Roasted Asparagus Soup
on Mar 17, 2022, Updated Jul 08, 2022
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No cream is needed for this healthy vegan roasted asparagus soup. It’s the perfect recipe to celebrate everything about spring and peak season asparagus. Roast the spears for better flavor and then simmer them with everything else on the stove.
For most vegetables, the seasons don’t seem to matter when you’re at the grocery. Something specific might be in shorter supply, but you can usually find whatever you’re looking for no matter the date on the calendar.
I’m pretty strict when it comes to corn in the summer and asparagus in the spring. If I see those lovely green spears on a restaurant menu in autumn or the dead of winter, it makes me cringe. I just can’t do it.
That’s why as we’re mere weeks away from the official season change I break my own rules. When bunches of asparagus take over prime real estate in the produce department, I just go for it. The wait has been long enough, and I’m feeling anxious for the return of the farmer’s market.
For this early spring recipe, I like to roast asparagus, and then turn it into a simple soup. It is exactly what I need for the tail end of soup season when you still want something warm.
How To Roast Asparagus
If you’re looking for a vegetable that’s simple and quick to roast, fresh asparagus ticks the boxes. To prep the spears, just trim off the bottom woody ends with a sharp chef’s knife. Line them up, and you can do a group of at one time to make things even speedier.
Then toss the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. With any veggie, I default to doing this on the baking sheet, so I don’t have to wash something else when I can avoid it.
The asparagus finishes roasting in less than 10 minutes in a 425-degree F oven. It will turn out bright green with brown spots here and there. Roasting adds flavor instead of limiting it to just simmering in broth.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This is what you need:
- Asparagus: Look for fresh bunches with that are all about the same size in diameter. They should be firm, not limp. Avoid any that are wrinkled. Good asparagus should be stored standing up straight with the bottom of the stalks in a little bit of water.
- Spinach enhances the green color and adds more nutrition to this already healthy soup. You can swap it and use arugula instead if you want a more distinct peppery taste.
- Onions: Chopped white onions sauté in olive oil to start the flavor base of the soup.
- Garlic: This easy recipe calls for 2 garlic cloves minced, but the soup doesn’t turn out too garlicky. It’s subtle.
- Potatoes: A peeled diced russet potato thickens the simple soup. No heavy cream is needed for richness.
- Vegetable broth: If you don’t care about keeping the soup plant-based, you can use chicken stock if that’s what you have in your kitchen. Just make sure the broth is low-sodium.
- Olive oil: My preference is extra-virgin olive oil since the recipe has rather basic ingredients, so you want high quality oil.
- Salt & black pepper are important to season the soup. Taste it to make sure you have the right amount that lets the asparagus flavor really come out.
- Parsley: I finish each bowl with chopped fresh herbs.
How To Make Roasted Asparagus Soup
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- On a sheet pan, toss the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Roast the asparagus until has nice, bright green color. This should take only about 8 minutes. Give the asparagus a few minutes to cool before cutting it into 2-inch long pieces, Save 8-10 asparagus tops to garnish the bowls of soup.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Sauté the onions until they start to turn soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 30 seconds. The onions will become very fragrant.
- Pour in the broth along with the asparagus pieces, potatoes, spinach. Bring the mixture to a boil. It will seem like a lot in the large pot, but the spinach will wilt pretty quickly.
- Simmer the soup for 15 minutes or so until the potatoes are tender.
- Puree the soup in a blender. It is worth the effort to transfer the soup into a powerful blender, so it gets smooth with a creamy consistency. Trying to do this with an immersion blender would be challenging. Once the soup is blended, you shouldn’t need to pour it through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Rewarm the pureed soup on the stove over low heat as necessary.
- Divide the soup into bowls. Garnish with the reserved asparagus tips, chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
Serving
You can go all in on greens and serve the creamy soup with a salad. Try a brussels sprout Caesar salad, roasted broccoli quinoa salad, or an Italian chopped salad. It’s a good lunch option.
For a light dinner, serve it as a main course with a hunk of bread or even a grilled cheese sandwich.
Leftovers
You can store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. And if you want to keep it longer, freeze it up to 1 month.
More Asparagus Recipes
Sesame Tofu Asparagus
Roasted Asparagus Potato Salad
Sheet Pan Mushroom Asparagus Gnocchi
Grilled Asparagus Tomato Salad
Grilled Asparagus Salad
Udon Noodle Stir-Fry with Asparagus, Mushrooms & Peas
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon, Garlic & Parmesan Cheese
Asparagus Salad with Cannellini Beans
Roasted Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- For asparagus
- 1 pound asparagus ends trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- For soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus more for serving
- 1 russet potato peeled and diced
- 3 ounces baby spinach
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- Chopped parsley serving
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Toss the asparagus with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper on a sheet pan and spread into a single layer. Roast for 8 minutes until the asparagus turns bright green. Let it cool for a few minutes, and then cut the stalks into 2-inch long pieces. Reserve about 8-10 asparagus tops to garnish the soup.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until they start to soften. Stir in the garlic, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus potatoes, spinach, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-18 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- Carefully transfer the soup in batches to a blender to puree. Return the soup to the saucepan to reheat before serving. Divide into bowls and garnish with the reserved asparagus tops, chopped parsley, flaky sea salt and pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is easy, healthy and delicious, thank you
Great vegan soup recipe! I’m not vegan and usually adverse to most vegan foods, but I needed a quick way to get rid of 2 lbs of asparagus and enjoyed this soup very much. My vegetarian mom also didn’t believe me when I said there were no dairy products inside.