I set out to make a cream of asparagus soup, but when I was done cooking the soup... It was so creamy and delicious, I skipped the cream altogether! Then, I put some fancy touches on my Creamy Asparagus Soup and it's perfect for every day or a special day!
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I used my (affiliate link)Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender to make this recipe, but it can be made a ton of different ways, so no worries if you don't have the blender! I'll go over the various ways to make it later in the written post.
The idea for this recipe came when I was making a pork chop sheet pan meal with asparagus and had all these ends left over. I really hate throwing food away and, just because the ends are kind of tough for roasting, doesn't mean they don't have a use!
So, I threw them in with a magical ingredient (that made this soup creamy without cream) and a few other ingredients and was shocked at how good it turned out.
I still thought it could be a tad more pleasing to the eye, so I garnished it up with a few simple, yet fancy looking items and the Creamy Asparagus Soup was an instant hit with my husband and me.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you make in the pressure cooker or on the stove, you can double or even triple the recipe. In the Cold & Hot blender, you can 1½ the recipe as long as the ingredients don't go above the max fill line for hot foods.
No, you can use any vegetable base or even chicken base. You can also use prepared vegetable stock or chicken stock. Just keep in mind that the seasonings in this recipe are based on using Minor's Vegetable Base, so you may need to adjust them.
Yes, see below where I give suggestions for making this soup vegan.
Can I Make this a Vegan Creamy Asparagus Soup?
Yes, absolutely! Make sure to use a vegan soup base or vegan broth. The Minor's Vegetable base that I use says it's "acceptable" for vegans, but please use your own judgement.
The only other changes that need to be made is to skip the egg on top, of course, and use a Vegan parmesan cheese substitute. I have heard that people use nutritional yeast as a substitute, but I'm not sure if that would give the body to this soup that the parmesan cheese does.
You might want to make a parmesan cheese substitute like this one from Minimalist Baker: How to Make Vegan Parmesan Cheese
I haven't tried the soup that way, so please let me know how it turns out if you do!
How to Make Creamy Asparagus Soup with an Electric Pressure Cooker
Even though I decided to use the Cold & Hot Blender to make this soup super easy to make, you can certainly use your pressure cooker to make it, as well.
Simply reduce the water to 1½ cups, mix with the (affiliate link)Minor's Vegetable Base,and add it to the inner pot. Or, you can use 1½ cups of prepared stock, if desired. We reduce the liquid because there will be less evaporation with pressure cooking than there is in the blender, and you don't want your soup too liquidy.
You can even reduce to 1 cup and then add more if needed after you blend it up.
Add in seasonings, asparagus and cauliflower cut into florets. PC cook on high for 5 minutes and do an immediate release of the pressure. The pressure time really depends on the size of your cauliflower florets, but I think 5 minutes should be fine for most sizes.
Once the mixture cools down a bit, either tranfer it to a blender or use an immersion blender (be careful of the ceramic pot, you might want to blend in a different bowl or pot) to blend the soup up until it is smooth and creamy.
Grate the parmesan cheese into the soup and heat on low sear/sauté until all of the cheese has melted. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
Serve with the over easy egg, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, and grated parmesan if desired. Enjoy!
How to Make Creamy Asparagus Soup on the Stove
Combine the base with the water and bring to a low boil in a medium to large pot. Add the remaining ingredients (except the parmesan cheese) and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the cauliflower is very soft and the cheese has melted. Make sure to stir occasionally.
Once the soup has cooled some, either transfer to a blender to blend it smooth or use an (affiliate link)immersion blender.
Transfer back to the pot and turn the heat on low. Add the parmesan cheese, but make sure to grate it so it melts into the soup.
Once the Creamy Asparagus Soup is warm and the cheese has melted, serve & enjoy!
How to Make Creamy Asparagus Soup in the Cold & Hot Blender
You can use the entire stalk of asparagus or the bottoms you break off before roasting. I have done it both ways and it tastes the same. *If you want to roast some asparagus tips for a garnish on the soup, make sure to save about 6 tips that are around 2" long.
Here is a quick video showing what I mean by snapping the bottoms off. So, if you want to roast some asparagus, save the ends! Then, you can make this delicious soup when you have 8 ounces of them.
