not professionally trained, there was nothing fancy about it, and I always told people, “I just cook for a family.” During those years, my own recipe album grew by leaps and bounds. I became acquainted with meal ideas I hadn’t been exposed to previously.

Like many of my recipes, this can be made in just over half an hour. A little planning ahead cuts down preparation time:

• Peel and wash carrots ahead of time
• Use frozen diced onions in a pinch
• While the carrots cook, use your time to
  • spoon the peanut butter into a sprayed half-cup measuring cup
  • set up your blender
  • wash or load your dishes into the dishwasher

The basic progression is to cook the carrots with onions and garlic, spices, broth, and sweet chili sauce. Then, blend it all with peanut butter until smooth. The result is this spicy, creamy soup that is reminiscent of Asian peanut sauce. Yum. When I make this, I fear I might turn orange from eating so many carrots. (I never have.)

Pair with spinach salad with craisins, feta cheese, radishes, avocado, and a balsamic dressing; or grab just a mug of soup and head out the door on a busy day.

Spicy Carrot-Peanut Soup

A spicy, creamy soup that warms, satisfies, and just might cause you to wipe your nose.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Thai

Servings 4

Equipment

• Saucepan - medium to large
• Blender or Emulsifier
• Scale - to weigh 1 pound of carrots

Ingredients

  

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 pound peeled, cleaned carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter more or less to taste

Instructions

 

• Prepare vegetables: peel and chop carrots into large chunks, cutting especially fat pieces in half lengthwise. Chop onion and garlic.
• Warm sesame oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add carrots, onions, and garlic. Allow to sauté for 5 minutes or so until the onions are translucent and the carrots start to brown. Add 1/4 cup water if it gets too dry.
• Add spices: salt and pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes; allow to cook into the carrots for a couple minutes before adding the broth and water.
• Add in 4 cups total broth and water. Recipe calls for 2 cups of each, but you can adjust as needed. Bring to a boil, cover pan with a lid, turn down heat and allow to simmer about 20 minutes until carrots are easily pierced with a fork.
• Add sweet chili sauce and allow pan to cool down a little bit.
• Add peanut butter and blend contents, either by emulsifying with an immersion blender, or by pouring into a blender in two batches. Return smooth soup to pan in order to re-warm prior to eating.

Notes

I am impatient, so to help cool the soup in order to get the blending done more quickly, I pour it from the saucepan into an 8-cup measuring bowl. Once the steaming subsides, ladle half of the broth and carrot chunks into a blender, (making sure to add the peanut butter at this time if it wasn't already added to the saucepan), cover with a folded towel to guard against leaks and burns, and liquefy on low. Pour smooth soup back into the pan and repeat the blending process with remaining broth and carrots. 

Keyword carrot peanut soup, carrot soup, spicy peanut sauce, spicy soup, Thai flavors