Winter Root Vegetable Soup

This Winter Root Vegetable Soup will warm you up! It's made with savory root veggies like rutabaga, parsnips, and carrots pureed until creamy.

Every now and then I like to celebrate the underdog of the vegetable world; Root vegetables. One of the best ways I know to utilize them is to make a big batch of this Root Vegetable Soup.

We've been experiencing a long stretch of cold winter weather over the past few weeks and one of my favorite things this time of year is to cozy up with a big bowl of soup like this one. It highlights seasonal produce like root vegetables.

It can be difficult to know how to utilize root vegetables. We may see them in the produce section of the grocery store, but never grab them because we're not sure what to do with them. I'm here to tell you that root vegetables were made for things like soup.

This soup is packed with veggies like rutabaga, parsnips, carrots, and potatoes and flavored with garlic, onions, and celery all sauteed and then simmered in a Dutch oven along with vegetable broth.

This vegetable soup is pureed until smooth with an immersion blender, so it has a creamy texture. It's seasoned simply, but full of flavor and perfect served with some toasted crostini for dipping.

This recipe yields a large quantity, so a batch of it will last throughout the week in the refrigerator. Alternately, it may be portioned out, frozen, and served at a later time.

Jump to:

• What Is A Root Vegetable?
• Ingredients For Winter Root Vegetable Soup
• Root Vegetables Need To Be Peeled?
• How To Make Root Vegetable Soup
• How Long Does Vegetable Soup Take To Cook?
• How To Add Flavor To Vegetable Soup
• What To Serve With Root Vegetable Soup
• How Long Does This Soup Last In Fridge?
• Can It Be Frozen?
• Winter Root Vegetable Soup

What Is A Root Vegetable?

A root vegetable is simply a vegetable in which the edible part of the plant grows underground. Root vegetables are incredibly healthy and versatile. They can be roasted, sauteed, or pureed.

Root veggies are typically in season from late fall to early spring, making the winter months a great time to enjoy them.

Root vegetables may be added to soups and stews, roasted, boiled, or used to make salads. In general, their flavor is earthy and slightly sweet. Cooking root vegetables helps to bring out their natural sweetness.

Examples of root vegetables include turnips, carrots, rutabaga, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, celery root, and radishes.

Another reason to love root vegetables is that they're cheap. You can fill up on them without breaking the bank.

Ingredients For Winter Root Vegetable Soup

Here's what you'll need to make it.

• 6 cloves Garlic
• 1 Onion (any color)
• 3-4 stalks Celery
• 3-4 Carrots (equals 2 cups chopped)
• 2 large Parsnips (equals 2 cups chopped)
• 1 medium-sized Rutabaga (equals 4 cups diced)
• 4-6 Yukon Gold Potatoes (equals 3 cups diced)
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 6 cups Vegetable Broth
• 1-1 ¼ tsp. Kosher Salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar (or vinegar of choice)
• Fresh herbs for garnish (such as parsley, chives, dill, or thyme) (optional)

Root Vegetables Need To Be Peeled?

Root vegetables like parsnips and rutabaga are sometimes coated in a food-grade wax before they are shipped to the grocery store. The wax helps to preserve the vegetables and gives them a longer shelf-life.

I highly recommend removing the wax before eating them.

The best way to remove the food-grade wax is to peel the skin from the root vegetables. Peel the parsnips with a vegetable peeler (just as you would carrots) and cut the skin from the rutabaga with a knife.

Peeling the vegetables helps to ensure that no wax ends up in your soup.

Check out these detailed instructions on How To Peel and Cut A Rutabaga if needed.

How To Make Root Vegetable Soup

This soup is made by mincing the garlic, onions, and celery and chopping the rutabaga, parsnips, carrots, and potatoes into chunks.

All of the vegetables are sauteed in a Dutch oven with olive oil and then simmered along with vegetable broth until tender.

Once tender, the soup is pureed with an immersion blender until creamy.

