This creamy parsnip and apple soup is perfect for fall! Sweet apples balance out the earthy parsnips for the perfect blend of fall flavors. This soup makes a great lunch or appetizer, and a beautiful presentation when topped with fresh herbs and pomegranate arils.
Creamy Parsnip Soup
This creamy and warming soup is perfect for the fall and winter months. Parsnips and apples both come into season in the fall, so this soup is great for celebrating the fall harvest.
For more soups to warm up cold winter days, try Butternut Squash Soup, Creamy Cauliflower Soup, or Beef and Barley Soup.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Delicious flavor combination. The sweetness of the apples balances out the sometimes sharper flavor of parsnips. The warm spices used make this smooth soup taste like fall!
- Pretty presentation. Top this elegant soup with fresh herbs and a pop of ruby red color from pomegranate arils to make a beautiful presentation worthy of your holiday meal.
- Only 15 minutes of prep time. This soup is ready in under an hour.
Dana’s note: Using parsnips from a farm or farmer’s market take this soup to the next level. Farm fresh parsnips are often more flavorful and sweeter than store bought ones, making this creamy soup even better.
When to serve it
Parsnip and apple soup makes a nice appetizer for any of the fall holidays like Rosh Hashanah, the meal before or after the Yom Kippur fast, and Thanksgiving.
The soup is especially warming during Sukkot when served outdoors in the sukkah. Sometimes I keep it warm in a slow cooker right in the sukkah.
I also think that this soup is a great addition to a Hanukah meal with lots of latkes and applesauce. When latkes are the star of night, sometimes all you need is a little some more to round out the meal like this soup.
Fun serving suggestion: Serve parsnip and apple soup as a passed hors d’oeuvres in small espresso cups or shot glasses.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the recipe card below for a complete ingredient list and measurements.
Jump to Recipe- Parsnips - Parsnips are a root vegetable that look like carrots, but are beige in color with a sweeter taste. If you can’t find parsnips, you can substitute them for white or yellow carrots or celeriac.
- Apples - I like honeycrisp apples for this recipe. You can substitute apples for pears, or other apple varieties like Gala, Envy, or similar.
- Potatoes - Yukon gold potatoes add to the creaminess and bulk of this soup.
- Seasonings - Nutmeg, coriander, white pepper, and bay leaf. These seasonings compliment the fall flavors of this soup.
- Broth - I prefer vegetarian no-chicken broth for this soup to keep it vegetarian. I use the Imagine brand. If you don’t need this soup to be vegetarian, you can use chicken stock or broth.
- Optional garnishes - Adding a garnish to this soup makes a pretty presentation like pomegranate arils, fresh parsley, a sprinkle of sumac, or a drizzle of olive oil. Pumpkin seeds or fresh chives would also be nice.
- Other ingredients include - onion, garlic, wine, salt, and maple syrup (optional).
Step by Step Photos
See the recipe card below for complete directions.
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Sauté
Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent.
Toast
Mix in the garlic, nutmeg, coriander, white pepper and salt and cook until fragrant.
Add
Add the parsnip, apple, potato, wine, bay leaf to the pot.
Boil
Add broth, and bring to a boil. Then simmer until veggies are tender.
Cool
Turn off heat and let the soup sit for 10 minutes to cool.
Blend
Blend the soup with a blender or stick blender. Using a high speed blender like a Vitamix makes the soup extra smooth.
Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of sumac, pomegranate seeds, and parsley leaves.
Make Ahead
You can make this soup up to 3 days before serving, and store in the refrigerator until ready to heat and serve.
Storage and Reheating
How to store: Store leftover parsnip apple soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
How to freeze: Freeze for 3-6 months.
Reheating: To reheat the entire soup pot, place on the stove, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until warmed through. Reheat individual portions of soup in the microwave for about 2 minutes.
What to serve with Apple Parsnip Soup
Soup and salad make a perfect pairing. Serve this soup with Fall Harvest Salad or Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad. It would make a great appetizer to serve before Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken.
More fall recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, it is best to peel the parsnips before cooking them. In general, if your parsnips are very small and tender, it may not be necessary to peel them. If you don’t peel them, make sure to scrub them well since they grow in the dirt.
Yes, if you have extra vegetables to use, you can add them to this parsnip apple soup. Try butternut squash, carrots, or even a spicy pepper.
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Recipe
Parsnip and Apple Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Large pot or large saucepan
- Blender, immersion blender, or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion diced small
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystals kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 pound parsnips about 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into ½” rounds
- 1 medium honeycrisp apple peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 medium Yukon gold potato approx 8 ounces, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 4 cups vegetarian no-chicken broth or other broth; I used the Imagine brand
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup optional for balancing sweetness
Garnish
- Olive oil, sumac, pomegranate arils, and fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil and onion. Saute for 6-7 minutes, mixing often, until translucent.
- Mix in the garlic, nutmeg, coriander, white pepper and salt. Stir together and cook over medium-low heat until fragrant for 1 minute.
- Add the parsnip, apple, potato, broth, water, wine, bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook mostly covered (with the lid just slightly ajar) for 20-25 minutes until all vegetables are softened and fork tender.
- Turn the heat off and let the soup sit for 10 minutes, to cool a bit. Remove the bay leaf.
- Carefully use a ladle and transfer the soup mixture into a 64 ounce high-speed blender (in 1 batch) or add in 2-3 batches to a medium blender (usually 48 ounce blender), and blend until fully smooth. Be extra careful not to blow the blender lid off with the hot soup. I like to hold the blender cover down with a towel, keeping your hand on it the entire time while blending. Also, some blender lids allow you to release a little of the steam.
- Transfer all the blended soup batches back to the pot, and stir together.
- Taste the soup, and add maple syrup if you would like the soup to be sweeter (or if the parsnips are slightly bitter). Adjust seasonings to your palate if needed. Mix and heat over a medium flame for a couple minutes until warm.
- Serve right away, and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of sumac, pomegranate seeds, and parsley leaves. Or storage options are listed below.
Notes
- Make ahead storage: You can make this soup up to 3 days before serving, and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- Reheat from the refrigerator: To reheat the entire soup pot, place on the stove, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until warmed through. Or reheat individual portions of soup in the microwave for about 2 minutes.
- Freezer storage: Once cooled, the soup can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for 3-6 months.
- Other apple options: If you don’t have a Honeycrisp apple, substitute with Gala, Envy, or similar.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Nicole says
Sounds delicious. Heard about the soup in a book (Gamache series by Louise Penny) and was intrigued. Will try this out soon.
Btw, to avoid the blender, we have something in Germany called Zauberstab, a handheld mixing tool you can put into the pot. Might avoid a lot of hassle.
Dana Shrager says
Nicole, yes, a handheld stick blender is very convenient for pureeing soup! When I want a soup to be super smooth, I prefer to put it in a Vitamix (or other high powered blender) which makes everything exceptionally smooth, although it's more effort.
Judith Ginsberg says
This was so good, my husband loved it. Made enough to freeze a batch for another meal.
Dana Shrager says
Fantastic!