Asparagus, Potato, and Butter Bean Soup

  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes 13 cups
  • Serving size: ¼ of recipe
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Tender asparagus spears, hearty potatoes, and creamy butter beans pair wonderfully in this tasty springtime soup that tastes great year-round. Aromatic dill and spicy cayenne bring bursts of bright flavor to the mellow veggie broth, while chunks of hearty potatoes add satisfying substance. Serve this quick and easy recipe alongside a loaf of crusty whole wheat bread to soak up the flavorful broth!

By Nancy Macklin, RDN,

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sliced leeks
  • 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 6 cups cubed Yukon gold potatoes (2¼ lb.)
  • 2 15-oz. cans low-sodium butter beans, undrained
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 lb. asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Sliced scallions or fresh chives

Instructions

  • In a large pot cook leeks over medium 4 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding broth, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add remaining broth and the next four ingredients (through cayenne pepper). Increase heat to high. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Using a fork, mash a few potatoes and beans to help thicken the soup.
  • Add asparagus and 1 tablespoon dill. Cook about 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle servings with the remaining dill and the scallions.
Nutritional Information:

Per serving (¼ of recipe): 409 calories, 83 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein, 2 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 405 mg sodium, 14 g fiber, 10 g sugar

Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.

Comments (46)

(5 from 27 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Jennifer

Forgot to ask, does this freeze well?

Jennifer

Great soup!

Anne

We have made this twice and it is wonderful! The first time we made it we did not have white balsamic - only the dark, so the soup was a weird color, but totally amazing. I went out and bought white balsamic just for this. The gold potatoes are so creamy and pair well with everything. This is a great wintertime soup for a chilly day.

Shannon McNeely

Delicious! I added 8 oz. mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and about 6 BIG garlic cloves, sliced, plus a few carrots I had in the veg drawer. I also added 1.5 tsp. Penzeys “Justice” to accent the flavors. The soup was very fresh tasting with a nice round flavor. It turned out more like a stew, very thick, hearty, and filling. We added a tofu sausage as a side dish plus nice WW bakery bread.

Viola

I prepared this meal for my husband and I and we really enjoyed it. I will look forward to making it again Thank you

Anne

I finally made this earlier tonight. Absolutely wonderful flavors. I’m not a fan of cayenne, but the amount the recipe called for gave it such a great background flavor. Everyone in the house loved it. We will definitely make it again.

Ulric

Absolutely yummy! We found a bit more cayenne pepper needed for our taste. We did find mashing beans/potatoes helped thicken but fine as-is. We might try blending a cup or two of all ingredients, love cream asparagus soup so this may add interesting twist :)

Svetlana

Hi, looking to make this soup, but don't have white balsamic vinegar. Have white wine vinegar. Will that make a good substitute? Thank you.

Megan Edwards

Hi Svetlana, White wine vinegar should be a fine substitute, but you may want to add a dash of maple syrup to provide the subtle sweetness that the balsamic vinegar would have given the recipe. It just depends on your personal taste! Let us know how it goes.

Frank Carter

No nutritional information. I watch salt, caloric intake and nutrients, but none are listed. Why? As a wannabe vegan I want to know if I get enough macro's and vits and mins. How can I do that with your recipes. BTW, other people asked similar queries, they don't get answers. thank you Frank

Terry

Hi Frank, Please the out this link on the website which explains how to eat the Forks Over Knives way: https://www.forksoverknives.com/what-to-eat/ Under FOK you don’t need to count calories or macros. I transitioned to this way of living 4 years ago. I lost 45 pounds and maintain that loss easily. All my blood numbers are perfect. The success stories on this website are real! If you need to count macros you’ll need to enter the recipe into an app like MyFitnessPal.

Helen Pilgrim

Easy to make. It’s so good. Highly recommended,, definitely a keeper.

Christl Skoczek

Delicious soup--Thank you so much! Can you please tell me where I can find the nutritional content, inc. calories, for this and other fine FOK recipes?

Terry

Sooo delicious and easy to make! I’ve never cooked with leeks before and am happy that I looked up on the internet how to clean them otherwise I would have had dirt in my soup! This soup will be on repeat along with 30 Minute Soup and Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup.

Andrew Willman

Great healthy recipe!

