Favorite Hearty Roasted Carrot Soup with Farro

Introduction

This vibrant orange soup is both nourishing and comforting, especially on a cool fall evening.

Most of the cooking is hands off and therefore ideal as part of a batch cooking session.

How This Recipe Came About

I developed this recipe while cooking for a friend with a very aggressive autoimmune disease, as discussed in this post.

My goal was to batch cook and leave her with several weeks worth of food in her freezer.

In terms of soups, I wanted to avoid monotony and therefore I decided to trial soups of different colors such as white (cauliflower), green (broccoli) and orange (carrot).

The carrot soup was a clear favorite, hence the title of this blog post.

Plant Based Soup with AIP option

In line the with the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet as explained in my post, the original carrot soup I made used coconut milk and chicken bone broth as the liquids.

To make the AIP version, use a can of full fat coconut milk and substitute the 3 ½ cups of water with chicken bone broth.

My whole food plant based (WFPB) version has more complete protein thanks to the combination of high protein emmer and lima beans.

It is a good transitional soup in the sense that you could start out with the AIP version if you choose and then later switch the WFPB version after reintroducing legumes and whole grains.

Batch Cooking Tips

This recipe is ideal for a weekly batch cooking session.

I recommend making larger quantities of farro (aka farro medio, aka emmer wheat) to freeze in ½, 1 or 1 ½ cup portions depending on the size of your family.

You can likewise batch cook dried lima beans or purchase frozen or canned lima beans.

You can roast in the oven a sheet pan of additional vegetables besides the ones used for the soup, to include in salads or as sides later in the week.

Once cooled, soups are best frozen in plastic containers.

A size that worked for us was 12 oz deli containers though 8 oz or 16 oz might work better for you depending on your appetite and preferences.

Ingredient Discussion and Substitutions

I used roasted carrots as the main ingredient for their vibrant color and flavor.

The other ingredients added were either orange, yellow or white to highlight the orange theme.

Sweet potato was added for creaminess. 

You could easily exclude the sweet potato by doubling up on carrots or adding a winter squash instead.

Yellow zucchini was added for creaminess and lightness.

Farro (emmer wheat) was added for extra protein and creaminess. 

If you are having trouble finding emmer locally, please see my post on sources of whole grains.

Any mild tasting whole grain can be substituted, keeping in mind that protein content may vary and as will texture.

Lima beans were added for extra protein and for their mild flavor. 

Any light colored bean, such as navy beans can be substituted.

Coconut milk adds creaminess and wholesome fat.

For an oil free option, olive oil can be replaced with vegetable broth if desired.

Vegetable broth can also replace the 3½ cups of water in part or in full for an even richer flavor.

Salt can be replaced by coconut amino acids if preferred.

Thyme is the main herb used here but you can substitute with another herb such as dill or oregano if you prefer.

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