This Broccoli Asparagus Soup is packed with Havarti cheese, lemon and garlic. A creamy, yet delicate broth that’s low in carbs and high in nutrients and flavor! This will help you to see asparagus and broccoli in a whole new light, and it’s ready in 30 minutes.
So we imagine you’ve had cheddar and broccoli soup before, right? But have you tried an asparagus and broccoli soup with a creamy texture? There’s loads of garlic, lemon and Havarti cheese to make it simply divine! This soup is truly decadent (our specialty) while remaining healthy and satisfying!
Feel free to dive right in and head straight to the recipe card if you want. We will share all of our tips and tricks in the post. We’ll also discuss substitutions and more. Make sure to read through completely if you have questions, we probably answered them.
Ingredients For This Soup:
- Unsalted butter – This will help create the perfect creamy base for the soup. You could substitute olive oil if you prefer.
- Onions, diced – Yellow onion is our preferred here, but you can use whatever variety you have on hand. Leeks would be great too! In a pinch, you can substitute for some onion powder.
- Fresh garlic, minced – Fresh garlic packs a huge punch of flavor. We use it in nearly every savory dish that we’ve ever made! Fresh is always best, but you could of course use garlic powder instead.
- Dry seasonings – You can use whatever you want here. As always, you can add as much or as little of each seasoning as you like. We included: Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper and of course, salt and pepper. We wanted a little spice, and lots of savory flavors.
- Asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces – Cut into small parts, and remove the woody stems. That’s all the prep work you’ll need to do on this ingredient.
- Broccoli florets – You just need to cut the broccoli into chunks, but they can be pretty big. Basically we just want this to soften fast while simmering. You can use pre-cut broccoli florets, frozen, or cut your own.
- Fresh lemon juice and zest – A little sweet and subtle acidity really brings this soup together. As usual, fresh squeezed lemon juice is best. Lemon zest just really amps up that flavor. It’s an easy and cheap way to make this soup taste amazing!
- Broth or stock of choice – We used chicken broth. When we have chicken bone broth on hand, we usually use that! It adds more flavor, nutrients and protein. You can use vegetable instead if you want.
- Heavy whipping cream – You could sub sour cream instead if you prefer, or milk, half and half, you get the picture. You can use anything you’d like here to add a silky creaminess.
- Havarti cheese, shredded – Havarti is subtle, mild and creamy. It felt like the perfect cheese for this soup. However, anything you like would work really well. Grating the cheese yourself is going to give you the best velvety and smooth texture.
Buy many of these ingredients at Costco! Check out our low carb and keto Costco grocery list here.
If you’re curious about adding acidity (from the lemon juice) into your cast iron dutch oven, don’t worry! We’ll teach you all you need to know about cooking with and caring for cast iron cookware here.
How to Make Broccoli Asparagus Soup with Havarti and Lemon:
Heat a cast iron dutch oven or large pot with butter or oil over medium heat. Add onions to the hot oil with salt. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, and the dry seasonings and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the asparagus, broccoli, lemon juice and zest, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer gently until vegetables are tender. About 15 to 20 minutes should do.
After vegetables are softened, stir in the heavy cream to warm through. Carefully remove pot from heat and carefully transfer soup into a blender, or use an immersion blender to puree.
Garnish with heavy cream, salt, pepper and olive oil.
What Does Asparagus Taste Like?
Describing the taste of asparagus is quite tricky to do. It certainly has a strong flavor to it, that’s for sure! It pairs well with other neutral vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mushrooms, leeks and more.
It also tastes amazing with other strong tasting flavors, including lemon, onion and garlic. We love experimenting with asparagus, but you will find us seasoning asparagus with these ingredients often.
Asparagus had a tendency to absorb the flavors of whatever you’re cooking it with. It can really taste different just depending on how it’s prepared. It’s light, crisp and refreshing, and we absolutely love it.
When Is Asparagus In Season?
You can find the best looking asparagus in stores from February to mid June. In Illinois the peak is a little later, starting from late April to mid June.
Though you can find it year round in the grocery store, eating seasonal produce will save you money on your grocery bill. Plus, it just tastes better! Here’s a helpful guide to knowing more about asparagus seasonality and tips.
What Is Havarti Cheese?
Havarti is a semi-soft Danish cheese made from cow’s milk. It is very mild in flavor, and most similar to mild cheddars, mozzarella cheese , Colby, Monterrey jack, edam, or gouda. It’s great for creamy pasta dishes, melting, grilling and snacking. It is perfect for melting into this decadent broccoli asparagus soup!
Side note: Our favorite brand of Havarti cheese is by Roth Cheese. They have numerous varieties, like jalapeño, chipotle, and dill Havarti. Roth also makes a variety of other cheeses, including Gouda varieties, Grand Cru, Blue Cheese and creamy goat cheese (chèvre). They make lots of delicious cheeses!
More Recipes To Try:
- Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus with Parmesan and Garlic
- Asparagus with Lemon, Dill and Goat Cheese
- Roasted Radishes and Carrots with Thyme
- Low Carb “Potato” Leek Kale Soup
- Keto Candied Butternut Squash
- Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon
- Low Carb Loaded “Potato” Soup
Need more ideas? Be sure to check out this massive list of over 85+ low carb and keto friendly recipes on our site!
If you’re wondering about using cast iron cookware with acidic foods like lemon, don’t worry! This guide to cooking with and caring for your cast iron cookware will help!
Want to get supplies for this recipe or shop our keto kitchen or pantry? We’ve linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store!
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Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere
Broccoli Asparagus Soup with Havarti and Lemon
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 hea broccoli florets (about 275 grams)
- 1 bunch asparagus, stems removed and chopped (about 390 grams)
- 4 cups chicken broth, or broth of choice (reduce to 2 cups for a thicker soup)
- 1 whole lemon, juice and zest
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 12 ounces freshly shredded havarti cheese, or any cheese of choice
Instructions
- Heat a cast iron dutch oven or large pot with butter or oil over medium heat. Add onions to the hot oil with salt. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, and the dry seasonings and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the asparagus, broccoli, lemon juice and zest, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer gently until vegetables are tender. About 15 to 20 minutes should do.
- After vegetables are softened, stir in the heavy cream to warm through. Carefully remove pot from heat and carefully transfer soup into a blender, or use an immersion blender to puree.
- Slowly add in the shredded Havarti cheese to blend until smooth. Return the soup to the pot or dutch oven to adjust seasonings and heat. Heat and set aside to let cool slightly before ladling soup into bowls.
- Garnish with salt, pepper, heavy cream, a squeeze of lemon and olive oil. Enjoy! Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
These nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are only estimates. We cannot guarantee the accuracy.
Anne Leonardi says
This was really good soup, Briana! I was at the store and didn’t have the recipe with me. Did she say Havarti or Gruyere? I picked wrong but it was still really tasty with the Gruyere.
I did not have an immersion or regular blender, so I used my food processor instead. It wasn’t as smooth as yours looks.
I think next time I make it I will add the lemon juice last just before serving to maybe keep the color a little greener.
Thanks Briana 😘
Anne
Briana says
Hey Anne,
We’re so glad you liked this one! We’re totally in love with it. Also, Gruyere sounds AWESOME!
Good idea will the lemon juice, it did lose some of its color! We’re going to try that next time and then update the instructions.
So glad you love it. 🙂