Lanie

This is delicious! I made a few tweeks but it is now my favorite potato soup. I didn't use the white balsamic vinegar and wanted to know what the purpose of that was? Thanks

Julia Leszko

Balsamic vinegar provides an acidic balance addition for this Asparagus, Potato and Butter Bean Soup. The vinegar punches up the flavors, though for this soup amount I put 2 tbsp-fulls. Also, I used cannellini beans, don’t like butter beans. Delish!

Kristi

Oh my goodness! This soup is soooooo good!! I am still eating it three days later!! My picky husband LOVES it too! I am so excited to have this recipe! Thank you!!

tee

Do you use the entire leek or just the white parts?

Sheila Humphrey

Just the white. Besure to clean the dirt or sand you may find in the layers of the leeks by washing.

Kristi

I used all the leeks. It was delicious!

Sarah

Made this soup…. Simply delicious! I intend to make it again♥️

Marcie Goudeseune

Great flavor and easy, my husband loved it also. Made homemade, whole wheat bread and toasted it. Perfect combo. I will be making it again.

Carol

Going to try with onions in place of leeks? I hope it doesn't make a big difference.

Lanie

I used yellow onion and green onions instead of the leeks and it was delicious. I only used about a cup of onion though.

Gloria

This soup is amazing!! I've made it twice. I cut the recipe in half as there are just 2 of us. There is so much flavor in this pot of soup. I love it will definitely be making it again.

Cal

Woke up craving a potato soup. Having made several recipes from this website I decided to give it a try. I thought it would be under seasoned but it actually came out tasting great. Light and refreshing. I paired it with a piece of toasted whole wheat bread.

Bonnie Haberle

Super

Jennifer

Delicious soup! I wasn't too sure if I'd have to doctor it up, because it was simply seasoned, but it's really fabulous just like it is. I'm making it for a second time today.

Tam Swanson

We liked this one a lot. Next time think I'll cook chopped celery along with the leeks, and if making when asparagus is not in season, green beans would be a good substitute too.

Pat

Great idea with the beans!

Susan D'Andrea

I buy frozen asparagus cut in short lengths. Green beans would be good too.

Liz M.

This soup is so delish. I didn’t have fresh dill so I used soft herbs instead which has dill in it. I also added Trader Joe’s umami powder. So so good! Thanks for the recipe!

Alin

I made this, and it was goood. It was the first time cooking asparagus, for me, and I hesitated adding the entire pound of it. I should've not hesitated :).

Bev

Outstanding! This recipe is the perfect combination of quick and simple prep with delicious results. This is going into regular rotation at my house

MountainMom

Light flavor but super tasty, and so easy to make.

Linda Samp

What is the sodium content per serving?

Cali

Yummy!! It is really good.

Aurora F.

We loved this soup! I was a bit nervous because I wasn't sure if my 13 y/o daughter would like it. She loved it and gave it a 9.5 rating! My scores are usually between 8 and a 10 so I'll take it lol! We each had seconds and I'll be sure to make it again.

Tara

Why isn’t this recipe on FOK recipe app?

Julie

Tara, You can add this to the recipe box in the meal planner by clicking on the Add to Meal Planner button.

Susan Maroc

Easy and delicious. Plus I have soup for a few days.

Colleen Hay

This was delicious! I had to make some substitutions to use what I had on hand. I used mustard powder instead of seed, dried dill in place of fresh (I used less), and rice vinegar instead of white balsamic vinegar. I will definitely make this again!

Nancy Taylor

We had so much garden asparagus coming in at one time that I didn't know what to do with all of it. This was absolutely delicious! The dill and mustard are subtle but add so much flavor to this soup. Great recipe!

Liz Turner

I am the editor in chief of FOK and I make this recipe all the time. It's like a spring stew--light and satisfying at the same time. The whole mustard seeds and hint of cayenne really make the broth delicious.

About the Author

Headshot of Nancy Macklin

About the Author

Nancy Macklin, RDN

Nancy Macklin has a bachelor of science in dietetics from Iowa State University and a Master of Science in health services administration from the University of Saint Francis. Macklin worked as a hospital-based clinical dietitian, providing counseling for diabetes, heart disease, and weight loss and as a food service director in health care dining sites. She now serves as a test kitchen dietitian, developing 500+ recipes per year. She is a member of the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics and International Association of Culinary Professionals. Find her on LinkedIn.
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