18 Fresh Soups to Make for Spring
Celebrate the season with soups starring asparagus, herbs, peas, spinach, and ramps.
While winter soups are warming and hearty, as soon as spring starts, we seek out recipes that are lighter and packed with seasonal ingredients. Our favorites include English pea soup flavored with herbs, Meyer lemon, crème fraîche, and Dungeness crab; Carla Hall's creamy asparagus soup, and a fresh herb matzo ball soup. Keep reading for more essential spring soup recipes.
Spring Minestrone with Grated Egg Pasta
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Multiple ingredients in this bountiful spring vegetable soup give it a deep, satisfying flavor. The Parmigiano-Reggiano rind and vegetable umami both contribute a delicious, salty richness, while curly leaf spinach maintains a fresh, vegetal taste that you can’t get from baby spinach.
White Asparagus Soup with Pickled Ramps and Hazelnuts
Winemaker and restaurateur André Mack's silky white asparagus soup is buttery and creamy with a mild sweetness from the asparagus and a touch of acidity from the pickled ramps that brightens the entire dish. Roasted hazelnuts and hazelnut oil lend a deliciously nutty body to the soup and make a beautiful garnish.
Moroccan Chickpea, Carrot, and Spinach Soup
A heady mixture of garlic, cumin, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne pays homage to the cuisines of North Africa where chickpeas prevail, while tender spinach leaves bring a welcome jolt of green and their earthy minerality balances the sweetness of carrots and onions.
Herb Garden Matzo Ball Soup
Matzo ball soup gets a glow-up in this version by cookbook author Leah Koenig, with fresh parsley, dill, chives, and fennel fronds in the matzo balls themselves, plus more herbs, lemon zest, and edible flowers adding color and bright, spring flavors to each finished bowl of soup.
Rocket Soup (Shorbat Jarjir)
A blend of spinach, cilantro, and arugula anchors this delicate, vegetal soup. Warming spices like nutmeg, allspice, and turmeric amplify the verdant flavors of the greens; a single potato adds light, silky texture; and a drizzle of olive oil and dollop of yogurt enrich the soup without weighing it down.
Creamy Spinach Soup with Dill
This soup, adapted from The Nordic Cookbook, has the rich flavor of creamed spinach but a much lighter texture.
Asparagus Vichyssoise
© James Baigrie
This creamy soup is best the next day, after the flavors have blended; season it generously before serving.
Chilled Spring Pea Soup
Chef Daniel Boulud puts this deliciously light and clean-tasting soup — a mix of sweet peas, favas, pea shoots, snap peas, and snow peas — on the menu each spring. To make the dish even easier, skip the labor-intensive fresh favas, as well as the snow peas and pea shoots. Instead, just use sugar snaps and frozen baby peas.
Zucchini and Watercress Soup
© Jan Baldwin
Food writer Sophie Dahl likes eating peppery watercress in the spring and has figured out a way to highlight its bright flavor in this silky soup. A single tablespoon of cream gives the vivid green soup a touch of richness.
Chilled English Pea Soup with Crab and Meyer Lemon
This refreshing, verdant English pea and watercress soup is the perfect base for a zesty crab salad. Chef Sarah Heller folds sweet Dungeness crab with Meyer lemon, crème fraîche, and a host of delicate spring herbs before mounding atop each serving of the soup.
Lemony Roasted Asparagus Soup
Chef Cassie Piuma prepares her version of the lemony Greek soup avgolemono with a broth made from asparagus trimmings. Her other unconventional additions include roasted asparagus and oyster mushrooms.
Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Shortbread Coins
"I adore savory cheese cookies with creamy asparagus soup," says television chef Carla Hall. "Both are dead simple to make."
Chicken-Orzo Soup with 10 Vegetables
Any combination of vegetables will work in this satisfying soup from chef Hugh Acheson. If including 10 vegetables isn't a priority, you can also cut some and double up on others.
Fava Bean Pasta e Fagioli
Chef Mike Lata’s spring version of pasta e fagioli, the Italian soup, uses fresh fava beans in place of borlotti or cannellini beans, along with meaty bits of bacon and a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Spring Vegetable Soup with Tarragon
This light soup is laden with nutrient-dense root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions. When the weather turns warmer, winemaker Stéphane Vivier purees the soup and serves it chilled with the freshest herbs he can find.
Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup
© John Kernick
This tangy, luscious soup is an excellent make-ahead dish: Simply puree everything except the garnish, then chill.
Vegetable Soup with Fennel, Herbs, and Parmesan Broth
© Yunhee Kim
This wonderful soup features carrots, celery, leeks, fennel, and tomato. Cookbook author Viana La Place simmers Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds in the broth to give it a rich, cheesy flavor.
Creamy Scallion-Mushroom Soup
This luxe soup from the late cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli packs in a full two pounds of green onions. Be sure to use both the white and the green parts to maximize flavor.
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