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Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms

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Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms

I don’t know what it says about me that after 5 years of blogging, I can still find vegetables that I’ve never written about (or cooked with, to be honest about it). I’m afraid it means that I get stuck in a rut, using the same tried and true ingredients over and over again, but when I’m feeling a bit more charitable toward myself, I blame it on the local grocery stores, which don’t get a lot of new-to-me produce, and when they do, it’s often old and sickly-looking from lack of anyone buying it regularly. So a combination of these reasons is how parsnips come to make their first appearance on this blog. Oh, how I wish I’d discovered them sooner!

Parsnips look like white carrots, and you want to buy them when they’re all stiff and cream-colored and pert, not floppy and browning and sad. I found the stiff and happily organic kind recently at the local co-op, and a conversation with one of the produce guys convinced me that I should either (a) roast them or (b) make them into soup. Being the raging non-conformist that I am I decided to do both, simultaneously. Before I pureed the roasted parsnips, though, I took a nibble (or three) and discovered that I loved them straight out of the oven, totally unadorned. I had to press on with my planned parsnip soup, though I’m sure that roasted parsnips will be making another appearance on this blog soon.

Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms

And now the bad news: This recipe is not for everyone. Parsnips have a sweet flavor, brought out by roasting, that some people (ahem E) object to in a soup. D and I loved this soup–it grew on D, as his comments went from “interesting” to “good” to “delicious” to “May I finish off the rest of the pot?” The mushrooms add a little earthiness, but if you’re not sure about the sweet, skip this soup and wait for my next parsnip recipe. I promise you won’t have to wait another 5 years.

Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms
5 from 2 votes
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Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms

Old or large parsnips can have a hard core, particularly near the top. If you find that your parsnips are overly woody, cut out and discard the hardest part.
Course Soup
Cuisine Vegan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 175 kcal
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 1 pound parsnips , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 small onion , thinly sliced
  • 1 rib celery (including leaves), chopped
  • 4-5 cups No-Chicken broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper or to taste (white pepper adds spiciness)
  • 1/2 cup great northern beans
  • 6-8 ounces mushrooms , stemmed and sliced
  • 1 green onion , sliced thin
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place the parsnip cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Cut the top off of the head of garlic, just enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place it on a square of aluminum foil, spritz it quickly with a 1/2-second spray of olive oil (optional), and wrap it up. Place it on the baking sheet with the parsnips and put it into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over the parsnips, and cook for 10-15 more minutes until parsnips are tender and just touched with brown. Remove from oven and allow the garlic to cool in its wrapper.
  2. Heat a non-stick saucepan and cook the onion until it’s translucent. Add the celery and cook for a couple minutes more. Add 3 cups of the broth, the parsnips, and the pepper. Squeeze the garlic out of the cloves into the pan. Cook for a few minutes, until parsnips have softened. Add the beans.
  3. Puree the soup in one of two ways: (1)place it into a blender in one or two batches, being careful not to fill more than half full and adding more broth if necessary (preferred), or (2) use a stick blender and carefully blend right in the pan. The smoother you get it, the better, so a Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender is great here. Return the pureed soup to the pan and warm over low heat. If the soup is too thick, add more broth until it reaches your desired consistency. Keep it covered because it will “erupt” from time to time.
  4. Cook the sliced mushrooms in a small non-stick skillet until they soften and release their juices. Season them with salt and add the green onion. Stir most of them into the soup, setting some nice-looking ones aside to use as a garnish. Season with salt and white pepper to taste (careful with the white pepper if you don’t like things spicy!)

Recipe Notes

For a cream of mushroom-type soup, add the mushrooms with the celery and cook until softened. Blend with the other vegetables as directed.

Nutrition Facts
Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 175
% Daily Value*
Sodium 478mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 38g 13%
Dietary Fiber 8.5g 34%
Sugars 7.3g
Protein 7.4g 15%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Other Bloggers Do Parsnips:

Curried Parsnip Soup from Novel Eats
Parsnip Cake at Veganbaking.net (do not look if you’re on a diet!)
Puréed Roasted Parsnips Recipe at Simply Recipes (veganizable)
Parsnip and wild rice mulligatawny by Allotment 2 Kitchen
Slow Cooker Vegan Lentil Parsnip Soup by Geek, Poet, Housewife, Wannabe
Seasonal Spotlight: Parsnips on The Kitchn

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Garlic and parsnips are roasted together and then pureed with white beans for a creamy parsnip soup with no cream, butter, or soy products.

