Don't throw out the woody ends of your asparagus. Save them and use them to make a broth as a basis for a delicious soup with potatoes. Can be made in the Instant Pot.
📋 What's New In This Post (6/3/25) - Added a FAQ section as well as sharing what I use to freeze leftover soup.
What to Do with Asparagus Ends?
If there is one thing I hate it is wasting food.
Anytime you waste food it's like emptying your wallet into the trash.
Often with produce you have parts of the fruit or vegetable you are not going to eat. I will never eat an apple core or the peel of an orange or outer layers of an onion.
What about the ends of asparagus? Those woody ends that either end up in the trash or at least hopefully in your compost pile.
Is there a better fate for them?
Should I try to choke them down? I think they are definitely usable in a way that is delicious and will keep you from spending an hour flossing asparagus strains out of your teeth.
Make stock for soup!
Over the years I have worked on improving the soup recipe. It wasn't that appetizing of a color when I first made it so I decided adding some spinach to it would make it look much more appetizing.
I also found another use for the broth that I really like - Asparagus Rice Pilaf.
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Ingredients
To get down to the basis of the soup. It's a potato soup that is made with a broth that is made from the ends of asparagus. I have add some other things to make the soup even better. Here is what you will need.
- Asparagus - You’ll need about 2 to 3 bunches of asparagus ends. I typically use 30 to 40 stem ends to make my stock. If you don’t have enough right away—or if you simply want to make the soup later—you can freeze the ends until you're ready. Freezing won’t affect the asparagus, since you'll be boiling it for quite a while anyway. The best asparagus is going to be locally grown asparagus available in the spring time.
- Gold potatoes - In this soup, I like to go with gold potatoes. They bring a certain buttery flavor to the soup.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds- Asparagus ends aren't the only thing you are finding a use for - I love using the rinds from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. When this cheese is made, there is an outer rind that is not edible. The rinds can be saved to added to soup while cooking. This extracts the flavor. You can find it in many cheese shops or stores that cut their own Parmigiano-Reggiano. I usually get it from a Kroger owned store that has a Murry's cheese section in it.
- Baby spinach or watercress - At the end of the cooking you can just throw in some baby spinach by the handful. This past year, I tried using watercress - a green that is known for it's spicy, slightly peppery flavor. I liked it over the spinach, but it's a lot harder to find. But the good thing is that it's in season at the same time as asparagus.
The soup is great on it's own however I think it become even more special if you add a few toppings. Bacon is my favorite. If you want to continue the scrap theme of this soup, buy the packs of piecs and ends of bacon that some stores sell. These aren't full strips of bacon which is fine here as you are going to crumble it anyway, plus this type of bacon is normally cheaper.
I also like to save some tips from cooking asparagus to add to the top of the soup along with heavy cream, sour cream, or Mexican crema.
Tips for Making the Stock
To make the soup you are going to use the ends to make a broth which then you can add potatoes and other seasonings to.
I saved up about 40 or so ends from 2 bunches of asparagus I purchased. Then got out pot, covered them completely with water and boiled them until they were the mush you see in the picture below.
You want to have a smooth stock when you are done so it's best to pour the stock into another pot or large bowl with a sieve on top to catch all the asparagus mush and the rinds. You don't want any of those tough fibers in your finished soup. Now your stock is ready to make into soup.
Tips for Freezing Leftovers
Got leftover soup you don’t think you’ll eat in time? Freeze it! I tested this recently and found that it freezes really well. Last fall, I won some Souper Cubes at a conference and used them to freeze the soup. These silicone containers freeze food into perfect square portions—1 or 2 cups each. Everything I’ve frozen in them has popped out with no problem.
FAQ
Asparagus End Broth Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 30-40 asparagus ends about 2 inches a piece
- 3-4 medium sized Russset potatoes or 4-6 Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1-2 Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 handfuls baby spinach or watercress optional
- crumbled bacon optional
- sour cream or crema optional
Instructions
- Place asparagus ends and Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds into a pot. Cover with at least 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer. Cook until the asparagus can be mashed with a potato masher about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Strain out the ends and rinds through a mesh strainer.
- Add the potatoes. Bring back to a boil. Then simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- If adding spinach or watercress add now and stir until wilted.
- Blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth or leave some chunks.
- Season with salt and pepper. If you want top with crumbled bacon and sour cream or crema.
Notes
- Place your asparagus ends in the Instant Pot and cover with water.
- Cook for 10 minutes. Allow for natural release.
- Remove all the asparagus ends.
- Add the potatoes. Set the pot to saute to bring to a boil.
- Cook until the potatoes are done. Add in spinach if using.
- Blend with a stick/immersion blender.
Jenn
Excellent! Tried this a bit worried but it was terrific! Added fresh chives and green onions a few times too. Thanks!
Eric Samuelson
Great choice adding the chives and onions. I am all about upping the flavor.