Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup is pure liquid gold in a bowl – a hearty, soul-warming soup that transforms simple winter vegetables into something absolutely magical! This recipe combines caramelized butternut squash, sweet parsnips, and tender potatoes into a creamy, satisfying soup

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My Creamy Pumpkin Soup or this Tomato Soup with Cheddar Bay Dumplings next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This soup is everything I want in a winter recipe – it’s cozy, nourishing, and makes your kitchen smell like heaven while it’s cooking. The secret is roasting those vegetables first, which creates these incredible caramelized edges that add so much depth to every spoonful.

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Ingredient List

For the Roasted Vegetables:

• ½ small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch dice (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• ½ fennel bulb, quartered and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Soup Base:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced ¾-inch (about 2 cups)
• 4–5 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 cup milk (2% or preferred milk)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For Garnish:

• Additional pepper and thyme leaves
• Optional: crumbled bacon for topping
• Optional: unsweetened almond milk (for vegan/dairy-free version)

Why These Ingredients Work

Hot oven makes vegetable sugars concentrate and brown. Roasted carrots are sweeter than boiled carrots. Same here with all these vegetables. Brown edges add way more flavor.

Fennel is strong and weird raw – that licorice thing. Roast it and that flavor goes away, just sweet and mild. My mother-in-law tries to guess what’s in this. Never gets the fennel. Thinks it’s celery.

Russet potatoes make soup filling and they break down while cooking, release starch, thicken the soup. That’s why russets not red potatoes – russets fall apart more. Flour mixed with oil also thickens and stops milk from separating. Skip that and your soup looks curdled.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large baking sheet
• Large pot or Dutch oven (at least 6 quarts)
• Wooden spoon
• Blender or immersion blender
• Sharp knife
• Vegetable peeler

How To Make Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup

Step 1: Roast Those Beautiful Vegetables

Turn oven to 400°F. Cut vegetables while it heats. Put squash, parsnips, sweet potato, carrots, fennel on baking sheet. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil over everything, sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt. Mix with your hands so everything gets oil. Matters because dry vegetables won’t brown.

Spread out in one layer. Don’t pile them. Crowded vegetables steam, don’t roast, no brown edges. Pan too small, use two pans. First time I made this I piled everything on one crowded pan being lazy. Vegetables came out pale and mushy, not brown. Soup was boring.

Roast 40 minutes total. After 20 minutes take pan out, stir everything, put back for another 20 minutes. Done when you can poke with fork easy and they have brown spots. Some pieces darker than others, fine – those dark bits add flavor.

Step 2: Start Your Soup Base

While vegetables roast, start soup. Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in big pot, turn heat to medium. Add onions with pinch of salt and pepper. Salt helps onions soften.

Cook onions slowly 10 minutes, stir sometimes. Want them soft and see-through. Not brown. Start browning, heat too high, turn down. Making onions sweet, not caramelizing. I clean cutting board while onions cook.

Step 3: Create the Perfect Roux

Onions soft, sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour over them. Stir with wooden spoon. Keep stirring constantly 3 minutes. Don’t stop or flour burns on bottom. Looks pasty and weird first – normal. Cooking raw flour taste out.

This stops lumps and keeps milk from separating. I used to skip this thinking it didn’t matter. Wrong. Skipped it once, soup looked curdled when I added milk. Tasted fine, looked gross. Never skip now.

Step 4: Build the Broth

Pour in 4 cups vegetable broth, stir. Add potatoes and thyme sprigs. Throw whole sprigs in, take out later. Heat to high, bring to boil. See big bubbles.

Boiling, turn heat to medium-low, gentle simmer. Small bubbles around edges, not big rolling boil. Simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Potatoes completely soft when you poke with fork. Some start falling apart, want that, thickens soup.

Spoon or tongs to fish out thyme stems. Leaves fell off into soup while cooking, what we want. Just removing woody stems, nobody wants to bite a stick.

Step 5: Blend for Creaminess

Roasted vegetables done now. Add all to pot with broth and potatoes. Stir together. Blend some soup, not all. Makes texture perfect.

Ladle scoop about 3 cups soup into blender. Get both liquid and vegetables. Lid on, blend high until completely smooth, no chunks. Takes 30 seconds to a minute. Pour smooth blended soup back in pot, stir.

Creates creamy base, still leaves chunks of roasted vegetables. Get smooth texture but also pieces to bite. Want completely smooth, blend more. Want chunky, blend less. I like middle.

Immersion blender, stick in pot, blend part of soup. Move around to different areas, blend some not all.

Step 6: Finish with Milk

Pour 1 cup milk, stir gently. Heat to medium-low, heat soup, stir occasionally. Takes 5 minutes. Important – DO NOT let soup boil after adding milk. Boils, milk curdles, separates, looks grainy weird. Keep gentle simmer, steaming hot not bubbling.