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Comments

  1. stack at home with snow for 3 days and no parsnips but I have all the other ingredients of this gorgeous soup I want to make it, but do you think I can use butternut squash instead of the parsnips?

    Reply

    • Definitely! I love roasted butternut in soups, and I can’t see why it wouldn’t go well with roasted garlic and mushrooms. You may want to change the white pepper to something more aromatic, like curry powder or allspice.

      Reply

  6. Yummmmm! This looks so good…I love mushrooms AND parsnips! I had no idea what a parsnip was until I was studying in England and one of my flatmates roasted some up one night…it was heaven and I fell in love after one bite. They are ridiculously underrated (and unknown!) in this country. I’ll have to try this soup out and post again when I do 🙂

    Reply

  8. I just happen to have way too many parsnips (and mushrooms!) in my fridge. Some of them will be thrown into a very good oriental-style vegan parsnip-weet potato-carrot-stew, but the rest of the parsnips are gonna find their way in that delicious soup of yours. It looks perfect! Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply

  9. I love parsnips! They always make me think of my Gramma. She grew them in her garden and cooked them often. Even in the dead of winter in Ohio, she had special treats waiting in her garden… kale, parsnips, brussels sprouts. Yum!

    Looking forward to trying this soup out!

    Kristi

    Reply

  10. This soup sounds really lovely- especially with the added beans. i do love your recipes Susan- I first discovered your blog when I lived in the States. I’m a Brit and I could never find parsnips in Texas, which was such a shame. It may be because they don’t have really sharp frosts down there- apparently parsnips need that. Here in England (where we have a lot of frosts!) they are a staple part of the diet, especially roast or in soup, but also mashed. For those of you who fancy experimenting with them a bit they also go beautifully with a hint of chilli and / or cumin, especially in a soup. Parsnip and apple soup with cumin is heavenly!

    Reply

  11. Hey, Susan……love your website, and make your recipes all the time.

    Anyway, I have this internal editor that is always popping up when I’m reading things other people have written. I can’t help it. Anyway, if you care to correct it, and you may not, as most everyone who finds this little error will know what you meant, it’s the line where you referred to parsnips as potatoes. For the record, it’s the first time I’ve ever run across a typo on your site, so there! You’re grammatically great! Love your writing style, and your recipes. And, oh yeah, the fact that you’re a Southern girl AND a vegan doesn’t hurt….don’t find too many of those, do ya?

    Rock on!

    Reply

    • Thanks, Joann! I always appreciate it when people point out typos because I cringe when I find them myself, weeks or even years later. I definitely prefer to be alerted right away. I’ll take a look at the post right now to find the error.

      Reply

  15. thank you for actually making a fat free recipe! (many of yours are not, or are too sugary)
    what could i substitute instead of mushrooms? i’m on the candida cleanse and sadly cannot have them :/

    Reply

  16. Thank You Susan! I enjoy eating parsnips and I just bought some so this soup is a welcome sight! I make parsnip veggie root soup often and I think your addition of northern beans sounds lovely! Happy healthy eating.
    Danielle

    Reply

  17. I love parsnips and cook with them on a regular basis. My favorite pairing is parsnip with pear. I made a soup and latkes with this combination and they were spectacular.

    Reply

  18. lovely soup – I am a huge parsnip fan so was pleased to see you are too – and surprised to see they aren’t more common around you – I often roast them in winter and add them to stews – can higly recommend a parsnip, chestnut and orange soup if you are looking for variations or even in a nut roast if you like that sort of thing – you can also substitute them for carrots in carrot cake

    Reply

  20. Roasted parsnips are so addictive! I’ve had them before, and I believe I’ve had parsnip soup, but combining the two is pure genius. I love the idea of a slightly sweet soup. Makes me wish I’d bought the immersion blender I was eyeing in the store today!

    Reply

  22. This soup looks delicious! I’m definitely going to have to try it soon.

    Parsnips are great roasted in strips along with carrots. All the surface area leads to beautiful brown bits on the carrots and parsnips.

    Another great use for parsnips is to mash them in with potatoes. Adds a nice sweetness to something so simple.