1. Start by mincing 6 cloves of garlic and 1 onion (any color), and 3-4 stalks of celery.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to peel 3-4 carrots and 2 large parsnips (making sure to remove any food-grade wax from the parsnips). Cut the carrots and parsnips into slices and then into smaller chunks, making sure there are all relatively the same size (yields 2 cups each of chopped carrots and parsnips).
3. Cut 4-8 Yukon Gold potatoes (or yellow potatoes) into large chunks. The amount of potatoes needed depends on their size (yields 3 cups chopped potatoes).
4. Cut both the top and bottom from a medium-sized rutabaga and discard. Placing one of the flat surfaces on a cutting board, peel or cut the skin (and any food-grade wax) from the rutabaga and discard.
5. Cut the peeled rutabaga in half lengthwise, place the flat surface on the cutting board, and cut into chunks (just as you would a butternut squash or kohlrabi) (yields 4 cups of chopped rutabaga).
6. Place a cast iron Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot on the stove top and heat to medium-high. Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to the Dutch oven.
7. Once heated, add the minced garlic, onions, and celery to the Dutch oven. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
8. Add the chopped rutabaga, parsnips, and carrots (leaving out the potatoes for now) to the Dutch oven along with 1 tsp. each of kosher salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.
9. Pour 6 cups of vegetable broth into the pot and add 2 bay leaves. Stir until combined.
10. Bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low boil, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

How Long Does Vegetable Soup Take To Cook?

Root vegetables are hearty and take some time to cook. The vegetables are first sauteed in olive oil and then simmered on a low boil until tender.

Potatoes cook more quickly than tougher vegetables like carrots and parsnips, so they are added later in the cooking time.

Overall, it takes about 45 minutes to make this Winter Root Vegetable Soup.

1. After 15 minutes, remove the cover and add the diced potatoes. Cover and cook on a low boil for another 20 minutes or until all of the vegetables are tender, but not mushy (they should be easily pierced with a fork).
2. Remove the bay leaves at this point.
3. Place an immersion blender into the pot and puree the soup on the low setting. Make sure that the blender is immersed in the soup so that it doesn't splash all over the place. Be sure to do this carefully as the immersion blender can cause the hot soup to splatter. It is also important not to scrape the bottom of your soup pot with the blade of the immersion blender as it can damage the pot.
4. Puree the soup until it is smooth and creamy, or has reached your desired consistency.
5. Once the soup is pureed, add 2 Tbsp. of white wine vinegar and stir until combined. The vinegar helps to brighten up the flavor of the soup. Feel free to add another ¼ tsp. of kosher salt if needed and stir until combined.

How To Add Flavor To Vegetable Soup

I love this soup because it allows the flavors of the root vegetables to shine through. It packs a lot of flavor even though it's seasoned simply and is naturally vegan, gluten free, and dairy free.

You can definitely dress it up, though, if you'd like to bump up the flavor even more.

Here are some things to add in order to bump up the flavor of this Winter Root Vegetable Soup:

• Heavy Cream, Sour Cream, or Greek Yogurt
• Coconut Milk
• Grated Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano Cheese
• A dash of your favorite spices like paprika or Italian seasoning
• Fresh herbs of choice, such as parsley, chives, dill, or thyme
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• A sprinkle of flaky salt or herb salt

What To Serve With Root Vegetable Soup

This soup is great to serve as-is, but you can dress it up by garnishing with some fresh herbs like parsley, chives, or dill for extra color and flavor.

Feel free to add some grated Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano cheese for extra flavor and richness.

I enjoy pureed soups with some crusty bread or crostini, garlic bread, a toasted sandwich, homemade biscuits, or savory herb scones for dipping.

It's perfect paired with this Italian grilled cheese or Gouda chicken grilled cheese sandwich.

Love vegetable soups? Check out these recipes!

• Harvest Vegetable Soup
• Tuscan Vegetable Soup
• Vegetable Orzo Soup
• Vegetable Soup and Pesto Grilled Cheese
• Sweet Potato Kale Soup
• Chunky Italian Vegetable Soup

How Long Does This Soup Last In Fridge?

This soup lasts 3-4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Be sure to allow the soup to cool completely before transferring to the fridge for storage.

Can It Be Frozen?

This soup makes a great freezer meal! The recipe yields a big batch and can be frozen for later.

How To Freeze

1. Prepare the soup as directed and allow it to come to room temperature before freezing.
2. Once cooled, place in heavy-duty freezer bags or airtight food containers, label with the date, and freeze up to 3 months.

How To Thaw

1. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove top.
2. If adding extra ingredients like heavy cream or coconut milk it's best to do so at this point after the soup has been thawed and reheated.

Love pureed soups? Check out these recipes!

• Potato Leek Cauliflower Soup
• Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
• Asparagus Broccoli Soup
• Sweet Corn Cauliflower Soup
• Roasted Carrot Soup
• Curried Butternut Squash Soup
• Vegan Potato Corn Chowder

Looking For More Root Vegetable Recipes? Don't Miss These!

Grilled Turnips and Radishes

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Celery Root Remoulade

Low Carb Rutabaga Fries