Brussels Sprouts Soup

A creamy and delicious soup prepared with the help of a few aromatic vegetables. Love them or hate them, Brussels Sprouts Soup really is a dish for everyone, because if you don’t tell them, they won’t know!

I think it was the United States military who adopted the phrase ‘don’t ask; don’t tell’ during the Clinton days back in the 90s. Before you send me emails about that, I know that it was applied and used to protect homosexuals in the military. I’m borrowing it for this Brussels Sprouts Soup parable.

Let’s just get one thing out of the way. This soup does not look overly appealing. I get it. I spent hours trying to think of ways to make it look better. The best I could come up with was new soup bowls, some bacon, and some cheese. I get that the soup looks like mushy peas, but the taste is absolutely phenomenal!

If you hate Brussels sprouts, I’m begging you to give them one more try. I love them, so the soup was bound to be good for me. But, when the most die-hard sprout hater in our household responds with “not bad,” it’s a huge win!

BRUSSELS SPROUTS RECIPES

McKenna cannot stand them. In fact, she doesn’t even want a bowl of them near her at the dinner table. But, I begged her to try this soup. Did she eat a bowl full? No. But, she didn’t spit it out either. She said “it’s not bad,” but wouldn’t try anymore. Not bad from someone who absolutely despises them so much as she does, is a testament to how good this soup is!

John.e and I love recipes with Brussels sprouts. In fact, I just made a carbonara with them and it was amazing. Come to think of it, McKenna ate that too. (Again, I didn’t tell her there were Brussels sprouts in it!) Personally, I loved the Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw, but my all-time favourite is the Spicy Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts with Corn and Caramelized Onions. Wow!

Someone once told me that Brussels sprouts are only good when cooked with bacon. I love bacon, but I never cook bacon with my sprouts. In fact, the first time I paired the two together was in this soup. And, I only used the bacon as a topping!

This post is about Brussels Sprouts Soup, so instead of reminiscing about old sprouts recipes, let’s talk about this one!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Brussels Sprouts – You can use fresh, but I recommend using frozen. Every grocery store sells them. They’re cleaned and trimmed and ready to go. If you want to use fresh, you will need to cook them longer, but we’ll get to that later.
• Onion – White or yellow onion will do. It’s one of the aromatics I mentioned earlier.
• Garlic – The other aromatic; it really adds great flavour to this rather simple soup.
• Vegetable Stock – Use low sodium. Sometimes, store-bought stock can be way too salty. If you’re not concerned about this soup being vegetarian or vegan, you can use chicken stock.
• Dried Thyme – Another aromatic, this one adds that simmered-all-day, homemade flavour.

HOW TO MAKE BRUSSELS SPROUTS SOUP

Add the olive oil, onions, salt, and ground black pepper to a heavy-bottomed pot. Over medium heat, cook the onions for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic. Stir into the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the stock; add the dried thyme, and add the Brussels sprouts. Stir to combine.

Once the soup comes to a low boil, reduce heat to medium-low, place a lid on the pot and cook for 20 minutes. Check to see if the sprouts are fork-tender. This mostly applies if you used fresh Brussels Sprouts. Frozen sprouts will be fully cooked at this point.

Transfer the soup to a blender and puree. Or, use a hand-held immersion blender to puree the soup. Be careful! The soup is hot and will burn if it splatters onto your skin. Once pureed, taste for seasoning. Serve immediately. Add toppings of choice.

TIPS AND TRICKS

First of all, you can easily freeze this soup and reheat it later. Allow the soup to fully cool before transferring it to a freezer-friendly container. Frozen soup will keep fresh for three months.

To use fresh Brussels sprouts instead of frozen, please take the following steps. Wash them and then trim the bottom core from each sprout. Discard the stem. Larger sprouts should be halved or even quartered. You will greatly speed up cooking time if you halve all of them.

Because cooking fresh Brussels sprouts will take longer, you will lose some of the stock. If using fresh sprouts, add one additional cup of vegetable stock.

THIS SOUP IS VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN-FRIENDLY!

Or, at least it is until you add toppings! I served the soup with toppings on the side so that everyone could pick and choose for themselves. If you’re not concerned about the soup being vegetarian or vegan, I have a great tip for you.

When you add the soup to the blender, add in eight ounces of cream cheese that you have cubed. Puree it into the hot soup. It becomes silky smooth and creamy.

Additionally, you can stir in shredded cheese or add the crumbled bacon right into the pot after the soup has been pureed.