Simple Asparagus Soup
Simple Asparagus Soup- all you need is 8 ingredients and 30 minutes to whip up this delicious seasonal soup. Can be served warm or chilled depending on your preferences!
Asparagus season has arrived! If you’re looking for creative ways to eat this delicious vegetable then you MUST try this soup.
I say creative because it isn’t just asparagus as a side item but really it couldn’t be more simple. It was inspired by a well-known French restaurant in Berkeley named Lalime’s. Sadly they have since closed their doors for business but the asparagus soup will forever live on in my heart.
The beauty of this soup is that it starts with a mirepoix base (onion, celery and carrot) and only requires garlic, broth, fresh asparagus and a hint of lemon juice to finish it off. The simplicity of the ingredients truly allows the flavor of the asparagus to shine through.
How to Make Asparagus Soup
Not only are the ingredients simple, but this soup is ridiculously easy to make:
- Sauté the mirepoix in olive oil. Add garlic and asparagus. Stir to combine.
- Pour in vegetable broth, cover and cook until tender.
- Blend until smooth and creamy!
Serving Suggestions
- The best part about this soup is that it is delicious both warm or chilled. So whether you’re having cool and rainy or warm spring days, it can be made to suit the weather.
- When we ate this soup at Lalime’s they served it with a creme fraiche topping. Because we no longer eat dairy, I like to top it with plain unsweetened almond milk yogurt (Kite Hill is my absolute favorite). Also a drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil and fresh cracked pepper really takes it over the top.
- Lastly, you’ll notice that I garnished the soup with a few asparagus tips for aesthetic purposes. This step is optional but you simply boil the tips in a bit of water for 5 minutes then rinse with ice cold water.
Looking for more spring recipes?
- Spring Farro Bowls with Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Spring Sandwiches with Sunflower Cream Cheese
- Spring Potato Salad
- Strawberry Oatmeal Crisp
- Healthy No-Bake Strawberry Lemon Cake Bites
- Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Bread
- Snap Pea Radish Slaw
Simple Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion, about 1 small onion
- 1 cup chopped celery, about 3-4 celery ribs
- ½ cup chopped carrot, about 1 large carrot
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2-3 cloves
- 2 lbs fresh asparagus*, chopped
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- plain unsweetened yogurt , for topping
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot then cook for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
- Next add the garlic and asparagus (you can reserve a few tips if you like for a garnish). Stir together then pour in the broth. Bring to a simmer then cover and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is fork tender.
- Meanwhile you can cook the reserved asparagus tips in a small pot with a bit of boiling water for about 3 minutes. Rinse with very cold water then set aside.
- Once the vegetables in the pot are tender, you can either transfer everything to a blender or use an immersion blender in the pot to puree. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a dollop of plain yogurt and a few of the blanched asparagus tips on top. Alternatively, you can chill the soup for several hours and serve cool. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
yummmy – love asparagus season! that soup sounds splendid. great presentation, sarah!
I’m a huge fan of chilled soup this time of the year. I’ve only experimented with chilled cucumber soup. I can’t wait to try your lovely version! XO
Do you taste the onion in it? I would love to try this out because it looks great and your description is so nice. Hopefully, the taste of onion is subtle enough…
I think the onion flavor is very subtle. The asparagus is definitely the main star! ;)
Ohhh how interesting. I actually have a feeling that I’d love this because hot foods aren’t really my thing. Like hot coffee and hot chocolate–hate–hot soup is ok but I bet I’d enjoy this cold soup!
I LOVE chilled soups I live in Spain where the king of chilled soups, Gazpacho comes from. This looks great and it’s a fab way of having a chilled soup that’s not gazpacho, because here they like it every day, which is a bit much for me.
I’ve never had gazpacho but I’d love to try it!
I’ve been craving asparagus lately! I normally don’t like chilled soups, but I’ve made some of your recipes and they’re usually awesome, so I think I’ll trust you on this. Can’t believe there’s no cream in there!
I just made a cold soup a few days ago! I wasn’t really familiar with them either, but I really wanted to make soup and it was so hot outside, that there was no way I was going to eat hot soup! I think I will be living on salads and chilled soups this summer :)
This soup sounds so different, but delicious! I’ve never had a chilled soup before, but I’d love to try that. We also love asparagus in our house, so I think this would definitely go over well!
The only chilled soup I’ve ever had is gazpacho while I studied in Spain, and I was a huge fan! It’s vegetarian and has a lot of variation with different textures and ingredients. I’d love to see your version if you ever try it :)
I always thought gazpacho was made with seafood but clearly that’s not the case! It sounds delicious and I will definitely be adding it to my to-make list! xoxo
Amazing how much flavor onion, celery, and carrot give food! This soup looks absolutely amazing! I’ve had chilled soup a time or two and just love it. Now I can enjoy some refreshing, healthful soup at home! :D
So bold of you to ask the waitress! I love it. I always want to know so I can re-make things at home but get so nervous asking. To agree with a comment above, you need to try gazpacho. It is the best!
I’m not sure how I feel about the cold soup thing, But I’d be down to try this hot! Was it any good that way? I’m sure you took a bite!
So funny, the first thing I thought of when I saw the words “chilled” and “soup” together was mehhh (as you would say, though I’m not sure I’m using it in the right context! haha). I’ve tried chilled soup before and wasn’t a big fan, but maybe I should give it another go with this soup!
Such a nice surprise to find a restaurant dish that tastes like it has cream in it but doesn’t! I feel like usually it goes the other way around :) I have a chilled soup on the menu tonight, believe it or not, but I can’t wait to try this asparagus version! Love the pictures, too.
I love all soup at all times of year, but there’s something especially refreshing, yet comforting in a bowl of chilled soup. Yours looks so beautiful, and delicious of course. ;)
I absolutely love asparagus. It’s super good for cleaning out toxins from our liver. We’ve been eating a lot of it lately, but I am yet to make an asparagus soup. Added to the list for dinner this week. Yum
We have to join the asparagus fan club too! Sarah, your beautiful soup with Greek yogurt sounds perfect for summer :)
I absolutely love chilled soup, but normally skip out on it due to the nice weather. Now that it’s scorching, it’s perfect. Leave it up to the French to come up with a simple & delicious soup is right! It’s so wonderful to find such minimalist recipes produce such amazing results. No MSG needed! Just wonderful fresh ingredients & some spices to bring out more flavors. Beautiful pictures too. :)
I love gazpacho so this sounds like an excellent next step into the world of the chilled soup! I also like the idea of the greek yogurt giving it a little tartness.
I was always so skeptical of chilled soups but I had a watermelon soup (it wasn’t sweet really) at a restaurant and it changed my opinion! This looks great – and I love the color!
This looks amazing! Love the idea!
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I made your soup this evening (without the celery because I didn’t have any on hand) and it was good. I will save this recipe and make it again. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Briana!
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My husband loves asparagus – might have to whip this up for him! I’ve definitely been using asparagus a bunch now that it’s in season & I have some sitting pretty in my fridge at the moment.
I am a horrible cook but I made this and it was delish! It went fast!
Haha! Glad you liked it! Thank you for the review.