Instant Pot Asparagus Soup is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and low carb. This delicious soup is a great way to use lots of farm fresh asparagus. Done in less than 30 minutes, asparagus soup requires very little preparation and pressure cooking time.
Instant Pot Asparagus Soup is a smooth and silky cream soup that uses no cream at all! Asparagus, potatoes, onions, garlic and lots of seasonings are pressure cooked and then pureed til silky smooth. It's a delicious and healthy puree soup, just like cauliflower soup, celery soup and tomato soup. I love this soup at the beginning of Spring when asparagus is in season and freshly harvested. It's a wonderful contrast to the Instant Pot pumpkin soup we enjoy throughout the Fall season.
Not only is this creamy asparagus soup recipe a one pot dump and cook meal, it's gluten-free, dairy-free, low carb and vegan. But this soup is versatile, so if you're not vegetarian or vegan or following a restrictive diet, it can be easily modified to include the ingredients you love.
You can make this recipe in any size pressure cooker, including a smaller 3-quart cooker. It yields 10 cups of soup and makes a nice side dish or appetizer for a family dinner.
Other Instant Pot Soups To Try:
Ingredients
The main ingredients are:
- Fresh asparagus: fresh asparagus tastes the best but you can use canned or frozen too.
- Potato: any type of white or golden potato, just make sure it is large sized.
- Onions and garlic: sweet onions give this recipe the best flavor but yellow onion works also.
- Vegetable broth: for non-vegetarian/vegan, chicken broth is a good substitution.
- Lemon juice: use bottled or freshly squeezed.
- Seasonings: thyme, basil, salt and black pepper.
How To Prepare Asparagus For Soup
To prepare the asparagus for cooking, it should be thoroughly rinsed under cool running water. Snap off the woody ends, about ½ to 1 inch from the bottom and where the asparagus begins to turn gray. This can be done with your hands or kitchen shears. Discard the ends and break the remaining asparagus pieces into 2 inch pieces.
Instructions
Once the asparagus has been prepared, make asparagus soup in your Instant Pot following these step by step instructions.
STEP 1: Set the pressure cooker to saute on high for 3 minutes. When hot, add the extra virgin olive oil, diced sweet onion, garlic cloves, and diced potato. Saute, stirring frequently.
STEP 2: Pour the vegetable broth into the pot and deglaze the bottom using a wooden spoon. Add the asparagus (reserving 10 asparagus tips for serving), thyme, basil, salt and black pepper. Stir, then close and seal the pressure cooker lid.
STEP 3: Set to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Complete a controlled quick release of the pressure when finished and remove the lid.
STEP 4: Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Add the lemon juice, stir and taste. Adjust seasonings as desired.
STEP 5: With tongs, dip the reserved asparagus pieces into the soup for 10-20 seconds to parcook. Serve soup topped with asparagus pieces, additional fresh basil and red pepper flakes.
What To Serve With Asparagus Soup
Instant Pot asparagus soup makes a great side dish or starter for dinner. It pairs well with:
- Kibbeh Balls
- Instant Pot Lemon and Mint Potato Salad
- Air Fryer Ribeye Steak
- Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders
- Tortellini with Tomato Cream Sauce
- Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
Homemade bread makes a great soup dipper, too. Try out my favorite garlic bread, three cheese bread, or basic toasted white bread.
How To Store
Store asparagus soup in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week. It's freezer-friendly for up to 3 month for optimal quality. Store in freezer safe plastic bags or containers and defrost overnight in the fridge.
Variations
Use cream: add a splash of heavy cream at the end to thicken the soup even more or to add richness to the broth. Evaporated milk and oat milk also have the same effect.
Add proteins: if you're not following a vegan or vegetarian diet, crispy cooked bacon pieces stirred into the soup once it's done pressure cooking are a fantastic addition. If you are not a meat eater, chopped white fish and tofu both taste great.
Make it spicy: if you're a spicy foods lovers, lots of red pepper flakes and a teaspoon or so of chili powder or scotch bonnet powder all taste great in asparagus soup.
Add cheese: make it a cheesy cream soup by adding grated parmesan cheese to the soup after pureeing.
Cooking Tips
- If you don't have an immersion blender the soup, pour it into a traditional blender and blend til smooth.
- For a chunkier soup, don't puree it completely.
- Chop the potato in small pieces so that it cooks within the 5 minutes of pressure cooking time.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Instant Pot asparagus soup is full of vitamins, minerals, and whole ingredients. A 2 cup serving contains only 132 calories and a small amount of carbs and fat. It is full of potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C and iron.
Basil, thyme, parsley, red pepper, black pepper, and freshly ground sea salt compliment the sweetness that is brought out when cooking asparagus. This highly versatile vegetable pairs well with many other spices and flavorings too, such as garlic, lemon and olive oil.
To thicken this recipe further, add more potatoes or heavy cream.
Recipe
Instant Pot Asparagus Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 large potato peeled and diced
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 lbs asparagus washed, trimmed, and cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil torn
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- Set the pressure cooker to saute on high for 3 minutes. When hot, add the extra virgin olive oil, diced sweet onion, garlic cloves, and diced potato. Saute, stirring frequently.
- Pour the vegetable broth into the pot and deglaze the bottom using a wooden spoon. Add the asparagus (reserving 6-8 pieces for serving), thyme, basil, salt and black pepper. Stir, then close and seal the pressure cooker lid.
- Set to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Complete a controlled quick release of the pressure when finished and remove the lid.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Add the lemon juice, stir and taste. Adjust seasonings as desired.
- With tongs, dip the reserved asparagus pieces into the soup for 10-20 seconds to parcook. Serve soup topped with asparagus pieces, additional fresh basil and red pepper flakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Catherine Haggarty says
This was seasoned beautifully! I added the chili flakes early to cook in and it was perfect. I added a couple of dollops of Greek yogurt instead of lemon since I didn’t have fresh (we are not Vegan) and it added a lovely tang and creaminess. Thanks for the great recipe!
Adam says
I just made this soup...I'm totally shocked at how flavorful it is while using so few ingredients.
I recommend adding extra potatoes if you like a thicker soup, otherwise, you can't go wrong following the instructions.
YUM!
Lucy says
I love asparagus but have never tried it in a soup before. I love how easy and quick it is to make in the instant pot and the combination of basil, thyme and red pepper flakes to season it is delicious. I will be making this regularly from now on, thank you.
Oscaf says
This asparagus soup was super comforting and we loved the flavor of the cloves with the thyme. Going to be making this soup all winter. Great recipe.
Bernice says
I have a bunch of asparagus languishing away in my fridge right now. This is a simple recipe that I can make for dinner tonight, solving two problems in one go. Thank you for this easy recipe.
Julie says
What a wonderful asparagus soup recipe, comforting and fresh tasting.
Nancy says
I really enjoyed this asparagus soup. It didn’t taste too green either