I have some in the freezer to find out how well they work frozen, so once I make the soup with frozen asparagus, I'll let you know!
The first thing I do is mix the 2 cups of water with the (affiliate link)Minor's Vegetable Base. This is so the base doesn't drop down into the bottom of the blender and burn. You don't have to use Minor's Vegetable Base; you can use 2 cups of vegetable stock, chicken stock, or any base mixed in 2 cups of water that you want to use.
Just keep in mind that the seasonings are based on using Minor's, so you might need to adjust your seasonings. I find Minor's to be a little less salty than other bases, so I would definitely cut back on the salt and then season to taste after the soup has finished cooking.
Once the base is mixed, pour it into the blender.
Cut the cauliflower into florets and add to blender. I try to keep the florets smaller than a half dollar. Add in the asparagus ends or stalks broken into thirds.
Cut the parmesan cheese into small cubes and add to the blender. Add the salt and nutmeg and place the lid on the blender
Press the pulse button several times to chop up the ingredients. Select smooth soup.
Once the smooth soup function is complete, your soup is ready to be served.
Or, you can fancy things up like I did! While the soup is cooling in the blender, cook an egg over easy. Roast a few asparagus tips if you want. Grab some basil, a few red pepper flakes and some finely grated parmesan.
Ladle the soup into a wide rimmed bowl and place the basil on top, add the over easy egg and the roasted asparagus. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes over the top or some freshly cracked black pepper and of course some freshly grated parmesan!
Enjoy!
Creamy Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1½ teaspoon Minor's Vegetable Base
- 8 ounces cauliflower florets
- 8 ounces asparagus you can use the whole stalk or just the stems
- 2 ounces parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon fine grind sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Optional Ingredients
- asparagus tops roasted
- over easy eggs
- basil leaves
- red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper
- extra grated parmesan cheese
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Instructions
- Mix the base with the 2 cups of water and pour into the blender, add the cauliflower florets, asparagus, cubes of parmesan cheese, and the salt and nutmeg.
- Pulse the blender several times to break everything up and then select smooth soup.
- When the smooth soup function is done, ladle into bowls and serve.
- If you want to top it like I did. Make an egg over easy and cut with a 3" biscuit cutter. Place a few basil leaves on top of the soup. Add the egg and roasted asparagus on top and sprinkle a few red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper and some finely grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Recipe Author, Louise Long
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
She published her first cookbook in the Fall of 2018 and is very interested in writing several more.
Louise is also the creator of an online Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooking Course with over 100 instructional step-by-step videos. People absolutely rave about the course and all the value they have received from it.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and learning more about the appliances they love.
Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper 101
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Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can. Get more Information about Louise & contact information
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Emma c
The ends of asparagus are usually so tough - does the blending eliminate that? Would pressure cooking then blend be even better to break down the fibres? Thanks!
Louise
Cooking and blending eliminates the toughness and that is why making soup is a great way to use them up. You don't need to PC them, but you can.
Linda McLaughlin
Louise,
This soup is amazing and so creamy delicious! What a way to use up cauliflower and asparagus! I even did the fried egg garnish. How you came up with that combination and blends of taste is remarkable! My husband would never eat cauliflower or look at asparagus, but he liked this soup and said it was good! So easy to make too!
Thank you,
Linda McLaughlin
Louise
I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! A friend of mine served roasted asparagus with an egg and parmesan cheese on top and the flavors were amazing, so I incorporated that into this recipe.
Gabriel Robinson
How would I adjust this recipe to cook in a pressure cooker foodi machine? I’d love to pressure cook the veggies rather than sauté.
Louise
The instructions for pressure cooking are in the post. Hope that helps!
Christina
My husband and I both have Corona right now, so a nice creamy, veggie packed soup was in order. I didn't have cauliflower, so I used 8 oz of frozen broccoli instead and it is amazing. I should've reduced the water just a bit more because it was a little thinner than I like, but that's my mistake. Thank you for the wonderful recipe and hands off soup recipe!
Louise
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Sharon Mahan
I want to prepare this soup NOW! Unfortunately I have been in quarantine since March so I have no fresh veggies. In your experimental trials, did you try using frozen? I have to do curbside grocery pickup and/or delivery and have been very disappointed in the fresh veggies selected for me so... other than lettuce ... I have had to go the frozen route.