Plant milk like almond or oat, same rules – don’t boil. Oat milk works well, naturally creamy. Almond milk thinner, soup won’t be as rich.

Step 7: Season and Serve

Taste soup, add more salt and pepper if needed. I almost always need more salt, vegetables and broth vary. Probably add another half teaspoon salt, several grinds pepper. Taste, adjust until right.

Ladle hot soup into bowls. I top with extra cracked pepper, fresh thyme leaves if I have them. Sometimes save few prettiest roasted vegetable pieces before blending, put on top each bowl. Looks nice. Eat meat, crispy bacon on top good. Tom always adds bacon.

You Must Know

Most important – spread vegetables on baking sheet, not crowded. Can’t stress enough, people mess up all the time. Vegetables piled on each other or touching too much, they steam not roast. Steamed vegetables pale soft, not much flavor. Roasted vegetables golden brown caramelized edges, taste amazing. Caramelization whole point of recipe.

Only have one small baking sheet, roast vegetables two batches. Or buy bigger baking sheet, use it all the time. I use half-sheet pans for everything. Not expensive, huge.

Personal Secret: Before blend any soup, always pick out ten or twelve best-looking roasted vegetable pieces, set aside small bowl. Garnish for serving. Put two three pieces on top each bowl right before serve. Makes soup look way prettier, like restaurant. Mother-in-law takes pictures every meal I serve when she visits, always comments how nice soup looks when I garnish. Simple trick, really helps.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Cut vegetables same size – roughly 1-inch pieces. Different sizes, small ones burn before big ones done. Aim for uniform cubes. Doesn’t have to be perfect, similar sizes help cook evenly.

Don’t skip flour step even want gluten-free, don’t have cornstarch. Flour crucial for stopping separation when add milk. Without it, soup looks curdled, milk separated into little white curds floating. Not appetizing. Learned from experience tried to skip. Soup tasted fine, looked gross.

Always taste soup before add milk step 6. Just vegetables and broth, can really tell needs more salt or pepper. Add milk, dilutes seasoning, makes everything milder. Taste after blending before adding milk, adjust seasoning, taste again after adding milk see if needs more. Usually needs little more salt after milk.

Finished soup too thick, add more broth quarter cup at a time until consistency you want. Too thin (rarely happens), simmer uncovered another ten fifteen minutes cook off excess liquid. Or make slurry mixing 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons cold water, stir into soup, simmer five more minutes thickens.

Extra richness, use half milk half heavy cream instead all milk. Or all heavy cream want really decadent. I do sometimes serving soup to guests. Soup becomes incredibly creamy rich, almost bisque. Adds more calories don’t do every time, special occasions worth it.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Spicy: Like heat, add pinch red pepper flakes cooking onions step 2. Or sprinkle smoked paprika on vegetables before roasting. Smoky heat works with sweet roasted vegetables. Friend Maria makes this way, really good.

Different Herbs: Usually use thyme but rosemary also good. Same amount – 4 or 5 fresh sprigs. Could try sage, more earthy. Fresh herbs make bigger difference than dried. Only have dried, use 1 teaspoon dried thyme, rosemary, or sage. Dried herbs more concentrated than fresh.

Sweet: Mom always adds one diced apple to vegetables when roasts. Usually Granny Smith or Honeycrisp, something holds up cooking. Apple adds extra sweetness, subtle fruity taste nice. Didn’t believe her first time told me, tried it, she was right.

Protein: Soup vegetarian but can make more filling stirring cooked white beans or chickpeas at end. Usually add 15-ounce can (drained rinsed) during step 6 when add milk. Heats through few minutes, makes soup more filling. Good serving as main course.

Dairy-Free: Vegan soup still creamy, use full-fat coconut milk from can instead regular milk. Not coconut milk in carton – canned stuff really thick. Same amount (1 cup). Coconut flavor subtle, mostly disappears but soup becomes incredibly creamy. Actually my favorite way make it now, not even vegan.

Make-Ahead Options

Soup legitimately tastes better next day. Letting flavors meld overnight makes it better. Often make big pot Sunday, eat for lunch all week. Keeps fridge 5 days airtight container.

Also prep by roasting all vegetables up to 2 days before want make soup. Just roast, cool completely, store covered fridge. Ready make soup, start step 2 cooking onions. Good want serve soup dinner party don’t want spend two hours cooking that day. Do time-consuming roasting ahead, actual soup comes together quick.

Freezing, let soup cool completely. Transfer freezer containers or heavy freezer bags. Usually freeze 4-cup portions so thaw just what need. Keeps freezer 3 months. Reheat, thaw overnight fridge then reheat gently stovetop medium-low heat, stir occasionally. Probably need add splash broth or milk because soup thickens after freezing.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Partial blending step 5 makes this soup special. Get smooth creamy texture from blended portion but still chunks roasted vegetables for interest. Prefer soup completely smooth no chunks, blend all. Like really chunky, blend less – maybe 2 cups instead 3. Made both ways, prefer partially blended, personal preference.

Don’t have regular blender, immersion blender works great. Stick in pot, blend part soup, move blender around different areas. Benefit don’t transfer hot soup to blender and back, saves time cleanup. Downside harder control exactly how much blend. Rustic soup like this, doesn’t matter perfectly precise.

Thyme sprigs added whole step 4 easier remove woody stems later if whole. Soup simmers, leaves fall off on own. Just fish out stems at end. Only have loose thyme leaves without stems, add 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves. Using dried thyme, add 1 teaspoon.

Serving Suggestions

Almost always serve with really good crusty bread for dipping. Sourdough my favorite, tangy flavor goes with sweet roasted vegetables. Any crusty bread works – French bread, Italian bread, whole grain, whatever. Heat bread in oven few minutes make warm crispy, slice thick, put in basket.

Grilled cheese sandwiches another classic pairing. Make simple ones sourdough sharp cheddar. Kids love soup-and-sandwich combo. Sometimes get fancy add sliced apple brie to grilled cheese, sounds weird amazing with this soup.

Toppings, put out small bowls different garnishes let everyone customize. Options include: extra virgin olive oil drizzling, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh thyme leaves, crispy bacon crumbles, toasted pumpkin seeds, sour cream or Greek yogurt, grated parmesan, or roasted vegetable pieces set aside earlier. Everyone makes soup how they like.

Works as starter dinner party or main course lunch or light dinner. For dinner usually serve with big salad make more substantial. Simple arugula salad lemon vinaigrette perfect – peppery arugula bright citrus balance rich sweet soup.

How to Store Your Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup

Store leftover soup airtight container fridge 5 days. Soup gets thicker as sits because potatoes continue absorbing liquid. Reheat, add splash vegetable broth or milk thin back preferred consistency. Usually add quarter cup broth per 2 cups leftover soup.

Reheat stovetop, put soup in pot medium-low heat, warm slowly, stir occasionally. Don’t blast high heat or milk might break look curdled. Gentle slow best. Takes ten minutes heat through completely. Also reheat individual portions microwave – heat 50% power one-minute intervals, stir between, until hot throughout.

Freezer, soup keeps well 3 months. Cool completely before transferring freezer containers or heavy freezer bags. Leave little room top because liquids expand frozen. Write date on container marker remember when made. Thaw, put fridge overnight. Reheat gently stovetop medium-low, stir occasionally, add broth as needed thin out.

Allergy Information

Contains: Recipe has gluten (flour) and dairy (milk). Also vegetarian.

Vegan: Make completely vegan, use plant milk like oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, or canned coconut milk. Check vegetable broth vegan – some brands have animal products. Most vegetable broths vegan worth checking label.

Gluten-Free: Replace 2 tablespoons flour with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Cornstarch works exactly same for thickening stopping separation. Mix with onions step 3 just like would flour. Some people use rice flour or gluten-free flour blend. Tried cornstarch, works perfectly.

Dairy-Free: Any plant milk works substitute regular milk. Had best results oat milk canned coconut milk because naturally creamy. Almond milk works but thinner so soup won’t be quite rich. Cashew milk also really good if can find – very creamy. Same amount (1 cup) whatever milk substitute choose.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use frozen vegetables instead of fresh?

Really don’t recommend frozen vegetables this recipe because too much water. Try roast frozen vegetables, they release all water just steam on baking sheet instead caramelizing browning. End up mushy pale vegetables don’t have much flavor. Whole point this soup deep flavor from roasting fresh vegetables until get brown caramelized edges. Frozen vegetables won’t give that.

My soup turned out too thin – how do I fix it?

Soup thinner than like, few options. Easiest fix let simmer uncovered another ten fifteen minutes medium heat. Cooks off excess liquid concentrates flavors thickening soup naturally. Stir occasionally nothing sticks bottom.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Can make version slow cooker but lose roasted flavor makes recipe special. Main point roasting vegetables first caramelize them develop deep flavor, can’t do slow cooker. Really want use slow cooker, here’s what do:

What if I don’t have fresh thyme?

Fresh thyme definitely tastes better dried but dried works fine that’s all have. Use 1 teaspoon dried thyme instead 4-5 fresh sprigs. Add when add broth potatoes step 4. Dried herbs more concentrated fresh, why use less.

💬 Made this soup? Tell me how it went! Change anything or add different vegetables? Serve it with? Love hearing how people make recipes their own.