Vegan Asparagus White Bean Soup (without Cream)

This delicious vegan asparagus soup is made with white beans and leeks for a deliciously creamy texture, but made without cream. It's cozy but bright and perfect for celebrating Spring Asparagus even when the temperature is still a bit cold out.

this recipe

Spring is a funny season, sometimes it's warm and lovely, and sometimes a cold rainy day sets in. But there's lots of fresh produce to celebrate, and that's why it's totally acceptable to eat soup throughout this season, as well as salads ! If you're craving salad or have more asparagus to use up, try this Baby Potato Asparagus Salad without Mayo.

If you want to make the most of other fresh spring produce in soup form why not try this Broccoli Potage with peas. Or try my yummy Vegan Spring Greens Minestrone Soup.

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• 🌿Ingredients
• 🌱Make your own soup stock!
• 👩‍🍳Instructions
• 🌶️Substitutions & Variations
• 🔪Equipment
• 🫙Storage
• Top tip
• FAQ
• More Soups
• Salads
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🌿Ingredients

This vegan asparagus soup recipe is made with simple ingredients that make the most of this delicious vegetable. See recipe card for quantities.

• Asparagus - Asparagus is a spring delicacy, at it's best in Mid-Late Spring through to early summer. Choose fresh asparagus that has firm tips. Snap off any woody ends and use to infuse the veggie broth (see note below)
• Leeks- choose fresh firm leeks. Be sure to prepare them by cutting down the middle and fanning out the layers, giving them a really good rinse to remove any grit and dirt.
• Butter beans- butter beans have a great creamy consistency which when blended or mashed create a delicious creamy soup without using any cream.
• Thyme- fresh or dried thyme adds flavor to this delicious soup.
• Vegan white wine - not all wine is vegan but many supermarkets label this well now. See subs note for how to make this without wine.
• Extra Virgin Olive oil - for sauteeing. It helps add a note of freshness and adds to the overall flavor.
• Vegetable stock- choose a good store bought stock which you can infuse with the asparagus ends before using, or make your own from scratch
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, so I rounded up some other Delicious Asparagus recipes that you can try after you've made this perfect spring soup!

🌱Make your own soup stock!

Wondering what to do with the woody ends of the asparagus and the tough tops of the leeks? You can make your own vegetable stock (broth) to use in this soup. Simply gather up the woody ends of the asparagus and the leek trimmings and simmer in plenty of water for about half an hour. You can add a stock cube or use store bought stock instead of the water.  I like to add some kombu seaweed to any stocks that I make. It's naturally full of glutamine, which means it imparts a full, rounded umami, (which means savoury), flavor to the stock.

Once the stock is simmered, strain it and discard the vegetables. Use to make the soup!

But don't worry if you don't have time to make your own vegetable broth, you can instead use a good quality stock such as Marigold Boullion or 9 Meals from Anarchy.

👩‍🍳Instructions

Here's how to make this healthy vegan asparagus soup, which requires very little prep time.

Hint: The nice thing with this soup is you don't need to puree it. You just squish the butterbeans with a potato masher to break them down a bit & let out their starchy insides. This starchyness adds a luxurious silky quality that works so well with the asparagus and makes the soup creamy.

🌶️Substitutions & Variations

Here are some ways you can adjust this delicious soup to your own tastes.

• Other Beans - You can also use cannellini beans instead of butterbeans, both will add that delicious creamy mouthfeel that's so yummy.
• Creamy Asparagus Soup- Before adding the asparagus tips, blend the soup with a hand blender or regular blender. Return to the heat and cook the asparagus tips in the soup.
• Extra Creamy Soup - add ¼ cup coconut cream or soya cream to the soup at the same time you add in the asparagus tips. You can also add some nutritional yeast for added depth of flavor.
• Make without wine- in place of wine add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a half a teaspoon of sugar to the soup. This will balance the flavors. A little fresh lemon juice squeezed in at the end is also nice.
• Other herbs: Fresh basil stirred into the soup is delicious, or you could add some freshly picked wild garlic or ramps.

🔪Equipment

You will need a good sharp knife for preparing the vegetables as well as a large pot or dutch oven to cook the soup. If you wish to blend the soup to make it extra creamy you will need an immersion blender/

🫙Storage

This vegan soup can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge. Alternatively freeze in a freezer-safe container in one or two person portions. It will be good for 3-4 months in the deep freeze. To thaw, simply pop into a pot on the stove and gently heat until piping hot.

FAQ

More Soups

Why not try these other delicious soup recipes?

Salads

Soup and a salad is always a great light meal to have....

📖 Recipe