Creamy Parsnip Pear Soup (Printable)

Silky blend of roasted parsnips and pears with rich cream and crunchy walnut topping.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables & Fruit

01 - 1.1 lb parsnips, peeled and chopped
02 - 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
03 - 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Dairy & Broth

05 - 3 1/8 cups vegetable broth
06 - 1/2 cup heavy cream or unsweetened coconut cream
07 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter

→ Seasonings

08 - 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
09 - 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
10 - 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus additional to taste

→ Toppings

11 - 1.75 oz walnuts, roughly chopped and lightly toasted
12 - 1 tbsp fresh chives or parsley, chopped (optional)

# How to Make It:

01 - Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until softened.
02 - Add chopped parsnips and pears to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to combine flavors.
03 - Stir in ground nutmeg, white pepper, and sea salt. Pour in vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
04 - Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until parsnips are very tender.
05 - Remove from heat. Blend the soup until smooth using an immersion blender or by working in batches with a countertop blender.
06 - Stir in heavy cream or coconut cream. Adjust seasoning as needed to taste.
07 - Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with toasted walnuts and fresh herbs if desired.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes like autumn in a bowl, but works beautifully any time you want something warm and elegant without hours of fussing.
  • The contrast between the silky soup and crunchy toasted walnuts creates a textural magic that keeps each spoonful interesting.
  • It comes together in under an hour and somehow feels fancy enough for dinner guests, yet simple enough for a quiet weeknight meal.
02 -
  • Blend the soup only when it has cooled slightly if using a regular blender—I learned this the hard way when hot soup exploded all over my kitchen ceiling.
  • Tasting the pears before you buy them changes everything; a mealy pear will ruin the delicate sweetness of this soup, so taste first or wait for another season.
  • Don't skip toasting the walnuts yourself—it takes five minutes in a dry pan and transforms them from forgettable to absolutely essential to the whole dish.
03 -
  • The key to silky texture is cooking the parsnips until they're actually very tender, not just soft—they should break apart easily when you press them with a spoon.
  • Tasting and adjusting seasoning after blending makes the difference between a soup that's good and one that tastes like you spent hours on it when you really didn't.

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