I have been nursing a cold -- it's been more like a series of colds, really -- and when I have one of these, all I can think of is a hot, steaming bowl of soup. Sometimes, I actually manage to get myself into the kitchen to stir one up, like this divine and very seasonal Curried Cranberry Soup that's fragrant with soothing ginger and hearty with beans.
I had some cranberries sitting in the refrigerator after Thanksgiving, and this was the perfect way to use them up-- a little unconventional, but delicious nonetheless, and the Vitamin C in the cranberries seemed a welcome combatant to fight the cold. Not to mention the ginger, which provides tons of relief to an itchy throat.
There's something wonderful about a soup with so many flavors all blended together in it: there's the tartness of the cranberries, the sweetness of the carrots and some sugar, the slight, spicy bite of the curry powder and ginger. Then there's the creaminess of the beans, which provide a welcome boost of protein, making this quite a complete meal in its own right. Together, the flavors and textures dance on your tongue and settle contentedly in your belly.
Then there's also the fat-free thing. Yep, as in this soup is fat-free. There is no added fat here, and there is all the goodness, including vitamins and fiber, from the veggies like carrots and cranberries and from the beans, of course, so you can slurp away without any guilt.
I am off to ladle out another bowl of the Curried Cranberry Soup for myself. Stop by for some, or make it yourself. You'll be so happy you did.
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Vegan Curried Cranberry Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup white beans like navy beans or cannellini or great northern beans. soaked for a few hours, then covered with water and cooked about 30-45 minutes until tender.
- 1 ½ cups cranberries
- 2 medium carrots sliced
- 2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ cup sugar
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Cilantro or spring onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a saucepan, place the carrots and cranberries. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Remove the carrots and cranberries to a blender and blend until smooth. Be very careful when blending hot liquids and follow your blender manufacturer's directions.
- Return the carrot-cranberry mixture to the saucepan. Add the ginger powder, curry powder, black pepper, sugar and salt.
- Return to a boil, and then add the drained beans. Reserve the bean cooking stock to thin out the soup, if required.
- Once the soup boils, lower the heat to a simmer and let it cook 10 minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add the bean stock or water to thin it out as much as you desire.
- Garnish the soup with coriander leaves or spring onions, or both.
- Serve hot.
Caron MacLane
We had it tonight and it exceeded my expectations! The tartness of the cranberries added a freshness to the flavor. I used maple syrup rather than sugar, 3/4 of the amount of sugar. I would expect to find those flavors in a gourmet restaurant.
Vaishali
Hi Carol, so happy you loved it! Thanks for letting me know.
Julie
Excited to make this tonight - how many servings did you use for calculating the calorie count? Today is an intermittent fast day in our house so we're counting them up.
Thank you, love your recipes!
Vaishali
Hi Julie, you should get approx 6 servings. I recalculated the nutrition score with the new calculator I use, so that's updated. Some of the old nutrient numbers were lost when I moved to a new recipe card, but now they're repopulated so hopefully that's helpful. Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
Anonymous
We have made this twice, and found it delicious. We were also using up cranberries, and I was very skeptical when my husband searched for cranberry soup! We used 2 cans of beans (rather than dried beans), and I mashed a few with a masher to thicken the soup a bit. The cilantro garnish really sets it off - it was a hit with my sisters who were here for baking day!
Vaishali
Sounds awesome, so happy you tried!