Creamy Vegan Rutabaga Soup
Think creamy and dreamy soups can’t also be vegan? I thought so, too. But Creamy Vegan Rutabaga Soup proves us all wrong.
I know you’re thinking “rutabaga, just why?” Well, why not? Rich in vitamins C and E, as well as calcium and potassium, rutabagas are a superfood-ish root vegetable and the star of this soup.
It all starts with the magic of mirepoix.
Mirepoix
What is mirepoix? It is a sauteed veggie foundation of many casseroles, soups, stews, and meat dishes. The ingredients include carrots, celery, and onion.
French in origin, the combination was supposedly named for a 17th-century duke in the town of Mirepoix. His personal cook finely chopped the aromatic vegetables and then sauteed them in fat like butter or oil to intensify their flavors. Unfortunately, the cook’s name is forgotten in history, but that is how things go.
Many cultures and countries have their own version of mirepoix. Of course, the ingredients are slightly different as are the names: Cajun holy trinity, German suppengrün, Italian battuto, Polish włoszczyzna, and Spanish sofrito. Once sauteed, the veggie combos go into stealth mode.
You don’t know they are there but they undergird the dish and allow the other ingredients to shine.
The classic mirepoix ratio is two parts onion, one part celery, and one part carrot. Chop the veggies all the same size to cook at the same rate. Once they become softened, the other ingredients can be added.
It is a good foundation for vegan soups.
Vegan Soup Recipes
I get it. Not everyone in your family wants to eat something vegan. However, soups are an easy way to incorporate a vegan element into your menu without too much fuss or fanfare.
No one needs to know this is vegan. It can be our secret.
Using oil instead of butter, plant-based milk instead of dairy milk, and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth are ways of changing any vegetable soup recipe into a vegan one. These small pivots also bring different flavors to the forefront of a recipe. Try it and let me know what you think.
Lessons Learned
- Peeling root veggies like rutabagas can be approached in a few different ways. Use a good quality vegetable peeler (a dull one will not be kind to you) to peel them whole. Since I don’t have one at the moment, I cut the veg in half and use a sharp paring knife to peel the outside.
- Play around with the amount of liquid to get a thicker or thinner soup. Omit the wine if you don’t like it or have it and sub in more broth.
- Looking for another vegan soup recipe with rutabaga? This one is delicious.
Hat Tips
Many thanks to Yummy Addiction for the creamy roasted rutabaga soup recipe.
Creamy Vegan Rutabaga Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups rutabaga, peeled and diced
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided use
- 1 ½ cups onion, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup white wine
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F/204C. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Dump the rutabaga cubes onto the sheet and using your hands toss the rutabaga with the olive oil to coat the pieces. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once to turn the pieces over.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and cook for another minute.
- Pour in the white wine and scrape up any brown bits, also called fond, stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.
- Tip the roasted rutabaga into the soup pot and allow the soup to simmer for 20-ish minutes or until the rutabaga is tender all the way through.
- Pour the soup into a blender that can handle hot liquid and blitz until smooth. I prefer to use an immersion stick blender, which is much easier.
- Stir in the coconut milk. Set aside some coconut milk to drizzle on just before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.
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