Celery

Roasted Celery Soup

by:
March  8, 2012
3.5
6 Ratings
Roasted Celery Soup
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes almost 2 quarts
Author Notes

Celery roasted with a little fennel and garlic and then pureed with chicken broth and potatoes makes for a nice starter or light lunch. A touch of half and half or cream with a spritz of lemon finishes it off. —inpatskitchen

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Inpatskitchen is a prolific FOOD52er and -- as a retired teacher, paralegal, and seafood retailer -- a bit of a cook of all trades, too.
WHAT: A simple and elegant twist on cream of celery soup.
HOW: By roasting the celery and fennel, and boiling the potatoes in broth, inpatskitchen builds a lovely foundation of flavors. And of course, cream to finish is always a great idea.
WHY WE LOVE IT: This soup truly elevates humble, plain vegetables that are usually relegated to a garnish plate or side dish to a higher plane of existence. Given proper attention, lo and behold, they shine. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 8 large celery stalks cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1/2 bulb fresh fennel cut into 2 inch chunks
  • 2 large whole garlic cloves
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 medium redskin potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1 1/2 inch dice
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper for re seasoning if needed
  • Celery leaves and fennel fronds for a little garnish
Directions
  1. Place the cut celery, fennel and cloves of garlic in a 9x13 inch roasting pan. Add the salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to thoroughly coat everything. Roast in a 350F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges of the vegetables just begin to brown.
  2. While the vegetables are cooking, cook the potatoes in the chicken broth until tender..about 10 to 12 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool a bit.
  3. When the vegetables have finished roasting add them to the potatoes and broth. Let everything cool a bit.
  4. In a blender puree the soup in batches. If you have a "liquify" setting on your blender use that. If you like you can strain the soup through a mesh strainer. Once pureed. return the soup to the pot and bring up to the boil. Stir in the cream/half and half and the lemon juice. Re season if needed and garnish each bowl with celery leaves and fennel fronds if you like.
  5. NOTE: For a little more pronounced celery flavor add a pinch or two of celery seed or salt when re seasoning.
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inpatskitchen

Recipe by: inpatskitchen

I think I get my love for food and cooking from my mom, who was an amazing cook. She would start baking and freezing a month before Christmas in order to host our huge open house on Christmas afternoon. I watched and I learned...to this day I try not to procrastinate when it comes to entertaining. My cooking style is pretty much all over the place, although I'm definitely partial to Greek and Italian cuisine. Oh yes, throw a little Cajun in there too!

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120 Reviews

Mirandamom
Mirandamom January 18, 2023
When I strained this soup, I was left with something not much thicker than broth, despite working the solids energetically. So I added a couple more chopped potatoes and some peas and we’re pretty happy with the result.
 
cosmiccook
cosmiccook November 7, 2018
Anyone make this w celery ROOT ) aka celeriac?
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen November 8, 2018
I haven't...but why not?. If you do it please let me know how it goes...
 
Alles
Alles April 2, 2018
Yum! My modification was to double the vegetables because I like chunks in my soup. Will make again; thanks!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen April 2, 2018
So happy you enjoyed! Thank YOU!
 
Sidney
Sidney March 8, 2018
Subbed half of a head of cauliflower for potatoes and ended up adding some coconut milk to half of the batch. Made sure to use my blender instead of food processor to make it creamy in keeping with the other comments. Truly divine! The cauliflower sub and optional coconut addition also works really nicely with Anna Thomas' green soup. https://food52.com/recipes/31438-anna-thomas-green-soup
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen March 9, 2018
Sounds Delish!!!
 
Deedledum
Deedledum October 12, 2016
I've always peeled the strings/hairs of celery before using it-that might help those people who are put off by them. People who wear dentures can't chew through the suckers. It's a great soup, and is a good way to use up the last of your celery.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen October 12, 2016
I see your point Deedledum...that's why I suggest straining it. Glad you liked it...thanks so much!
 
Zalea S.
Zalea S. March 11, 2016
I've made this soup a couple of times and I've made a few alterations.
1. I double the batch, it makes A LOT-BUT I EAT A LOT OF THIS SOUP **D:
2. I use vegetable broth
3. maybe it's the broth I use, but I need to cut back on the salt
4. I use water instead of half and half because I like thinner soups
5. I add more lemon.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen March 12, 2016
Your version sounds wonderful! Thanks for making it olive!
 
Dan
Dan July 26, 2015
Made this again tonight. Love it. Putting it through the strainer is a must for me to get out the hair like celery threads- my 25 years + old blender just isn't up to the job on its own - but the final result is silky and wonderful and worth the extra effort. Great soup..
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen July 26, 2015
I'm so glad you're happy with this..thanks very much!
 
