This delicious vegan asparagus soup is thick, creamy and absolutely delicious! You’d never guess it was dairy-free. It’s easy to make and can be on the table in 40 minutes.
Asparagus is the big early spring veggie that I look forward to every year, and it’s been available in abundance at my local market lately. But this time of year doesn’t always feel like spring. That’s why this creamy vegan asparagus soup is my ultimate early spring recipe.
Classic Cream of Asparagus Soup is a very simple dish made with just a few ingredients, with asparagus and heavy cream being the two stars of the recipe. With that in mind I set out to veganize the dish using my favorite ingredient to replicate the richness of heavy cream: cashews.
Blended cashews are my favorite ingredient for making this creamy dairy-free bisque-style soup. They’re great at replicating the rich deliciousness you get from milk or heavy cream.
And, good news, we’re using a hack that allows us to skip the usual step of soaking the cashews before blending. Read on to find out how it’s done!
Jump:
Ingredients you will need
- Fresh asparagus.
- Olive oil. Almost any high-heat oil can be substituted here. Canola oil, corn oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil will all work.
- onion
- garlic
- Potatoes. The recipe calls for a russet, which is the best option for this soup, but other varieties like red potatoes or Yukon Gold will work if you have them on hand.
- raw cashews It is important that your cashews are raw. Roasted cashews will not give your soup the right flavor or consistency.
- Vegetable broth.
- Lemon juice.
- Salt and pepper.
- toppings. These are all optional, but feel free to dress up your vegetarian asparagus soup with some extra asparagus tips, coconut cream or cashew cream, fresh parsley, dill or chives.
How is it made?
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. If you want to skip the recipe, scroll all the way down!
Prepare everything before you start cooking. Mince the onion, peel the potatoes, mince the garlic and chop the asparagus.
Tip: Here’s the best way to trim the woody ends off your asparagus: Grab a spear, hold it in the middle with one hand and the base with your other hand. Bend until the base stops. It will break in just the right place!
Heat oil in a large pot and add chopped onion. Sweat the onion for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until it becomes soft and translucent.
Add the asparagus pieces and cook with the onions until they turn bright green and tender-crisp. Add the garlic and continue to cook everything for about 1 minute.
Suggestion: Optionally, set aside a few asparagus tips to garnish each bowl of soup. You can use them raw, or remove them from the pot after cooking them with the onions for a few minutes but before adding the broth.
Add broth, raw cashews and chopped potatoes to the pot. Increase the heat and bring the broth to a boil.
Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, until the asparagus is tender and the potato slices are fork-tender.
Suggestion: Boiling the cashews allows us to skip the soaking step! I borrowed this technique from my Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, but it works as a shortcut in many recipes where you would normally have to soak your cashews for several hours to soften them for blending.
Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. You may have to work in batches, and unless you use a high-powered blending device like a Vitamix it may take several minutes for the soup to be fully blended.
Suggestion: I do not recommend using an immersion blender for this particular recipe, as it would be very challenging to blend all the cashews smoothly.
Reheat the soup on the stove and season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon, if needed. If you prefer a thinner soup, you can thin it with up to 2 cups of additional broth.
Ladle soup into bowls and top as desired.
Remaining and storage
Leftover vegan cream of asparagus soup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this soup.
More creamy vegetable soup
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Vegan Cream of Asparagus Soup
This delicious vegan asparagus soup is thick, creamy and absolutely delicious! You’d never guess it was dairy-free. It’s easy to make and can be on the table in 40 minutes.
material
-
2
pounds
Fresh asparagus spears -
1
table spoon
olive oil,
divided -
1
medium onion,
to cut -
3
garlic cloves,
minced meat -
4
the cup
vegetable broth,
Plus up to 2 additional cups -
1
the cup
Peel and cut the russet potatoes
(about 8 ounces or half of a medium potato) -
½
the cup
raw cashews -
1 ½
table spoon
lemon juice -
salt and pepper,
to test
Optional Toppings
- Asparagus tips
- Coconut cream or cashew cream
- Fresh dill, chives and/or parsley
instructions
-
Trim ends from asparagus spears (Note 1)Then cut the spears into 1- to 2-inch pieces.
-
Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium heat. Allow the oil to heat for a minute, then add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes soft and translucent.
-
Add the asparagus and cook it with the onion for about 3 minutes, until it turns bright green. (Note 2)
-
Add the garlic and cook it with the asparagus and onion for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
-
Stir in 4 cups broth, potatoes and cashews.
-
Increase the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally until potatoes and asparagus are very soft.
-
Transfer the mixture in batches to the bowl of a blender or food processor and blend the soup until smooth. Always be very careful when mixing hot liquids.
-
Return the mixture to the pot. Thin with additional broth up to 2 cups if desired. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat if necessary.
-
Ladle the soup into the bowl. Garnish with your choice of toppings and serve.
Recipe notes
- To prune, hold a spear along the middle in one hand, and by the base in the other. Bend the asparagus until it breaks up. This will remove the hard part of the base.
- Optionally, save a few tips for garnishing each bowl of soup. You can set them aside and use them raw, or cook them as per step 3 and then remove them from the pot before you proceed with the recipe.
- This recipe makes about 6 cups of soup, assuming you only use 4 cups of broth.
nutrients
Vegan Cream of Asparagus Soup
Amount per serving (1.5 cups)
calories 229
Calories from fat are 106
% Daily Value*
thick 11.8 grams18%
2.2 grams of saturated fat11%
Sodium 601mg25%
potassium 690mg20%
carbohydrates 21.1 grams7%
6.3 grams of fiber25%
10.5 grams of sugar12%
protein 8.5 grams17%
calcium 75 mg8%
iron 6 mg33%
* Percent Daily Value is based on a 2000 calorie diet.