This vegan Asparagus Soup with Spinach is what spring is all about - fresh and simple flavours that celebrate lovely produce itself. Creamy yet dairy-free it is both elegant & delicious.
Spring has sprung and with it the availability of delicious and fresh green produce like one of my favourite spring gems - asparagus.
We try our hardest to eat seasonally as much as possible which is better for us from both health and definitely flavour perspective but also better for the planet (saving on air miles).
Asparagus in winter, thanks but no thanks!
This gorgeous and completely dairy free cream of asparagus soup with a bit of spinach for extra flavour and nutrition is what I love about this time of year!
Jump to:
- Why is asparagus soup with spinach the best spring soup ever?
- How to prepare asparagus for cooking?
- Topping ideas
- Storing & freezing
- Few helpful tips when making vegan asparagus soup
- Serving suggestions
- How to make vegan asparagus soup with spinach - step-by-step instructions.
- More delicious asparagus recipes you might want to try
- 📋 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why is asparagus soup with spinach the best spring soup ever?
- It shows off the best of seasonal produce.
- Only very basic seasoning of salt and pepper is required to make this soup delicious and celebrate the asparagus at its freshest.
- This soup is filling but without any heaviness.
- If creamy soups are your thing this one is creamy alright yet completely dairy-free. It's all thanks to good old Mr Potato!
- This simple vegan asparagus soup is not only delicious but also elegant so perfect served as an impressive starter.
- It's ready in half an hour so perfect as a quick lunch too!
How to prepare asparagus for cooking?
Preparing asparagus is really easy.
All you need to do is to get rid of the woody ends which are very stringy and chewy and could put you off eating asparagus forever.
To get rid of the aforementioned woody ends simply hold asparagus spear at each end and bend it lightly until it snaps. Repeat with the remaining spears.
You'll be left with the longer piece with lovely tip at the end (my favourite part of asparagus spear) and the woody end which you can either compost or add to other veggies when making homemade stock.
Topping ideas
Delicious asparagus tips you pan fry at the start are a given but I also like to drizzle some good extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle a mix of sunflower and pumpkin seeds on top for that bit of crunch.
You could also grate some lemon zest for a bit of citrus vibe if you wanted to or top your soup with delicious homemade croutons. This would be especially good idea if you are not having any bread on the side.
Storing & freezing
This lovely soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Make sure you cool your soup completely before freezing.
Few helpful tips when making vegan asparagus soup
Feel free to substitute onion with a leek, in fact I do it quite often in all sort of soups. Just make sure you clean it properly as it likes to hide a fair amount of grit in between the layers.
You might want to use vegan butter instead of oil for sautéing your asparagus tips and veg. I tend to use oil for pan frying the tips and sometimes I substitute oil for vegan butter when sautéing the rest of my veg before adding the stock.
If you like your soups creamy, don't skip the potato as it helps to create that lovely consistency without any dairy in sight.
Make sure to take your pan off the heat when adding spinach. It doesn't need cooking at all and it will wilt into the soup nicely.
I know I said that all this soup needs is a bit of salt and pepper and I do stand by it but sometimes I do add a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast for a bit of salty umami flavour.
You could also add couple of tablespoons of lemon juice instead.
Serving suggestions
I love to serve this soup with a nice chunky slice of sourdough bread.
My vegan soda bread, Irish soda bread with yogurt or easy wholemeal bread would be my next best things.
I will also never say no to delicious vegan cheese scone or my veggie sausage roll on the side either.
How to make vegan asparagus soup with spinach - step-by-step instructions.
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Prepare asparagus by discarding woody ends (see 'How to prepare asparagus for cooking' paragraph above). Cut off the tips and set aside. Cut the stalks in half or in thirds (depending on their length).
- Heat couple of tablespoons of oil in non-stick pan and fry asparagus tips until tender but with a bit of a bite. Set them aside.
- Melt vegan butter or heat up couple of tablespoons of oil in a soup pan or large saucepan and add chopped onion, potatoes and asparagus stalks (no tips). Sauté them until they start to soften 3-5 min. Don't let the veg colour too much.
- Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
- Pour in the stock, bring to boil, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (approx. 10-15 min). Season to taste with some salt and pepper.
- Take the soup off the heat and add spinach. Stir it in with a spoon so that it wilts into the soup.
- Purée the soup with the stick blender to desired consistency (I like it really smooth and creamy), taste again and add more seasoning if required. At this point I sometimes like to add a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast or some lemon juice but it's completely optional as salt and pepper is all this soup really needs.
- Serve garnished with saved pan fried asparagus tips, drizzle of olive oil and some sunflower and pumpkin seeds for that bit of crunch.
- Enjoy!
Have you tried my Asparagus Soup with Spinach?
Please leave a comment to let me know what you thought, share your tips, tricks etc. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away too and I'll try and respond as soon as I can.
If you’ve made this recipe please rate it too! Thank you in advance!
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More delicious asparagus recipes you might want to try
Spring Pea and Asparagus Risotto
Vegan Quiche with Asparagus
Warm Potato Asparagus Salad with Lentils
Easy Oven Roasted Asparagus
Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto with Asparagus
📋 Recipe
Vegan Asparagus Soup with Spinach (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- 400-500 g asparagus woody ends discarded
- 250 g potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 large onion peeledn and roughly diced, see notes
- 4 tbsp rapeseed/olive oil (divided) see notes
- 2 small or 1 large garlic clove peeled and finely chopped (minced)
- 100 g handfuls of fresh spinach washed
- 1 ltr vegetable stock from cube is fine, I use Kallo
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast or lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Prepare asparagus by discarding woody ends (see 'How to prepare asparagus for cooking' paragraph above). Cut off the tips and set aside, cut the stalks in half or in thirds (depending on their length).
- Heat couple of tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan and fry asparagus tips until tender but with a bit of a bite. Set them aside.
- Melt some vegan butter or heat up couple of tablespoons of oil in a soup pan or large saucepan and chopped onion, potatoes and asparagus stalks (no tips). Sauté them until they start to soften 3-5 min. Don't let the veg colour too much.
- Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
- Pour in the stock, bring to boil, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (approx. 10-15 min). Season to taste with some salt and pepper.
- Take the soup off the heat and add spinach. Stir it in with a spoon so that it wilts into the soup.
- Purée the soup with a stick blender to desired consistency (I like it really smooth and creamy), taste again and add more seasoning if required. At this point I sometimes like to add a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast or some lemon juice but it's completely optional as salt and pepper is all this soup really needs.
- Serve garnished with saved pan fried asparagus tips, drizzle of olive oil and some sunflower and pumpkin seeds for that bit of crunch.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving and should be treated as a guideline only.
- Feel free to use a leek instead of onion, it will work really great here. Make sure you get rid of all the grid that usually hides in between the layers first though.
- I used 2 tablespoons of oil to fry asparagus tips and 2 tablespoons to fry all the other veggies. Feel free to substitute all or some of the oil for vegan butter if you prefer.
- If you like your soups creamy, don't skip potato as it helps to create that lovely consistency without any dairy in sight.
- Make sure to take your pan off the heat when adding spinach. It doesn't need cooking at all and it will wilt into the soup nicely.
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published on 7 May 2017 and updated in April 2021 with new photos, slightly tweaked recipe, more useful info and better layout.
Linkies
Katie Bryson says
I love making soup out of my leftover veg that would otherwise go to waste - so frugal and SO tasty. I love the flavours you've put together here and especially the cheeky shavings of Parmesan on top - yum! Thanks so much for hooking up with this month's round of Simple and in Season.
All That I'm Eating says
This is such a lovely colour, and a great use of in season ingredients.
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you! Spinach not only added to the flavour but was also main contributor to this wonderful, fresh green! 🙂
Corina says
This sounds delicious and making a soup is always a great way to use up those leftover greens and other veggies at the bottom of the fridge. It's definitely the kind of soup I'd enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Debbie Gibson says
Sounds delicious Jo! And so simple as well. Love the idea of sitting down to all those nutritious greens ??
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Debbie! 🙂 I do love a nutritious soup that tastes good and is filling too.