When my daughters were little and obsessed with Tangled, I decided to try my hand at Hazelnut Soup. Since I’m both an expert at soup and little girls, this went over REALLY well. They were thrilled and loved eating Rapunzel’s favorite soup!
This soup is a creamy vegetarian soup that’s light, yet filling. If you’ve never had parsnips, they’re relatively easy to find. They look like giant white carrots and have a creamy, sweet flavor. This soup stands well on it own, but I’ll show you how to dress it up if you like! (Pesto is delicious in it!)
If you have a high powered blender (like a Vita-Mix or a Blendtec) this recipe will be a lot easier than if you don’t. Just a heads up.
What is Hazelnut Soup?
So what does this soup taste like? It's hard to explain.
Parsnips, leeks, and shallots are milder, more sophisticated versions of carrots/potatoes, onions, and garlic (respectively) so you could compare this to a lighter, fancier potato soup. The hazelnuts (which are strained out after the soup is pureed), add a unique flavor. I think this would be a really nice soup course at a dinner party.
Or dinner for a family with pre-school aged, Rapunzel-obsessed girls. (Versatility!)
Hazelnut Parsnip Soup Ingredients
- Hazelnuts
- Shallots
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Salt
- Pepper
- Butter
- Cornstarch
- Vegetable or chicken broth
- Half-and-half or heavy cream
How to make Hazelnut Soup (from Tangled!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Roast hazelnuts on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Once they're finished, dump them into a clean kitchen towel and "rough them up" to remove most of the skins. If they don't all come off, it's fine.
- In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter and saute the chopped vegetables for 10-15 minutes, until softened. Stir in the cornstarch (or flour, if using), salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cook for a minute or so, then add water, chicken broth, and 1 cup of the roasted hazelnuts.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-loaw and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Use a high power blender to blend the soup in batches until smooth. If you don't have a powerful blender, use an immersion blender to blend the soup into a smooth soup, then strain the soup through a sieve.
- Return the strained soup to the stove in a clean pot (or simply rinse out the other pot if the leftover bits don’t bother you). Add the half-and-half (or cream, if using) and heat through.
- Taste and adjust the flavor with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Chop the remaining ½ cup of roasted hazelnuts and use as garnish.
If you have a high-powered blender, like a Blendtec, you don't have to strain it at the end, which makes it much easier to make.
I think Rapunzel has really great taste in soup. My girls (3 and 4) thought so, too. They ate two bowls each for dinner and two more for lunch the next day. Score for mom.
How to serve this Hazelnut Soup Recipe
We normally just dish up a large bowl and garnish with some more hazelnuts, but you could serve with croutons or sourdough bread.
More creamy blended soup recipes!
If you like this soup, you'll love these other creamy, blended soups!
If you're a fan of butternut squash try my Indian-style Butternut Squash Soup or my Easy Chipotle-Lime Squash Soup recipes.
Similar to this hazelnut soup, this Garlic-Almond Soup with Basil Pesto has blended almonds to make it thicker and richer! The pesto is a PERFECT garnish and would be great in my hazelnut soup as well!
Up until recently, my kids totally thought this Creamy Paleo Mushroom Soup was actually "Creamy Bacon Soup". A little sprinkle of bacon and cheese crisps do make this soup even more incredible.
Keto Roasted Tomato Jalapeno Cheddar Soup is another keto-friendly soup with a spicy twist!
This oldie recipe -- Azteca Squash Soup with Chorizo -- is one of my favorites to use up squash in the winter!
Ok, hands-down, my favorite soup to make in the fall -- Apple-Squash Soup with Bacon. It's like eating cheese fondue. It's so delicious!
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Hazelnut Soup (from Tangled)
This creamy, light hazelnut soup is based on a soup from Tangled -- Rapunzel's favorite! My little girls loved the association and licked their bowls clean.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole hazelnuts
- 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium leeks (whites only), chopped
- 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 5 tablespoon butter
- 1 T cornstarch (or 2 T all-purpose flour)
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roast hazelnuts on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Once they're finished, dump them into a clean kitchen towel and "rough them up" to remove most of the skins. If they don't all come off, it's fine.
- In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter and saute the chopped vegetables for 10-15 minutes, until softened. Stir in the cornstarch (or flour, if using), salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cook for a minute or so, then add water, chicken broth, and 1 cup of the roasted hazelnuts.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-loaw and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Use a high power blender to blend the soup in batches until smooth. If you don't have a powerful blender, use an immersion blender to blend the soup into a smooth soup, then strain the soup through a sieve.
- Return the strained soup to the stove in a clean pot (or simply rinse out the other pot if the leftover bits bother you). Add the half-and-half (or cream, if using) and heat through.
- Taste and adjust the flavor with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Chop the remaining ½ cup of roasted hazelnuts and use as garnish.
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