A creamy light spring soup that’s full of spring veggies, yet still nice, warm and cozy. If your spring weather takes a dive back towards winter temps like ours did, this lovely green soup really hits the spot! Serve up a bowl with cheesy garlic toast for a nice plant-based lunch, or as a nice light first course for a larger meal.
I look forward to spring every year. Seeing the new growth sprout. Flowers start to pop up. The trees unfurl their leaves. This time of awakening always fills my heart with hope. And now that I have a garden, I can’t wait to put some little plant babies in the ground and see what they do!
The Changes Spring Brings
Also, every spring, I start looking at the food I still have left from last year’s gardening. I grew broccoli last year. And I discovered I had one little bag left in my freezer. But I must have let this package thaw and then put it back in the freezer again because the texture was a little soft and slightly rubbery. My taste buds rebelled. I like my broccoli crisp-tender. Should I toss it or is there a better use for this little bag of soggy broccoli?
I decided this last bit of last season’s broccoli would be perfect in a creamy soup. At first, I thought of broccoli potato soup, but then I remembered another remnant of some lost season in the freezer: asparagus puree. One year, I’d tired of eating asparagus and just pureed my leftovers and froze them up for some other cooking project sometime.
So yes, “sometime” suddenly became NOW! I don’t have fresh garden asparagus YET. Because it’s been a chilly spring. But this frozen asparagus puree from my past would add that nice spring touch to my broccoli soup.
The asparagus and broccoli complement each other really nicely. Also, I decided to add a bit of cheese. And for some reason, cheddar didn’t seem right. So I went with Parmesan and that was just perfect. Who would have guessed a low-calorie soup like this could be so creamy and inviting?
Is Parmesan Broccoli Asparagus Soup Healthy?
You’ll find a wealth of health benefits in this soup, including:
- Low in calories ~ just 149 calories per serving
- High in protein to help fuel your muscles and control your appetite
- A good source of calcium, iron and potassium and many other nutrients. Supporting strong bones, strong heart and a healthy immune system.
- A good source of fiber ~ almost 3 grams of fiber in every cup! Keeps your digestive system going strong.
- Low in carbohydrates so if you’re watching you’re carbs, you’re safe here
- Plant-based and vegetarian (if you use vegetable broth) to help lower your carbon footprint
I have sung the praises of both broccoli and asparagus in my lowering cholesterol series of posts, so rest assured this recipe is heart healthy, although you may need to watch the sodium content in the ingredients if you are watching your sodium intake. Broccoli was featured in Part 2 and asparagus reigned in part 3.
Equipment needed: a medium saucepan, stovetop, an immersion blender, blender or Ninja Blender/Food Processor.
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Creamy Parmesan Broccoli Asparagus Soup
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 4 – 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1/2 Tablespoon grass-fed butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion, peeled & chopped coarsely
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 2 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 2 green onions (including green tops), chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I some of my “100-year-old-stew” chicken broth)
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups broccoli (fresh or frozen, thawed)
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups leftover cooked asparagus – or 1 heaping cup puree
- 4 oz. Neufchatel or Greek cream cheese
- 1 – 2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- Salt, fresh ground pepper, & red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter or add the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring frequently. Stir in the bay leaves and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let cook for about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Stir in the broccoli and cook just until it’s tender. Pour the soup mixture into a blender, then add the asparagus, cream cheese and parmesan cheese and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Or, do like I did and pour it all into the largest cup of the Ninja blender/food processor and blend it that way.
- Pour back into the pan and stir in the seasonings, then taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Heat again over medium low heat until hot but not boiling. If desired, garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and Aleppo pepper flakes. A little more fresh ground parmesan is nice on top too.
Notes
Take care when blending hot liquids. If using a Ninja or other blender container, you may want to let the soup cool a bit before blending especially if your asparagus is hot.
If you have fresh herbs like basil, thyme, tarragon or chives, feel free to toss a few fresh herbs in! They will add to the flavor.
RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2022, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Keywords: Broccoli, Asparagus, Cheese, Parmesan, Gluten Free, Heart Healthy, Diabetic
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