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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For us this was good but not we thought it would be.Maybe it was the asparagus we used,it just didnt have the punch of asparagus flavor.Our small farm local organic should be arriving this week.Next time will add more pieces since the tips were pretty, just need more of them.
You have surely outdone yourself with this recipe….I had only 1Lb. of asparagus on hand and so cut the recipe in half – Now I can’t wait to go shopping tomorrow to buy more asparagus to prepare for dinner. The soup is absolutely delicious and will be added to my meal rotation! Thank you once again for all your wonderful recipes and for actually turning me into a cook!
This soup was very good. Very flavorful and hearty. I discarded the ends, but added ALL of the asparagus to the pot. I didn’t care to garnish with boiled asparagus tips. And for more flavor, I added chopped fresh basil to the entire pot of soup! What a winner recipe. Will definitely make this again. Thank you.
This soup is amazing! Turned my non-loving asparagus friends on to this soup and they are now converts. Thanks Jen for another wonderful meal.
Incredible taste!!! I used all the 3-4 inch pieces i trim off asparagus, saving them in the freezer until i have enough. Really liked the lemon in this soup. I will be serving this so often!!!
Thank you!!!
Jenn, after the absolute success of your potato leek soup, I made this asparagus soup. Better than anything I have had in restaurants when I lived in NY, Boston,San Francisco. One of the most delicious soups, high end, wonderful flavors, great depth. Delicious!!!
I love all of your recipes but especially this one, its a crowd pleaser! It has requested for Christmas dinner. How many days in advance can i make this?
So glad you like the recipes. This one keeps nicely for several days.
Love it! It’s healthy too! I just reduce lemon a tad for us.
LOVED this soup. It was easy to make and nutritious. I’m not sure I would even add the lemon juice next time or even the parmesan as I think they detracted from the asparagus flavor!
Delicious and healthy and easy! Did not miss the cream, in fact, without the cream it had more asparagus taste
Will definately be adding to my soup rotation