A healthy parsnip soup that’s blended with kale for a super nutritious and tasty plant based pureed vegetable soup everyone will love. This easy parsnip soup recipe is warm and comforting, hearty and delicious….exactly what chilly days call for.
This post has been updated from the original posted on January 14, 2019.
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Um…yes, please….said Hubby asking for seconds…which is a huge win since he’s a firm “I don’t eat cooked greens” believer. But now? He’s a super fan of kale in soup. Whoa, what? Pureed kale soup is delicious and different.
Yeah…one taste and he was a convert! This parsnip and kale soup is so rich in flavor….It’s the cooked parsnips, they add so much depth to this vegan soup.
Don’t let the color fool you! This creamy kale soup is all kinds of tasty mixed in with some serious earthy undertones….that, plus an easy recipe that’s also super nutritious and now everyone’s happy around here. Gorgeous green color thrown in for free!
If you’re looking for a pureed vegetable soup…ahem, a way to sneak stuff in…then you’re going to want to make this STAT. It’s a combination of creamy kale soup and delicious soup with parsnips rolled into one. The best kinda twofer out there!
Ingredients and Substitutions
In addition to being soup season, it’s also cold and flu season. As soon as someone comes down with something, everyone suggests soup to help them get better. I’m suggesting soup as preventive medicine. Nourishment from food, especially easy to digest soup, is readily available for your body to absorb.
- Onions + Garlic: Flavor boosters that also fight inflammation, aid in digestion and boost immunity.
- Turmeric: Adds to the earthy flavor, plus it’s anti-inflammatory, increases the absorption of antioxidants, boosts immunity, balances hormone levels, aids in digestion.
- Veggie broth: It’s SUPER EASY to make your own with this vegetable broth recipe. I store mine in the freezer so I’m always ready to make a pot of soup. If you buy it already made, be sure to read the ingredients carefully to make the best choice. If you get caught in a pinch, make my vegetable bouillon...you’ll have delicious homemade broth in 5 minutes.
Step by Step
- First get all your ingredients prepped and ready to go: Wash the kale, remove the woody center stem and tear the leaves into smaller pieces. Peel the parsnips and roughly chop.
Then dice the onions and garlic, slice the celery. Measure the spices and maple syrup.
2. Heat a soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Use a Tablespoon of veggie broth to saute the onions and celery until translucent. Add more veggie broth if needed to keep the pot from becoming dry.
3. Next, add the turmeric, salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Any time the pot becomes dry, add another Tablespoon broth.
4. Add parsnips and kale, then mix well. Make sure parsnips and kale are coated in spice mixture.
5. Pour in remaining veggie broth and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes until parsnips are tender and kale has softened.
6. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Once the parsnip soup is smooth, pour in the maple syrup and then cook for another 10 minutes. This is the healthy version of cream of kale soup.
7. Ok…..soup’s done! I like to sprinkle with fresh herbs and crushed red pepper….makes it look pretty and adds a little spice.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Take it to go! Fill your thermos with boiling water, let it sit while you heat the soup. Empty the water and then fill with hot soup…it will stay warm until you’re ready to enjoy.
- Pass around some crushed red pepper and a pitcher of maple syrup so everyone can customize to their preferred flavor palette.
- No need to spin the kale dry after you wash it…it’s going into the soup pot anyhow.
- Put soup in crockpot on the “warm” setting and let everyone help themselves to a hot bowl of soup when they’re ready….a great idea when everyone’s coming in from sports or meetings and eating at different times.
- No kale? Change it up…use spinach.
Easy Kale Chips (bonus recipe)!
I love kale chips. They’re a great snack, anytime…and, they’re also perfect for crumbling into this creamy kale soup. The right color, flavor, texture…they just fit in seamlessly. AND…you can whip up a batch while the soup is cooking.
- Wash the kale. Remove woody stems, break into small pieces and then THOROUGHLY DRY. If the kale is still wet when you bake it, it will turn out soggy. For crispy kale chips, you must start with DRY kale.
- Spread kale onto large rimmed baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Mix well. It’s easiest to do this with your hands.
- Bake in preheated 300 degree oven for 10 minutes. Toss well. Bake for another 10 minutes until crisp and crunchy.
- Enjoy right away. Crunchy kale chips are best when freshly made. Kale chips will lose their crunch if stored. If this happens, just pop into a 325 oven until dried out and re-crisped.
More pureed vegetable soup recipes
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📖 Recipe
Parsnip and Kale Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 1 b. parsnips peeled and chopped
- 1 bunch curly kale woody stems removed, torn into pieces.
- 8 cups veggie broth or combo water and broth
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup**
Instructions
- Heat large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add in 2 Tablespoons of the veggie broth and saute onions and celery until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle on turmeric, salt and pepper and mix well. If pan becomes dry, drizzle in 1-2 Tablespoons more vegetable broth. Now add the garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
- Add parsnips, kale and remaining broth to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, or until parsnips are tender and kale has softened.
- Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Stir in maple syrup and simmer for additional 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more S+P as needed.
- Sprinkle with fresh herbs and crushed red pepper if desired.
Video
Notes
MEAL PREP AND STORAGE
- SERVE: Serve warm, garnished with fresh herbs, crunchy kale chips, crushed red pepper and a drizzle of maple syrup.
- PREP AHEAD: Wash and chop all veggies in advance. Store in containers in the fridge until ready to make soup. Make soup when it’s convenient for you and gently reheat on the stove when you’re ready to serve.
- STORE: Soup will stay good in the fridge for a week or freezer for 3 months.
- FREEZE: Cool completely. Use freezer safe zip top bags to freeze individual servings. Lay flat in the freezer. Or, freeze in quart sized mason jars, making sure to leave at least and inch at the top for soup to expand as it freezes.
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Jackie L'Heureux
Loved this soup. My mother is 93 and has dentures. This soup was perfect for her. Kale is hard to chew. This soup takes all the work out of it. I did add 1. Can of drained and rinsed white kidney beans at the end.
Debra Klein
Oh…the beans are a great addition. So good of you to nourish your Mom with this delicious soup!
Tatiana
easy healthy spring soup
Debra Klein
Totally agree!
nancy
super tasty soup!! i can’t wait for my garden to produce
Debra Klein
Same…I have some seeds germinating in my window now!
Jeannie
healthy and delicious!
Jeri
This soup had great flavor!