Shredded Carrot Chowder (Award-winning)

I think most of us are trying to incorporate more vegetables into our diet. I know I am, anyway. In the spirit of this, I am sharing one of my best soup recipes - my healthy and award-winning Shredded Carrot Chowder - to inspire some veggie cooking out there! This carrot soup recipe was a winner in the FYI Doctors "Eats For Your Eyes recipe competition". It's a great way to meet your daily vegetable quota. And be sure to check out my 45 Easy Ways to Eat More Fruits & Veggies for more ways to incorporate vegetables into your life!

This cozy carrot soup is pure and healthy comfort food that's perfect on a rainy or chilly day, a cool fall evening, or any time during soup season! You can also make it in advance for a quick meal on busy weeknights. And if you're looking for a delicious Easter soup for your Easter dinner or any dinner, you'll love this one! And be sure to check out my other Healthy Fall Soup Ideas.

🥘 Ingredient Notes

This carrot and tomato soup uses simple ingredients you generally have on hand. Okay, so technically, it's not a chowder because in order to keep it lighter and WW friendlier, I don't use heavy cream or even milk for this creamy soup recipe, as it doesn't need it. The cream soups I add to it make it creamy enough.

However, it has the texture of chowder, so I'm going with chowder. Yes, and I've had readers try to internet fight me/bully me over this. I actually changed the name for a while, as I felt like a bit of chowder imposter, but now I'm changing it back because this is the name that most suits this soup. And I won't back down this time! The original recipe (with some of my own changes) came from my Grandma, and that's what she called it too.

Shredded carrot chowder ingredients:

• Lean ground beef. I use lean ground beef because it's healthier and less calories (and ww points) and tastes better in soup (less greasy!)
• Green bell pepper. Green pepper adds such a nice contrasting texture to the shredded carrots in this soup. It also gives it a unique flavor.
• Carrots. I use shredded carrots for this soup because they cook faster and infuse more flavor and texture into the soup than chopped or pureed carrots do. I also freeze my shredded carrots to make this soup quick and easy! You can drop the frozen carrots directly into the soup.
• Tomato juice. Tomato juice is the base of this soup and gives it a nice thick, rich and tanginess.
• Cream of celery soup and Cream of mushroom soup. Adding undiluted cream soups to this soup is an easy way to make it creamier without extra calories (as in heavy cream) and add rich flavor.
• Beef soup broth. Beef soup broth pairs well with the tomato juice and gives this soup a great base that melds well with the ground beef.
• Marjoram. Is a fresh-tasting herb that adds a unique earthy taste to this soup!
• Crispy Onion (garnish). These are actually salad toppings, but they pair perfectly with this soup!

*Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities

📖 Variations & Substitutions

• Carrots: You can use fresh carrots or frozen shredded carrots. I just drop frozen carrots directly into the soup- defrosting is not required.
• WW friendlier: substitute ground turkey or chicken for ground beef- this will decrease the points substantially.
• Vegetarian: It can easily become a vegetarian soup by using vegetable stock and eliminating the meat.
• Canned soup: If you don't have canned cream of mushroom soup, you can make your own cream of anything! (#17 in the post). And if you don't have canned cream of celery, use cream of mushroom and add some celery seed.
• Tomato juice: You can substitute canned tomatoes with juice or use pureed fresh tomatoes (using a food processor or regular blender). I have also used a combo or straight V-8 Juice, and it was fantastic! *I recommend you buy the low sodium, however.
• Broth: If you don't have beef or vegetable broth, you can substitute chicken broth
• Garlic: If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use minced garlic in the jar.
• Spicy: add red pepper flakes
• Marjoram: You could substitute cumin, oregano, or thyme.

This one-pot meal is easy and quick to throw together, and that means fewer dishes to wash! It works best if you make it in a Dutch Oven (affiliate link) so you can "brown" the ground beef in the same pot. A regular pot doesn't do the same job of browning mea,t and that's why Dutch ovens are so superior!

🔪How to Make Shredded Carrot Chowder

1. Step 1: In a large pot or large Dutch oven, brown the ground beef (with the onions and green peppers) on the stove top over medium heat.

2. Step 2: Add remaining ingredients to the ground beef mixture.

3. Step 3: Whisk everything together.

4. Step 4: Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce and simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Garnish with crispy onions if you desire.

🥗 What to Serve with Creamy Carrot Chowder

Step it up a notch and serve this healthy carrot soup with some artisan crusty bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and you have yourself a cozy, filling meal on a cool evening.

My favorite balsamic vinegar is Kirkland Balsamic Vinegar (I buy it at Costco). It has an excellent sweet-to-sour balance and a pleasing finish, especially for its price point. Try it with my Bread Machine Artisan Onion & Olive Bread 

Or keep this carrot tomato soup recipe light with my Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe. It's 0 WW points, so a great option for those on the Weight Watchers program.

You can use the extra grated carrots to make Healthy Carrot Muffins with Pineapple, Healthy Zucchini and Carrot Bars. and Honey Sriracha Chicken Lettuce Wraps!

🌡️Storage

Make sure your tomato carrot soup has completely cooled before you transfer the soup to a storage container and move it to the fridge or freezer.

* Don't refrigerate hot soup while it is still hot because direct temperature changes will cause oxidation and acidification of the soup and can make it taste sour.

• The soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days.
• This recipe freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

👪 Serving size

This cream of carrot soup recipe makes 6 servings. If you want a large batch you can double or triple the recipe by simply clicking on the serving size in the recipe card, and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient amounts will adjust accordingly. I always make a double batch and freeze some.

❔ Recipe FAQ's

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