Asparagus Soup with Lemon and Parmesan
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This asparagus soup tastes rich, yet it’s made without heavy cream – just veggies, broth, and a bit of Parmesan cheese puréed to silky perfection.
One of my favorite soup recipes, this creamy asparagus soup is made without heavy cream—just vegetables, broth, and a bit of Parmesan cheese puréed to silky perfection. It’s perfect for early spring when asparagus is in peak season and there’s still a chill in the air. Serve with a focaccia or a good artisan bread.
What you’ll need To Make Asparagus Soup
How To Make Asparagus Soup
Begin by melting the butter in a large pot. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
While that’s going, prep the asparagus. Trim off the tips (you’ll use them for a garnish), then cut the remaining spears into 1/2-inch pieces.
Add the chopped asparagus to the pot, along with the chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are very tender. Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches in a blender.
Return the soup to the pot and stir in the fresh lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese.
Finally, cook the asparagus tips in salted boiling water for a few minutes until tender-crisp.
The best way to preserve the bright green color of the tips and keep them crisp is to shock them in an ice bath, but you can also refresh the tips under cold running water.
Finally, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the asparagus tips, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs (if using), and freshly ground black pepper.
More Spring Soups You May like
Asparagus Soup with Lemon and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 bunches asparagus (about 2¼ pounds/1 kg), bottom ends trimmed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon
- ½ cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Handful fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill or basil (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
- In the meantime, cut the tips off of one bunch of the asparagus and set aside (you'll use those for a garnish). Cut the remaining spears and the other bunch of asparagus into ½-inch (13-mm) pieces.
- Add the chopped asparagus to the pot (minus the reserved tips), along with the chicken broth, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the reserved asparagus tips for a few minutes, or until tender-crisp. Drain the tips and then place them in a bowl of ice water to "shock" them—this stops the cooking process and preserves their bright green color. Once the tips are cool, drain them and set aside.
- Purée the soup with an immersion blender until completely smooth. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée the soup in batches, then return the soup to the pot.) Bring the soup back to a simmer and stir in the lemon juice and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. To thicken the soup, allow it to simmer, uncovered, until the desired consistency is reached.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, then top each bowl with asparagus tips, Parmigiano-Reggiano, herbs (if using), and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Terrific. If it didn’t turn out well you probably didn’t do it right.
This recipe is really delicious! I made it the day after Easter with leftover asparagus. We all loved this recipe.
I made the soup exactly as the directions said. It was easy. I find that it has no flavor. I’ve added more salt and herbs with no salt but still there’s not much flavor at all. I don’t plan on making this again I’m sorry to say. My ingredients were fresh. The ends of my asparagus were cut off. Disappointment with this one.
Sounds like the quality of the asparagus was not good regardless of whether it was fresh or not,I suggest using Organic asparagus as I find it has better flavor and home made stock.
Another person is right. Organic is better tasting in this recipe. But also try washing the Asparagus off. Could have been a shipping/ storage issue.?? Fresh asparagus should snap when broken, not bend. Maybe your asparagus picked up too much moisture along the way….just a guess. Too bad, it is a really good soup.
Wow, the lemon juice sets the flavors off perfectly! Delish. Doesn’t even need the cheese, but that’s yum too.
Just made this Asparagus and lemon soup for me and ‘She who must be obeyed’. Easy-peasy recipe to follow. Stunning taste and texture. I added about 25% more lemon juice for sharpness and a drizzle of Kalamata Virgin Olive Oil for garnish. Next time I might mix Pecorino in with the Parmesan. Nothing else needs changing. Lovely recipe. Even She liked it and She’s fussy.
This is the first of this lady’s recipes that I have tried. I’m now going to spend ages looking into every nook and cranny of this website.
This was delicious and so simple to make! The lemon and parm went wonderfully together and I added a little dill which took it up a notch more. Thank you!
Hubby and I love this soup. Thanks for another great recipe.
Can you substitute olive oil instead of butter?
Sure – hope you enjoy!
It’s asparagus season and I just finished making this soup. I love how beautifully it comes together, and with such simplicity. Thank you for this!
Now, for all of the negative reviewers: while I can understand that not all palates are created equal, some of your comments need hardline replies because honestly, you don’t get much simpler than this recipe. So if it came out tasting inedible it’s most likely because you botched the recipe somewhere along the way. That, or your ingredients were simply of poor quality. If you’re complaining because the soup was “stringy”, it’s probably because you didn’t trim the asparagus correctly, or because you’re using them out-of-season and they’re just not good. All in all, if you made this and “hated it” you probably don’t even like asparagus to begin with. So, why were you even making this soup? Really, though.
Delicious Soup. Thank you for the recipe. Easy, quick and healthy. Don’t need to add salt.