Malise
Malise June 8, 2015
I made the soup with the addition of the rutabaga(suggested by a reader) and some shredded carrots. I skipped the potato because the texture seemed great without it. I also used 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water for the stock to cut down on sodium just a bit and milk for the cream to cut down on the calorie total. My husband and I both really liked it--he was a little skeptical when I said we were having Celery Soup, but asked for seconds!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen June 8, 2015
Thanks Malise! Your version sure sounds like a hit!
 
Douglas B.
Douglas B. March 28, 2015
I loved roasted veggies (especially endive, red onion and sweet potato) and now I have another fav to roast Fennel & Celery. As well as this fine soup
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen March 28, 2015
Thank you Douglas! I sure hope you enjoy!
 
Allison
Allison March 1, 2015
I love the flavor of this (and I skipped the cream) but I do not care for the texture. I used only celery hearts, so they weren't hardly stringy at all, but the pureed soup is unpleasantly stringy. Also, the waxy red potatos give the soup a sticky, gloppy texture that I don't care for at all. This is a nice interpretation of vichyssoise, and I love the fennel, but I won't make it again.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen March 1, 2015
Sorry you weren't happy but welcome to Food52. I'm sure you'll find many other recipes on this site that you're happy with.
 
Cheyenne W.
Cheyenne W. February 3, 2015
This recipe was delish and so easy to make. I used white potatoes instead of red, onions in place of fennels. So glad I found this site!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen February 3, 2015
Thanks! So happy you enjoyed! And Welcome to Food52!
 
btglenn
btglenn April 27, 2014
This recipe can be the base for a number of additions or substitutions for whatever you have in the house, or for other personal preferences. I find, for a richer celery flavor, instead of fennel, or in addition to it, to substitute a celery root in this recipe. Another possibility is adding a rutabaga. I also add chopped celery leaves to the broth in addition to the potatoes. A quicky thickener used by Jacques Pepin is to use instant potatoes for a thickener -- I used Idahoan Original in this recipe. And, for the creamy taste, I substitute a scant half cup of almond milk with 1 1/2 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese in the puree. For a finish, try a dollop of sour cream to top it off.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen April 27, 2014
Your ideas sound wonderful btglenn!
 
Deb L.
Deb L. February 23, 2014
I just made this soup; oh so yummy! I did skip the cream for allergy reasons and found that the potato gave it a creamy texture that was just right. I am sure the cream would have made it delectible but it is good to know it is wonderful without for those of us who cannot use cream. Also I used vegetable base, because I had some, to make it vegan safe!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen February 24, 2014
Thanks so much Deb!!
 
Karen P.
Karen P. February 13, 2014
Subbed an item out of necessity - a tbsp of dill for fennell. Added half a red onion (sauteed) because it was in the house and a couple extra stalks because I really had too much in the house! Soup turned out great and I'll definitely recommend it. :)
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen February 14, 2014
Thanks Karen! So glad you enjoyed!
 
(]Celia[)
(]Celia[) February 5, 2014
Also, I'm nthing the people who said you can skip the cream. I'm sure it's lovely with it, but potatoes + immersion blender yielded just the texture I was looking for even without it.
 
(]Celia[)
(]Celia[) February 5, 2014
This soup is AMAZING. Every since I first had cream of celery root soup in Stowe, VT (one of those transformative food moments I'll remember forever) I've been trying to recreate it. Wrestling with gnarly celeriac is never my favorite, but worse, I could never get the intense celery flavor and velvety texture I craved. Turns out, I was coming at it the wrong way entirely. One bite of this soup and I was back in the ski cabin with the snow outside, so happy to be alive.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen February 5, 2014
Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed!
 
SKK
SKK February 3, 2014
I have always loved this recipe and I made it again tonight. Loved by all. Thank you again for sharing it!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen February 4, 2014
Thank YOU!!
 
ghainskom
ghainskom January 8, 2014
I'm trying to buy more of the vegetables I used to pass and bought fresh fennel for the first time of my life for this recipe. And I don't regret it. My 6 yo wasn't too fond of it but my 2 yo loved it and so did I!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen January 8, 2014
So happy you and the 2 year old enjoyed! Fennel is one of my most favorite underused vegetables!
 
Erin C.
Erin C. December 10, 2013
This. Was. Fabulous.

I had tons of leftover celery from Thanksgiving. Raw celery is not my jam - it's so plain - but I was committed not to letting it go to waste when I found this soup. I subbed the cream/H&H for 2T butter and omitted the fennel since I didn't have any on hand. Oh...then I added some crumbled bacon to finish things off :) This was a great light, yet warming, dinner soup. Thanks for the recipe!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen December 11, 2013
So glad you enjoyed! Thank you for making it...the bacon sounds awesome!
 
Paul
Paul October 17, 2013
Made this last night. Came out GREAT!
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen October 17, 2013
Thanks Paul! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!