You'll love this Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup with Apple! It's velvety smooth and subtly flavoured with ginger and orange. It has a hint of sweetness from apples. It's dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and paleo. It cooks quickly in an Instant Pot in less than 15 minutes, preserving flavour and nutrients! Perfect to make ahead and freeze!
❤️ Why this recipe works
- What's not to love about this Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup? It's a healthy bowl of velvety smooth soup, with hints of ginger and orange. Not only that, it's dairy-free and gluten-free, too.
- But the best part? It's so easy to make in an Instant Pot! You can decide to have a warm bowl of healthy, homemade soup for lunch at noon and have it on the table, ready to eat in less than 30 minutes!
- This Carrot Ginger Soup recipe is very similar to my Family Favourite Carrot-Ginger Soup that I simmer on the stovetop. While I actually do enjoy stirring and watching a soup develop its flavour, sometimes I just want something quick!
- I'm quite attached to my family's favourite recipe, so I was not expecting one made in an Instant Pot to be as tasty, but I was totally surprised.
- Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup with Apple is every bit as good as the stove-top version!
- And why shouldn't it be? All the flavour and nutrients in the ingredients become concentrated right there in the pot. Nothing is lost.
- And since the flavours are so concentrated, I discovered while testing this recipe that I had to change the amounts of some of the ingredients I normally use in my stovetop recipe. I reduced the amount of ginger and used less broth.
🛒 Ingredients
Before we get to the full Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup recipe below, here are a few notes about some of the ingredients.
carrots: use the freshest carrots you can find. They'll have the best flavour and the most nutrients.
broth: if you don't have vegetable broth, you can substitute chicken broth. Choose a low-sodium broth.
apple: it may seem strange to add apple to a soup, but it adds hints of sweetness. Any variety will do.
orange: the orange zest also adds a subtle flavour that puts this soup over the top!
🥄 Instructions
This Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup is quick and easy to make!
- Place all ingredients in the inner pot of the Instant Pot and place it in the base unit. Close the lid, set the Steam Release Handle to Seal, and plug in the appliance.
- Press the Manual button, then adjust the -/+ button until the display reads 14, meaning it will cook for 14 minutes. The timer will count down. When it reaches 0, move the Steam Release Handle to Quick Release.
- The steam could burn you, so use a folded towel or a utensil to move it, making sure to keep it away from your face and hands. Once it has stopped steaming, open the lid.
- Give the contents a stir, then transfer in batches to a blender to purée (or use an immersion blender.)
- Combine the puréed batches in a large bowl, stir to thoroughly combine, then serve.
Place all ingredients in the bowl of an Instant Pot. 
Set the timer for 14 minutes.
👍🏼 Helpful tips
One of the best parts of making soup in an Instant Pot is that you can use the "Keep Warm" function. Family arriving home at different times? Do others want seconds? (of course they will!) Your soup will stay warm, ready to enjoy.
🥶 Storage and freezing instructions
Store extra soup in tightly sealed containers once it has cooled. It will last for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Yes, you can freeze this carrot apple soup! It freezes well. Make sure to cool it completely, then transfer to freezer containers. For easy, organized storage, transfer to zip-top freezer bags, carefully squeeze out the air, seal, then lay flat in your freezer. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in a bowl in the microwave or in a pot on your stovetop.
Soup topping ideas
Remember to garnish your soup! Soup toppers can take a bowl of soup from good to great, just with a little extra flavour or crunch!
Quickly fry a thinly sliced shallot until crispy and top the soup with it. Fresh herbs or some crunchy seeds, like sunflower, are delicious, too. Or try toasted sage leaves, as I used in this recipe for Smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup.
For more soup garnish inspiration, see this post Healthy Soup Topping ideas.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Serve this Instant Pot carrot soup with these hearty Super Seedy Snack Crackers for a healthy, nutrient-rich meal!
Or make this Gluten-Free Cheesy Herb Cornbread, Herbed Gluten-Free Baking Powder Biscuits or Super-Easy Low-Carb Mini Buns.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Carrot Ginger Soup with Apple
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 lbs fresh carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (8 heaping cups)
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 - 3 medium apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried
- 2 tablespoon orange zest, from an organic orange
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth, if not vegetarian)
- Garnish: crispy fried shallots, toasted sage leaves, fresh thyme, or a drizzle of maple syrup
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the inner pot of the Instant Pot and place it in the base unit. Close the lid, set the Steam Release Handle to Seal and plug in the Instant Pot.
- Press the Manual button, then adjust the -/+ button until the display reads 14, meaning it will cook for 14 minutes. The Timer will count down. When it reaches 0, move the Steam Release Handle to Quick Release. The steam could burn you, so either use a folder towel or a utensil to move it, making sure to keep it away from your face and hands. Once it has stopped steaming, open the lid.
- Give the contents a stir, then transfer in batches to a blender to purée (or use an immersion blender.) Combine the puréed batches in a large bowl, stir to thoroughly combine, then serve.
- Store extra soup in Mason jars or other tightly sealed containers once it has cooled. This soup freezes well.
Kathy
Delicious! I can’t make it without sharing a pint with my neighbor. She’d give it five stars, too!
Lana
Love how easy it is to make this soup in the IP!
Elaine
Thanks Lana, Yes, a real time-saver!
Lori
I have to add my comment here, too. Just like the others said, this is a "regular" in our house, too! So good!
Elaine
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I appreciate the 5 star rating, too!
Paula
I make this soup about once a month or so! It has great flavour and freezes well too! Thanks.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks for letting me know--and thanks for the 5 stars, too!
Deirdre
Just wanted to let you know that this has become a "regular" in our house! Everyone loves it.
Flavour & Savour
I make this one often too! I often double it and freeze it in quart-size Mason jars. Thanks for letting me know!