Easy Asparagus Soup with Dill (Baltic Style)

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This comforting asparagus dill soup is a springtime favorite across Baltic kitchens, combining the bright flavors of fresh asparagus with fragrant dill in a velvety, creamy base. Made with just a handful of simple ingredients you likely have in your pantry, this soup comes together in under 30 minutes and requires no fancy cooking skills. The addition of dill and a swirl of cream gives it that distinctive Baltic flavor, perfect for a light lunch or dinner.

Have you tried making Baltic soups before? Try this one, and you will see how full of flavor and refreshing they are. Today I’ll guide you through creating this cafe-worthy soup at home, sharing essential tips for perfectly cooked asparagus, the best ingredients to use, and various serving suggestions that honor Baltic culinary traditions.

Growing up, my Latvian mother and grandmother used dill in practically everything. This comforting cream of asparagus soup brings back memories of my parents’ kitchen, where dill seasoned everything from pickles to potatoes, and especially soups. While dill appears in cuisines worldwide, Latvians and our Baltic neighbors have truly mastered the art of using this delicate herb to transform simple ingredients into something comforting and delicious.

Why You’ll Love This Asparagus Dill Soup Recipe:

• A simple recipe that takes just 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish
• Traditional Baltic flavors that are crisp and refreshing, perfect for hot summer days (or for any time of year 😉)
• Great light lunch or dinner
• Easy to make ahead
• Comfort Food – Creamy, smooth texture makes this asparagus soup with dill wonderfully comforting and satisfying.

Can you tell from the photo that this soup is quite thick? Not super think, but not runny either. Just perfect. You can adjust the thickness and creaminess by adding more or less potatoes (and adding more or less water).

Looking for some more asparagus recipe ideas? Be sure to check out my asparagus and broccoli soup, my bacon and asparagus soup recipe and my asparagus ricotta quiche with phyllo dough recipe.

Asparagus Dill Soup Ingredients:

• Fresh asparagus – fresh is best, but you can also use frozen
• Onion
• Potato – at least one, up to three, I used two.
• Celery – adds depth to the soup
• Lemon juice and zest
• Olive oil or butter
• Water
• Heavy cream
• Fresh Dill (or dried)
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley – for garnish

Substitutions

• Asparagus: Fresh is best, but you can use frozen. But not canned, it really will not taste the same.
• Onion: Yellow onion, or any other color, or shallot will work as well.
• Olive oil: You can use butter, which is even yummier.
• Lemon juice and zest: If you don’t have any, the recipe will still work.
• Potato: Any kind is fine. I tend to use red ones, just because my mother and grandmother used them the most often. The more potatoes you use, the creamier and heartier the soup.
• Celery: I use celery, garlic and onion to add depth to the soup. I try to avoid using vegetable and chicken broth and cubes, as I find they can overpower the delicate taste of asparagus. But if you don’t have any celery and garlic, it’s fine to add a bit of vegetable or chicken stock.

Additions

• Potato chunks can be added to make the soup more substantial.
• Chives, parsley and the green part of spring onions can also be added to the soup for garnish.

Step by Step Instructions:

First you want to prepare the base of the soup, so you will need to finely chop the onion, garlic and celery stalk.

Then, you will want to wash the asparagus spears and either snap off wooden ends or peel the ends with a vegetable peeler. Cut the asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces.

Peel potatoes and chop into smaller pieces.

In a large pot, melt oil or butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Then, add garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.

Finally, add water and potato to the soup pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until potato starts to soften.

Add asparagus and simmer on low heat until asparagus is tender, but still nice and green, about 4–5 minutes.

Scoop out about 10 asparagus tops to use as garnish and place in a small side dish. Once you have blended the soup, you will add them back in.

Add the lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and 2/3 of the fresh dill to the soup pot.

Using a hand-held immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor) purée soup until smooth.

Stir in heavy cream and fresh dill and the asparagus heads you scooped out previously. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat through but do not boil.

Serve hot, garnished with a dollop of extra cream or sour cream and extra fresh dill.

Tips and Notes

• Choose bright green asparagus with tight, compact heads. They taste the freshest.
• Don’t overcook the asparagus. Once it is soft and tender, which is about 4-5 minutes after putting it into the boiling water, it is done. This will depend on the size of your asparagus, so you will need to keep an eye on it.
• Don’t skip trimming the woody ends, either by cutting them off or peeling the ends.
• Use fresh dill for the best flavor, but you can absolutely use dried dill. It is one of those herbs that does actually taste good when dried.
• Blend thoroughly for the smoothest texture.
• Don’t boil the soup after adding cream to prevent curdling.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with sourdough bread or dark rye bread, a Baltic staple.
• Add a hard-boiled egg, diced, as garnish.
• Pair with smoked fish on the side. This soup goes really well with smoked salmon finger sandwiches.

FAQ for Asparagus Dill Soup

Out and About

We live near Raymond Island, Victoria, which is a refuge for Koala’s. We went there a few weeks ago and spotted some kookaburras in the tree. They looked so beautiful, I thought I would share them here. Nothing to do with asparagus soup of course, but they are lovely 😀

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