Asparagus Soup - Creamy, Easy 20 Minute Recipe

This creamy asparagus soup is made without cream and ready in just 20 minutes. This soup is smooth and velvety with a secret ingredient to balance the bitterness of asparagus and makes the flavour pop. You can use fresh or tinned asparagus, including woody asparagus ends, making this an easy, delicious low-waste soup.

About This Asparagus Soup

This asparagus soup is made with spears of fresh asparagus and is wonderfully creamy without using any cream! It's a wonderful entree as it is creamy, velvety and full of asparagus flavour. It's also made in 20 minutes and has a secret ingredient to make the soup pop (it's the same one I use to make my pumpkin soup really pop too).

My friend made me some asparagus soup and it was so good that I asked her for the recipe. She told me that it comes from the Edmonds cookbook from New Zealand. I made it and it was SO good and simple!

Video How To Make Asparagus Soup

Ingredients For Asparagus Soup

Butter - Salted butter :)

Onion - White or brown onion.

Flour - Plain all purpose flour. If you are gluten free, try using glutinous rice flour (which is gluten free despite the name) or a gluten free flour blend.

Chicken stock - I use Knorr or Lee Kum Kee chicken stock powder (not sponsored!). It's a staple in many Asian households and tastes better than other chicken stock cubes. I've gotten all my friends onto it! ;) To make vegetarian, replace with vegetable stock.

Milk - Full cream or whole milk, not skim as it won't mimic the creamy texture needed.

Asparagus - Fresh or tinned/jarred asparagus works.

Sugar - The secret ingredient to make this soup pop! Seriously, sugar balances any bitterness you may get from older stalks and mellows it without making it seem too sweet.

Asparagus Soup Recipe

Originally from the Edmonds Cookery Book, adaption by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes concurrently

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients Needed

• 4 tablespoons/60g/2oz butter
• 1 white or yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
• 4 tablespoons plain all purpose flour
• 600ml/21ozs milk, hot
• 300g/10.6oz asparagus, finely chopped
• 500ml/17oz chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 ASPARAGUS- First add half of the stock (250ml/8.5oz) and the finely chopped asparagus (300g/10.6oz) to a medium pot and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on until soft. Puree until smooth.

Step 2 SIMMER - While the asparagus is simmering, add butter (4 tablespoons/60g/2oz) to a frying pan on medium heat and melt. Saute the diced onions (1 white or yellow onion) until soft and translucent. Then add the flour (4 tablespoons) and cook the flour in the butter and onion. Slowly, add the remaining half of stock (250ml/8.5oz) stirring between additions making sure to get the floury onion bits. Then add the hot milk (600ml/21oz) gradually. Allow the soup to thicken. Add the asparagus puree, sugar (1 teaspoon) and salt (1 teaspoon) and stir. Puree the soup again to give it a velvety texture.

Personal Note

This is a great soup for when you want something delicious and filling for dinner but don't want to spend a lot of time cooking. I made a batch of this after our recent trip to the Hunter Valley.

Our weekend started one Saturday morning. We were going to the launch of a new restaurant there and staying overnight. I packed the night before and Mr NQN packed the car while I got the boys into the car."Did you bring your jacket?" I asked Mr NQN. He had forgotten so he ran upstairs to get it.

We dropped Teddy and Milo off at the dog sitters and then took the 2.5 hour drive to the Hunter Valley. With 30 minutes to go, I looked back at the luggage and I said to him "Did you bring my Longchamp bag?". It is an expandable bag so great for travelling and I always put my clothes in it. I could see my yoga mat and my roller suitcase which has my make up and skin care, computer and humidifier but not my Longchamp.

"No, what?" he said his eyes widening.

"Are you joking right now?" I said.

"No I'm not joking."

"Tell me seriously, you are not joking, this isn't funny!" I said very alarmed because we were literally two hours away from Sydney at this point.

It turned out he did not bring my clothes! However we did arrive at our destination an hour before we were meant to start. So with that hour I went to the nearest shopping centre, found a Target and bought an active wear outfit. And do you know what? I found some very comfortable and soft active wear there. And now I wear it around the house a lot! But don't tell him that ;)

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever forgotten to bring clothes on a holiday? Do you like asparagus soup?