French Chestnut Soup, or velouté de châtaigne, is a beautifully silky and smooth soup made with chestnuts and cream. Traditionally served on Christmas, this soup is as luxurious as they come!
Vegetarian and naturally gluten-free.
Table of contents
My aunt has a huge chestnut tree in her garden, so every year, the whole family is treated to a bounty of fresh chestnuts.
My go-to is Chestnut Hummus that's loaded with roasted vegetables but I've been looking for new ways to prepare them.
I thought I'd try out a chestnut soup because soups are just so comforting and warming.
This cream of chestnut soup is a velvety soup that allows the sweetness and nuttiness of the chestnuts to shine. It doesn't have many ingredients except for vegetable stock, a dash of cream and seasoning making it easy to prepare.
So good for the holiday season and you'll feel as if you're fine dining in a fancy 5* restaurant.
Ingredients notes
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
Chestnuts - You need cooked chestnuts before using in this recipe, I use my Air Fryer Chestnuts or Instant Pot method. If it is easier, you can use store-bought cooked chestnuts as well. You can reserve a few chestnuts to chop and top your soup with.
Onion - I prefer white onions for this recipe as they do not have their own colour. You can also use shallots. Roughly chopped is fine as everything will be blended.
Vegetable stock - I've dissolved a stock cube in warm water.
Olive oil - alternatively use unsalted or salted butter.
Nutmeg - either use nutmeg powder or grate your own. It's optional but adds a depth of flavour
Cream - single or double cream works. Some goes into the soup and you can drizzle over individual servings as well.
Salt and pepper
Herbs to garnish - I went with fresh thyme but you can use coriander, parsely or chives too.
Vegan variation
To make a Vegan Chestnut Soup, stick to olive oil or use a plant based butter. Use a dairy free cream alternative or simply skip - the chestnuts have plenty of creaminess themselves.
How to make chestnut soup
To start with you want to sweat off the onions in a bit of oil and when they are translucent, add in the chestnuts and veggie stock. I then season and let the chestnuts cook until soft. Blend using an immersion blender or jug blender until smooth and pop back into the pan. Add the nutmeg and cream and serve!
Serving suggestion
Garnish with herbs of choice and drizzle over a little extra cream. You may also want to use crème fraiche. Croutons add a little crunch if added just before serving.
French Chestnut Soup in particular is served as a starter on Christmas.
If you want to enjoy it for lunch, it is best served with warm crusty bread such as Air Fryer Bread or Tiger Bread Rolls.
Storage
Store leftover chestnut soup in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove, you may need a splash of water if it has thickened.
Chestnut soup freezes well for up to 3 months.
Other soup recipes
Instant Pot Vegetable Bean Soup
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📖 Recipe
French Chestnut Soup
Equipment
- 1 pan
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups chestnuts
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1.5 litre vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon cream
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- herbs for garnishing
Instructions
- In a pan, heat olive oil and tip in the chopped onions. Sauté until they are translucent but have not changed in colour.
- Then add in the cooked chestnuts and top with the vegetable stock.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil then gently simmer for around 10 - 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
- Once the chestnuts have softened, blend the mixture to achieve a velvety soup.
- Add back into the pan to heat and add water to loosen if needed.
- Add in the cream and grate over the nutmeg/use ground nutmeg.
- Serve and finish with more cream and herbs. I have used thyme. Optionally grate over more nutmeg.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
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