    Reply

  23. As a recently-become vegetarian, I have a new appreciation for the power of mushrooms. When I ate meat, I didn’t wanna look at ’em – nevermind the texture. But my girlfriend came up with a mushroom soup that I’d swear is sausage gravy… and what’s better than a big bowl of sausage gravy? (as long as there’ no sausage in it!) http://albioncooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/cream-of-portobello-mushroom-soup-vegan.html
    My tiny, plastic co-writers and I will have to take a run at yours tho’ and see if that other one was just a fluke.

    Reply

  25. Hi Susan,
    I have never eaten parsnips either, but this seems to be a great way to try a new vegetable. I just hope its not radishy, ‘coz I could never develop a liking for radishes.

    thanks,
    pb

    Reply

    • No, I didn’t find it radishy, more carroty, but different. I hope you like it! Tell me what you think it tastes like if you try it.

      Reply

  26. when I`m looking at this I`m really hungry 🙂 with such delicious combo it must be awesome! I`m so glad I found your blog and I`m going to stop by your blog more often 🙂

    Reply

  28. To celebrate that the sun actually shined bright in NJ today, I made this soup! It is a winner! The roasted garlic really enhances the flavor and I am sure it will taste even better tomorrow. Thanks Sue for another wonderful recipe!

    Reply

  29. Hello! I just stumbled across your site and have been looking through several of your delicious looking recipes! Due to a health condition I’m just starting a low fat vegetarian diet, and was feeling slightly discouraged after going through my go-to recipe websites and finding relatively little that fit both of those specifiers. I’m so thrilled to try some of your recipes!! thank you so much for posting so many beautiful ideas!!

    Reply

  30. Susan,
    Your dishes are gorgeous here. Would you ever do a post on your dish collection? Do you collect one item of lots of patterns? It seems that you have so many- but surely you don’t have a whole set of everything that you show in your shoots (?). I’d love to know more! The soup looks delicious too…. 🙂

    Reply

  31. Hello Susan…I’m having great trouble registering with your site, the passwords that are being given don’t seem to work. I’m trying to request permission to put your recipes up on my blog as Im trying to do a diary of meals I’ve cooked over the year and I use alot of yours. I give full credit where its due and post links to the sites where i’ve found them…I have already stated on my blog that yours is my favourtie site…but I’ve just read that you require permission to repost…Help? Please?
    rocketandrosesvegankitchen.blogspot.com
    Please advise? My intention is to pass on the word not steal or take credit for recipes that aren’t mine.
    Best Wishes, Red

    Reply

    • I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble registering. If you still want to try, send me your username and the password you want to use and I’ll set it up for you. My email address is kitchen AT fatfreevegan DOT com.

      I would really appreciate it it you would post only links to the recipes and not the whole recipe. Having recipes appear in more than one place confuses the search engines as to which is the original site and which is the copy, and having my recipes spread around makes it unnecessary for people to visit my site. I put a lot of work into the site itself, as well as the recipe, so I’d like for people to come see it. 🙂 This is a good practice to follow for anyone’s blog, not just mine.

      Reply

      • Thanks for your quick reply. I shall email you the information if thats ok as I’m still having problems this end.

        I’m still very new to this blogging stuff although I have been following yours and a couple of others for some time. So I’m still learning the etiquette as it were. I shall post links in the future.

        And I do realise the hard work you’ve put in and would never disrespect that. Many thanks, Red

        Reply

  32. I made this soup yesterday…delicious!!! I’ve never had parsnips before (actually I don’t think I’ve ever even seen them in Italy) and I really liked them. I had a friend for lunch and he didn’t want to taste it…because he doesn’t like vegetables….useless to say he asked for more than one serving. Do you know how Dr Furhman classifies parsnips in E2L?

    Reply

  37. Hi Susan,
    I’m a vegan and I can’t wait to make this delicious looking soup. However, I’ve haven’t heard or seen “No- chicken broth.” Would vegetable stock or broth work?

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

    • Oops–I should have written that any type of vegetable broth will work. No-Chicken is just a brand of vegetable broth that tastes better than other boxed veg broth (though not really like chicken, fortunately). Any type of vegetable broth will do, and homemade would be even better.

      Reply

  39. THANK YOU for your blog. When I first started ETL, I felt overwhelmed, and it’s so great to come here and know that I can try out some recipes that you’ve made and tried.

    Reply

  40. I tried this soup tonight and must say it was delicious. I pureed all the mushrooms right into the soup. I am looking forward to lunch this week for sure with the leftovers!

