Mary Berry’s parsnip soup is a creamy, honey-glazed soup made with 900g of parsnips, onions, celery, leek and vegetable stock, finished with double cream. The parsnips are fried with honey until caramelised before the stock goes in, which takes about 30 minutes from start to bowl.
Berry calls this recipe “creamy and luxurious” in Cooks Up a Feast (2019), and she gives quantities for both 6 and 12 servings in the same recipe. That doubling detail is rare in her books and makes this one especially useful for Christmas entertaining or buffet lunches.
The step that sets this apart from every other parsnip soup is caramelising the vegetables with honey before adding the stock. Berry fries the parsnips, onions, celery and leek on high heat, stirs in the honey, then keeps them frying for 4-5 minutes “until the vegetables are becoming golden brown and caramelized.” That browning builds a sweetness and depth you can’t get from boiling raw parsnips in stock.
Mary Berry Parsnip Soup Recipe
Course: SoupsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes30
minutes275
kcal40
minutesBerry’s Honey-Glazed Parsnip Soup from Cooks Up a Feast (2019), with caramelised parsnips, honey glaze and double cream. Quantities given for both 6 and 12 servings, with a prepare ahead note for making up to 2 days in advance.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
900g (2 lb) parsnips, roughly chopped
2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 celery sticks, sliced
1 leek, roughly chopped
1½ tbsp runny honey
1.4 litres (2½ pints) vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150ml (5 fl oz) double cream
Directions
- Fry the vegetables: Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the parsnips, onions, celery and leek, and fry over a high heat for a few minutes. Stir in the honey and fry for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are becoming golden brown and caramelised.
- Simmer: Add the stock and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a lid, lower the heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes (35-40 minutes for 12) or until the parsnips are completely tender.
- Blend: Transfer to a food processor or blender and whizz until completely smooth.
- Finish: Return to the pan to reheat, stir in the cream, and check the seasoning. Serve piping hot.
Notes
- Serves 12: 2 tbsp oil, 1.5kg parsnips, 4 onions, 8 celery sticks, 2 leeks, 3 tbsp honey, 2.8 litres stock, 300ml cream.
FAQs
Can I make this soup ahead of time?
Berry’s prepare ahead note says the soup can be made up to 2 days ahead, but only to the end of the blending step before adding the cream. It also freezes well at that stage for up to 1 month. Stir in the cream when you reheat it.
I always make soup the day before if I’m serving it for a dinner party. The flavour deepens overnight in the fridge and it means one less thing to do on the day. Reheat gently on the hob and don’t let it boil once the cream is in, or it can split.
What is the difference between Berry’s three parsnip soups?
Berry has three distinct parsnip soups across her books. This Honey-Glazed version from Cooks Up a Feast (2019) is the richest, with caramelised vegetables, honey and double cream. It’s her most classic British approach.
Her Curried Parsnip Soup in the Cookery Course (2015) is lighter, using Madras curry powder, flour for thickening and no cream. She credits food writer Jane Grigson as the inspiration and tops it with coriander yogurt instead of cream. Her third version in Everyday (2017) is the most unusual, a Parsnip, Coconut and Lemon Grass Soup with Thai red curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce. Three very different soups from the same root vegetable.
Can I use curry powder in this soup instead of honey?
Berry’s Curried Parsnip Soup in the Cookery Course (2015) does exactly that. She uses 1 teaspoon of Madras curry powder with 500g of parsnips, frying it with the onion before adding flour and stock. She also adds a squeeze of lemon juice at the end, which sharpens the flavour nicely.
If you want both, add ½ teaspoon of curry powder at the honey stage in this recipe. The sweetness of the honey and warmth of the spice work well together. Berry pairs parsnip with curry in one book and honey in another, so she clearly sees both as natural partners for the vegetable.
Should I use a hand blender or a food processor?
Berry uses both across her soup recipes. For this one in Cooks Up a Feast she says to transfer to a food processor or blender. In Everyday (2017), she says you can use “a hand blender or in a free-standing blender or food processor” for her Parsnip, Coconut and Lemon Grass Soup.
A hand blender is easier because you blend in the pan without transferring hot liquid. A food processor gives a smoother finish because it runs at higher speed. I use a hand blender for weeknight soups and the food processor when I want the texture silky smooth for guests.
Why does Berry caramelise the parsnips with honey first?
Parsnips are already one of the sweetest root vegetables, and frying them on high heat with honey concentrates that natural sugar. The browning creates a toffee-like depth that boiling alone can’t produce. Berry fries for a full 4-5 minutes at this stage, which is longer than most soup recipes allow.
In her Everyday (2017) Parsnip Coconut soup she uses a similar technique, frying the parsnips until “starting to brown” before adding the liquid. Browning first is a pattern across her soup recipes and it’s the reason her soups taste richer than the usual boil-and-blend approach.
