Grab a handful of fresh ingredients and you’re just 30 minutes from serving Creamy Asparagus Soup for lunch or a light dinner.
Roasted asparagus and sweet onions anchor this savory vegetable soup pureed with cream to a silky-smooth texture.
As soon as these fresh green spears of spring arrive in stores Cream of Asparagus Soup hits the menu rotation. Made with sweet onions, roasted asparagus, and cream, pureed together to make a delicious savory soup to satisfy. Bright accents of zingy lemon zest and thyme create the perfect spring fresh bowl of soup, rain, or shine.
Asparagus is one of our favorite vegetables and early spring is when asparagus is at its best. Creamy Roasted Asparagus Soup is an easy-to-make 30-minute meal with versatile applications. This velvety and elegant soup makes the perfect first course for dinner with croutons or crusty bread for added crunch.
We think Asparagus Soup and all pureed soups taste better when topped with a little crunch to contrast the otherwise smooth texture. We keep it simple in this recipe with a few croutons next to a splash of cream, but here’s a list of tasty topping ideas for you to consider too.
TIP: For tips on how to buy and store fresh asparagus, check out our recipe for Grilled Asparagus.
Adding Roasted Vegetables to Soup
When it comes to vegetables, I highly recommend that you roast those babies! Roasting always adds a unique depth of flavor and brings out a subtle sweetness. The browning process makes the flavors really pop, balancing the vibrant and bright components with the deeper caramelization.
Taking the time to first roast the asparagus and onion before cooking the soup makes all the difference, taking this, and any vegetable recipe, from good to great with only one simple additional step.
TIP: Homemade stock will elevate the flavor of any recipe it is added to. Check out how easy it is to make your own Chicken Stock.
How to Prepare Asparagus for Roasting
When preparing asparagus, it is important to remove the woody part from the base of the asparagus spear as the fibrous part can be woody and tough. You can do this in one of 2 ways:
- Cut the bottom 1-inch or so off the asparagus spears with a sharp knife.
- Break the spears by snapping off the end where the asparagus naturally breaks at the woody part of the stem. Take a spear in both hands towards the base and gently bend it until it breaks.
RECIPE STEP BY STEP
- Roast the asparagus 8-10 minutes; coarsely chop.
- Grill or pan-sear the onions until soft and lightly charred, 8-10 minutes, while the asparagus is roasting.
- Simmer the chopped asparagus, onions, broth, thyme, and garlic 15 minutes.
- Blend soup with blender, immersion blender, or food processor.
- Return soup puree to the pan, add lemon zest, cream, salt, and pepper; simmer for 5 minutes.
TIP: For a perfectly smooth texture, allow the blender to run for 1-2 minutes.
An Easy Make Ahead Meal
Prepping and freezing meals ahead is a cooking method I teach in my Monthly Cooking Online Course. Batch cooking this tasty asparagus soup is a great way of extending the relatively short spring growing season.
As with most soups, this cream of asparagus soup is a great make-ahead dish. Once cooked and blended, cool the soup and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it.
It is a welcome meal on a rainy day, prepped and ready when a warming bowl of soup is just the comfort you need.
TIP: To freeze asparagus soup, cool completely, pour into freezer-safe bags, and freeze for up to 3 months. If the soup is too thick after defrosting, add a couple of tablespoons of water, stock, or cream until you reach desired texture.
Asparagus Soup Recipe Variations
- Substitute roasted asparagus with steamed asparagus.
- Substitute sweet onions with red onion or shallots.
- Substitute chicken stock with beef or vegetable stock, which makes it suitable for vegetarian diners.
- Substitute thyme with chives or tarragon.
- Make it dairy-free with alternative milk like coconut, oat, or almond.
- Stir in a teaspoon of basil pesto just before serving.
- Add a pinch of crushed red pepper for a spicy kick.
- Add other cooked vegetables to this soup like spring peas, cauliflower, zucchini, or parsnips.
Tasty Toppings for Pureed Soups
- Crumbled bacon or pancetta
- Feta or cotija cheese
- Grated parmesan or parmesan crisps
- Blue cheese and toasted walnuts
- Fresh herbs like chives, cilantro, thyme, or basil
- Pinenuts and brown butter sage leaves
- Toasted hazelnuts and fresh kale or rainbow chard
- Sunflower seeds or pepitas
- Croutons and roasted garlic
- Basil pesto
- Fresh diced chile peppers and crispy fried onions
- Seaweed crisps and sesame seeds
More Delicious Recipes Featuring Fresh Asparagus:
- Grilled Asparagus with Cotija Cheese
- Hoisin & Sesame Asparagus
- Roasted Asparagus with Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese
- Roasted Asparagus with Oranges, Feta & Walnuts
- Grilled Beets & Asparagus with Fried Goat Cheese
Cream of Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups roasted asparagus , chopped
- 1 cup sweet onions , sliced (grilled or pan-seared)
- avodaco oil for asparagus and onions
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic , chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest , approximately 1 small lemon
- Sea salt & pepper
Instructions
- Arramge asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil on HI, about 10 minutes. While asparagus is roasting, brush sliced onions with oil and grill or pan-sear until soft and lightly charred over medium heat, until browned in spots, about 10 minutes.
- In a 3 quart saucepan, add chopped asparagus, onions, broth, thyme, and garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes to meld flavors.
- Return soup puree to the pan, add lemon zest, and cream; cook over med-low and simmer for 5 minutes while stirring. Taste and add salt and pepper, as desired.
- Serve in warmed bowls with croutons and a teaspoon of additional cream on top, if desired.
Notes
- Substitute roasted asparagus with steamed asparagus.
- Substitute sweet onions with red onion or shallots.
- Substitute chicken stock with beef or vegetable stock, which makes it suitable for vegetarian diners.
- Substitute thyme with chives or tarragon.
- Make it dairy-free with alternative milk like coconut, oat, or almond.
- Stir in a teaspoon of basil pesto just before serving.
- Add a pinch of crushed red pepper for a spicy kick.
- Add other cooked vegetables to this soup like spring peas, cauliflower, zucchini, or parsnips.
mjskitchen says
YAY – It’s asparagus season and it’s still soup weather! This soup looks delicious and I love a good creamy asparagus soup. Thanks for sharing.
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Asparagus is such a great vegetable! Tons of flavor, and you can use it so many different ways. I don’t often use it in soup for some reason — need to do that more. Thanks!
Alex says
Love asparagus this way!
Debbie @ Easy Natural Food says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with Sunday Night Soup Night! I’ll be hosting weekly through fall and winter, so I’d love to see you again with your next soup/stock/chowder recipe!
Debbie @ Easy Natural Food says
I love asparagus too! I’m going to be hosting a blog carnival specifically for soups, stocks and chowders, starting this Sunday. I would love it if you would come over and post this recipe. Here’s a link with more info.
judee says
That soup looks so good. I was in the mood for cream of asparagus soup. Fabulous picture.
rsmacaalay says
I love asparagus, the last one that I ate was unforgettable, its just a normal grilled one but the taste was so sweet it nearly tasted like sweet corn
Judy says
That makes me wonder about adding sweet corn to the soup too … though I would probably omit the lemon to take that route. Very interesting.
Greedy Rosie says
Wow, that soup looks good. We always have asparagus a lot at this time of year – the season in the UK is very short, so we try and make the most of it. This looks like something worth trying really soon.