This Garlicky Asparagus Soup is creamy and cheesy and full of wonderful asparagus flavor. It also only takes about 15 minutes to make!
My take on Cream of Asparagus Soup uses plenty of garlic and some Parmesan cheese to create a delicious bowl of soup. With my time saving tips, like heating the broth in the microwave, this easy soup can also be made in just 15 minutes. So grab that fresh asparagus and let’s get cooking!
Video: Making Asparagus Soup
What Flavors Pair With Asparagus?
I already knew I loved Parmesan cheese with asparagus thanks to this easy asparagus appetizer. You basically roast asparagus for a short time, then you let it come to room temperature. Shave on large shards of Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with chunky sea salt. I just pick up the spears of asparagus and eat it as finger food.
What else do I love with asparagus? Fresh garlic! I call for four cloves in the recipe, but I’ve been known to add an extra clove or two. Sometimes I top the soup with some extra Parmesan too.
How To Prepare Asparagus
Trim the tough woody ends off of the asparagus by holding a clump of five or six spears in your right hand by their bottom ends. Grasp a few inches up the spears with your left hand. In a quick motion snap them all at once between your hands. Discard the bottom ends and repeat the process with more asparagus spears.
The SouperTip for this SOUPin15 recipe is to cut your veggies very small. If the soup was going to simmer for a long time, it wouldn’t matter how big you cut your asparagus. It would get soft for sure. But if you want the asparagus to get soft in just a few minutes, you need to chop it small.
Chop the trimmed asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Note that they don’t have to be even or really pretty since you’re going to purée them in the end. All that matters is that they’re small if you want the soup to be ready in 15 minutes.
How To Make Garlicky Asparagus Soup
I’ve written the instructions to make this soup quickly, so you’re doing things like chopping vegetables and grating cheese while things are heating or cooking. If it works better for you to do all the prep first or to take your time simmering things, feel free to adjust.
One of my favorite time saving tips when making soup is to heat the broth in the microwave before adding it to your pot. That way, when you’re ready to add it in, it takes very little time to reach a boil. I usually have chicken broth on hand, but you could use vegetable broth as well.
While the broth heats up in the microwave, you’ll be melting butter in a pot, chopping the onion, and adding it in. While the onion sautés, get that asparagus prepped and cut into small pieces. After adding the asparagus, mince up garlic and add to the pot along with some salt.
Now your broth should be steaming hot in the microwave and ready to add to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes until the asparagus is tender. If your Parmesan cheese isn’t already shredded, take a moment to do that now.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, then add in the heavy cream and let heat through. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
You’re ready to serve! Garnish with chopped chives, a sprinkle of extra Parmesan, or a drizzle of cream. And of course, if you have something like this amazing Air Fryer Garlic Bread to dip in the soup, you definitely should do that.
More Veggie Soup Recipes
If you love delicious soup recipes that have veggies as the star, make sure to take a look at the following recipes too.
Garlicky Asparagus Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Classic cream of asparagus soup is better than ever because of the addition of Parmesan and garlic. You’re going to love it!
If you want an asparagus garnish like in the picture, before blending the soup rescue a couple of asparagus tips and then chop them. You can alternatively use chopped chives or a swirl of whipping cream as a garnish. Or both!
Yield: 7 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups low or no-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 small onion
- 2 lbs. asparagus
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 oz. Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Measure the broth into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put a large pot or Dutch oven over low heat. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the pot. As it melts, peel and chop the onion. Add the onion to the butter. Stir and cover. Increase heat to medium.
- Trim the tough ends off of the asparagus as described in the blog post above. Discard ends. Chop remaining asparagus into small (½-inch) pieces. Add to the onions. Stir and cover. Peel and mince the garlic. Add it to the asparagus along with the salt. Stir.
- At this point the broth should be finished heating. Add it to the asparagus. Cover. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
- Cook until asparagus is tender, 2-3 minutes. While it cooks, shred the Parmesan.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Add the cream and heat through over medium heat but do not bring to a simmer.
- Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
This post originally appeared in June 2015 and was revised and republished in July 2024.
Can I freeze this?
Sara, I think it should be fine to freeze. However, it does contain dairy and sometimes that can cause it to separate when frozen. You might want to make it without the cream and cheese, and then stir those in once the soup is thawed and heated. Enjoy!
Great! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, My wife loves it. She got surprised. Yeah. I am going to try this for my friends too. Nice. Thanks for your guide.
Absolutely the best asparagus soup I’ve ever tasted!! followed the recipe exactly as written. Instructions were well written and easy to follow. Many thanks for sharing your recipe. It will definitely be part of my dinner menu.
Thank you, Jess! I’m so happy you enjoyed.
This is definitely delicious. Simple to make too.
How can I make it with less carbs and calories?
Pauline, Skipping the whipping cream, or using skim milk instead, will help a lot!