    Reply

  41. So good! Perfect marriage of sweet, delicious parsnips and earthy mushrooms. I didn’t puree mine as smoothly, so it doesn’t look quite as pretty as the picture 🙂

    I also tried out my new toasted walnut oil in this to give a hint more depth. I wish I could have included the garlic, but all I saw at the store was $5 for a head. Yeesh.

    Reply

  46. This recipe looks so good that it re-inspired my parsnip-based efforts! I wrote a post about it here: http://my-vegan-blog.blogspot.com/2011/02/with-god-as-my-witness-ill-never-eat.html

    It’s a long hard slog through the parsnip season here in the UK – for those of us who are poor and try to eat local/seasonal produce. Today I happen to have some mushrooms in the fridge, so it’s time to try out your idea!

    Good luck finding a way to make a non-sweet parsnip dish, though – that’s their defining feature! Steaming them is probably the only way forward.

    Reply

  47. This would be a great alternative for my dilemma in making soups for my sick friend. I’m running out of recipes to use and the creativity in me is dying already. Thanks for sharing this recipe. This would be of great help to me and of course, to the stomach of my friend.

    Reply

  48. You did it again, Susan! Thanks for another delicious soup recipe. Everyone loved this and asked for seconds, even the non-vegan kids. Next time, I’ll have to double the batch! I so appreciate all the work you put in to your recipes and your photos are fantastic. I have confidence that your recipes will turn out and often make things for guests without pre-testing them on my own. So far, it has been 100% success. I always turn to your site first when I am trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Thanks again!

    Reply

  49. This was SO good! I made it last night, but instead of using the Great Northern Beans I substituted a roasted head of cauliflower – YUM! 🙂

    Reply

  51. This soup is perfect for a cold winter day, sweet and spicy and thick and warming. It’s also a good way to use up celery leaves. I always end up throwing them away, so I put in all the celery leaves I had and added extra celery as well. Next time I’m going to make twice as many parsnips and eat half by themselves after baking. I had no idea they would be so tasty plain!

    Reply

  52. I roasted parsnips for the first time last night and absolutely loved them! Thanks for this recipe, definitely going to try it. As a new fat-free vegan, I really appreciate your blog.

    Reply

  55. Gorgeous! The first of the seasons parsnips came this week in my veg box so I guess I’ll be getting them for a while now. This is a fabulous way to use them up – and those beans that I overcooked in the pressure cooker!
    Thanks again Susan.

    Reply

  56. I made a batch of your Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms. Our Farmer’s Market has carried boxes of hand-picked wild mushrooms the last couple of weeks and I’ve been looking for inspired ways of eating them (although just plain is fine with me too). Parsnips are also in season. Loved the soup. It did justice to my field-picked mushrooms. Thanks!

    Reply

  57. Mmmmm, parsnips! My German-immigrant grandmother grew tons of these and her favorite way of serving them was to slice them, boil until just barely soft, then fry in a cast-iron pan in just a smidge of butter until the inside of each slice was creamy soft and the outside was browned and crispy on top and bottom. When we visited in fall and winter, she always served them for at least one meal and sent a few pounds home with us. After she moved off the farm, we couldn’t find any parsnips for years. They’ve just started showing up in our local stores in the last five years and, like you, I’ve discovered they also taste wonderful roasted, either alone or as part of a root vegetable mixture.
    Never thought of using them in soup, though, and I’m with D, it had to grow on my a bit, but it’s delicious!

    Reply

  58. I made this tonight! Another Excellent recipe I must say. I can’t wait to make the next offering!
    Thanks , Susan!

    Reply

  59. Beautiful, healthy recipe. Just made it for the first time, and will be making it again!
    I followed the directions exactly. However, I used canned beans, and at the end, added the unused beans (what was left after pureeing 1/2 cup) to the soup without pureeing them. The recipe is great as is, but I like a little something extra to chew and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra 🙂

    Reply

  60. Here in the UK Parsnips are a ubiquitous Winter vegetable. They are usually roasted in butter (by non Vegans!) or used in stews BUT they are delicious steamed. Try them in a vegan bowl…I like them with a Yasai Katsu style curry sauce and some Kale.
    I’m trying this recipe out today as it’s very misty out and it seems an good Autumnal day for soup.

    Reply

  61. Hi. A classic use of parsnips here in NZ is to boil/steam them with carrots and mash the two veggies together. Traditionally this is done with butter, but I’m sure there’s a vegan way to approach it!

    Looking forward to trying this soup.

    Reply

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