Easy Parsnip Soup

5 from 4 votes

A simple but delicious recipe, this quick and easy Parsnip Soup combines onions, garlic, parsnips, stock and cream for a veritable ‘hug in a bowl’ in just 30 minutes. Plus get lots of ideas for adapting this basic parsnip soup recipe to make it even more delicious!

Course Main Course, Soup, Starter

Cuisine British

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 298kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large onions finely diced
1 kg parsnips peeled and cut into small chunks (roughly 1cm cubes)
2 cloves garlic grated or crushed
1 litre vegetable stock (from a cube is fine, I used 1 Kallo Organic Vegetable Stock Cube)
Salt and pepper to taste
50 ml double cream (or to taste – see Note 1)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Place the olive oil and diced onions in a fairly large saucepan and gently fry the onions for 5 minutes, with the lid on, until softened but not brown. Stir occasionally.
Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the parsnips. Fry the parsnips for 3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions and parsnips are tinged with brown. (See Note 2.)
Turn the heat right down and add the garlic. Fry for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
Add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper and turn up the heat. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on, or until the parsnip pieces are tender.
Tip the soup into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. PLEASE TAKE CARE AS THE SOUP WILL BE VERY HOT! (See Note 3.)
Return the soup to the pan and add the cream. Stir to ensure the cream is well mixed in, then serve.

Notes

I find that adding just 50ml of double cream is enough to give this soup a luxurious creamy taste, without adding too many extra calories. You can of course omit the cream altogether, if you prefer, or add more to taste!
By turning up the heat and frying the parsnip pieces until they are tinged with brown, you can get a little of that roasted/caramelized parsnip flavour, without the faff of actually having to roast the parsnips in the oven.
If you prefer, you can use a hand blender, however I think this soup works best when blended super smooth, which is harder to achieve with a hand blender.
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition