Asparagus Leek Soup with Parmesan Cheese makes the perfect spring soup - fresh, healthy, delicious, and easy to make. Serve it hot, warm, or chilled.
This is creamy Asparagus Leek Soup is perfect for springtime and early summer. Both leeks and asparagus are in season, so this soup will will taste extra fresh, and the vibrant green color will make you feel so good about eating something so healthy and loaded with nutrients. Be sure to also check out the rest of my favorite spring soups.
Chilled asparagus soup?
The best part about this soup is that it can be eaten hot, warm, or chilled. This means you can enjoy a hot bowl of soup on a chilly spring afternoon, but you can also serve it chilled in the summer as a light lunch.
I am a fan of chilled soup. It's like a savory veggie-packed smoothie bowl.
There are lots of ways to customize this soup with various toppings and add-ins. Keep reading!
Related recipe: Grilled Asparagus Salad
Asparagus
Asparagus is in abundance during spring time. Its price goes down significantly when it's in season - farmer's markets and grocery stores both sell it for as low as $2 per pound during this time!
Here is a really good guide on how to pick out asparagus. Basically, don't worry if the asparagus stalks are thin or chunky. Just make sure the asparagus is not woody, and make sure that the tips are fresh and not mushy.
Related recipe: Lemony Asparagus Side Dish
Leeks
Leeks are like giant green onions and they give this soup so much flavor. Their oniony flavor mellows out as the leeks sauté for a few minutes with garlic, so don't worry - this soup will not taste strongly of leeks or onions. Sauteed leeks are great in soups, I use them in my pumpkin leek soup, creamy mushroom leek soup and my sweet potato leek soup.
How to clean leeks: Leeks can trap a lot of dirt in their layers. You really want to make sure you clean leeks really well to get all the dirt out. The best way to clean leeks is to chop them, then rinse the chopped leeks in a large bowl several times, draining off the dirty water.
If you wash the leeks before chopping them, you might not get all the dirty out from between the layers.
Related recipe: Cauliflower Leek Risotto
How to make asparagus leek soup
You'll start with sauteing chopped leeks and minced garlic. This will caramelize them slightly and bring out their natural sweetness.
Then you'll add the vegetable stock and asparagus, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (I love this citrus squeezer from Oxo, I've had it for almost 15 years!).
That's pretty much it for the cooking part! Super easy.
Related recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Topping
Now blend it up!
An industrial strength blender, such as a Vitamix or a Blendtec, is best for pureeing asparagus soup into a super smooth, silky soup. I have this blentec and I absolutely love it. It has never failed me, and I've blended raw carrots into a smooth drink using this thing.
So the next step is letting the soup cool a little and transferring it to a blender to puree it as much as you like.
Once pureed, sprinkle the soup with some freshly grated Parmesan (or leave it off for a vegan option), and enjoy!
Related recipe: Pulled Pork Asparagus Pizza
No Blendtec or Vitamix?
You can still make this soup even if you don't have a fancy-pants industrial strength blender. You can use a regular blender, an immersion blender, or a powerful food processor to puree this soup.
If your soup does not turn out silky smooth after blending, you can pass the pureed soup through a mesh strainer that is set up over a large pot to catch the soup underneath. Just use a large spoon or ladle to press the asparagus pulp into the mesh so that you squeeze all the delicious soup through the strainer.
Other toppings for asparagus soup
Try one of these toppings or add-ins to spruce up your soup. You can even have a little "asparagus soup bar" where everyone gets to choose their favorite additions:
- Crumbled bacon
- Fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Stir in a dollop of sour cream or coconut cream
- Toasted pepitas
- A sprinkle of nutritional yeast
- Hemp seeds
Looking for more pureed soup recipes? Try these reader favorites:
- Vegan sweet potato peanut soup - this combination of flavors is so good!
- Butternut squash and roasted leek soup
- Creamy vegan carrot soup with parsley pistou
- Lentil butternut squash soup
- Potato turnip soup
- Butternut squash beet soup
I'd love to hear from you if you end up making this asparagus soup! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked it. And don't forget to leave a rating in the recipe card and pin this recipe for later on Pinterest!
Asparagus Leek Soup with Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium leek , diced (about 2 cups), rinsed well
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 lb asparagus (about 2 bunches) ends discarded and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
- 1 cup water - optional
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt (up to 1 teaspoon, to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the chopped leek and minced garlic. Saute over medium heat for about 7-10 minutes, or until the leek starts to soften.
- Add the asparagus and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the asparagus is very tender. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Allow the soup to cool a bit before blending.
- Carefully transfer the soup to a blender (reserve a few asparagus tips for garnish, if you like!), and process until the soup is smooth and creamy. If it is too thick for your liking, add water in small increments and blend again (up to 1 cup water). Add the grated Parmesan cheese and pulse for 1-2 seconds to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese. Serve hot, warm, or chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Denmark Elles
Wednesday 12th of February 2025
How did you come about the percentage of nutrition on this recipe if you have 140 mg of Calcium equivalent to 14% according with the recipe how 5mg of Iron is 28%? Are this just random numbers/percentage? It doesn’t make sense!
Kate
Wednesday 12th of February 2025
The nutrition is calculated automatically through a third party software and is not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Also, keep in mind that what is considered an appropriate %DV for one person might not be appropriate for someone else, depending on their weight and health needs. The numbers make sense to me and certainly do not seem random. For calcium, the general recommendation is 1000 mg a day (source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/), so 140 mg of calcium is indeed 14% DV (obviously 14 w/w% calcium). Iron needs vary between between 8-18mg depending on whether you're a child, male, female. 5 mg iron is indeed 28% of 18mg (the recommended amount for adult women under 51, per https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-Consumer/). So no, these are not random numbers even if they do not necessarily apply to every human out there. Please consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use. And again, the calculations are through a third party app and I do not double check them for every ingredient or recipe. I hope this helps!
Nadine Russell
Saturday 4th of January 2025
Very good soup, I've served it with and without the cheese and have also added heavy cream...all ways are delicious...great base recipe
Christina
Saturday 22nd of April 2023
This was so good. I roasted the asparagus and garlic (not taken out of that paperish covering) at 425 for about 10 minutes, then added the leeks. I let thing caramelize slightly, then followed the recipe.
Kate
Monday 24th of April 2023
This soup sounds really good with roasted/caramelized leeks and asparagus!
Diane Demura
Wednesday 15th of March 2023
This soup is bright and delicious. I used frozen asparagus, because it’s what I had and it worked great. Next time I will purée in the blender. This time I used an immersion blender and it is not as smooth as I’d like.
Kate
Thursday 16th of March 2023
Ooh frozen asparagus is a great idea for this soup! And yes, a strong blender is best.
Rebecca
Wednesday 14th of April 2021
I made this for my family’s Monday Night Dinner when we all get together. It was delicious, hearty yet fresh, very easy to make any everyone enjoyed it. Some even raved about it afterward. If you’re feeding large servings to more than 4 people consider doubling the recipe.
Kate
Wednesday 14th of April 2021
I am so glad to hear that, Rebecca!