Anna Louise Pea and mint soup is the fastest properly good soup on this site. Twenty minutes from start to bowl, using ingredients that are available year-round from the freezer, and producing something that looks genuinely beautiful — that vivid, bright green in a white bowl — and tastes completely fresh and satisfying.
Frozen peas are the right ingredient here. This is one of the few recipes where frozen genuinely produces a better result than fresh — frozen peas are processed within hours of picking at peak sweetness and give a more consistent, more vibrant result than podded fresh peas, which can be starchy and dull unless used immediately after picking.
The mint gives the soup its character — it is not decoration, it is essential. Added off the heat immediately before blending to preserve its vivid fresh flavour, it turns a pleasant pea soup into something that genuinely tastes of spring regardless of what time of year you make it.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Pea and Mint Soup
For the Soup
- 40g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 medium potato (about 175g), peeled and roughly chopped
- 900ml good quality vegetable or chicken stock
- 600g frozen peas
- A generous handful of fresh mint leaves — about 20 to 25 leaves
- 100ml double cream
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
To Serve
- A swirl of double cream or crème fraîche
- A few fresh mint leaves
- A drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Crusty bread
How to Make Mary Berry Pea and Mint Soup
Step 1 — Soften the Base
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for eight minutes until completely soft — no colour. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the potato and stir to combine.
Step 2 — Add Stock and Cook the Potato
Pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for twelve to fifteen minutes until the potato is completely tender.
Step 3 — Add the Peas
Add the frozen peas directly from frozen. Bring back to the boil and cook for exactly two minutes — no longer. The peas need to be cooked through but still brilliantly green.
Step 4 — Add the Mint and Blend Immediately
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the fresh mint leaves. Blend immediately — two full minutes with a stick blender or in batches in a standard blender. The moment the mint hits the hot soup it begins to lose its colour and freshness. Blend without delay.
Step 5 — Finish and Season
Return to a gentle heat. Stir in the double cream and lemon juice. Warm through — do not boil. Taste and season generously with salt and white pepper.
Step 6 — Serve
Ladle into warm bowls. Swirl cream over the surface. Add a few fresh mint leaves. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately with crusty bread.
My Top Tips For Perfect Pea and Mint Soup
Use frozen peas — not fresh. Frozen peas give a more consistently sweet, more consistently green result than fresh podded peas from the supermarket. They can go straight from the freezer into the hot stock.
Add mint off the heat and blend immediately. Mint added to a simmering liquid loses its fresh, vivid flavour within seconds. Add it the moment the pan comes off the heat and blend without delay.
The potato gives body without heaviness. One medium potato thickens the soup to a proper consistency without making it stodgy. Without it the soup can be slightly thin and watery.
White pepper not black. Black pepper specks in a vivid green soup look messy and detract from the appearance. White pepper gives clean warmth invisibly.
Serve immediately. Pea and mint soup loses its vivid colour quickly — blended pea soup in particular fades from bright green to olive green within twenty to thirty minutes. Serve as soon as it is made.
Serving Suggestions
As a starter for a spring dinner party — it looks stunning in white bowls. As a quick weekday lunch with crusty bread. Chilled as a summer soup — add a little extra cream and serve cold in small glasses.
How to Store Pea and Mint Soup
In the fridge: Store for up to 2 days. The colour dulls but the flavour remains excellent. Reheat very gently.
In the freezer: Freeze before adding cream for up to 3 months. Add cream fresh when reheating.
Mary Berry Pea and Mint Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Melt butter with oil over medium heat. Cook onion 8 minutes — no colour. Add garlic — 1 minute. Add potato — stir.
- Add stock. Bring to boil. Simmer 12–15 minutes until potato is completely tender.
- Add frozen peas. Bring back to the boil. Cook exactly 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat immediately. Add mint leaves. Blend completely smooth — 2 full minutes without delay.
- Return to gentle heat. Add cream and lemon juice. Warm through — do not boil. Season with salt and white pepper.
- Ladle into warm bowls. Swirl cream. Add mint leaves and olive oil drizzle. Serve immediately.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use dried mint?
No — dried mint gives a flat, slightly medicinal flavour completely different from the fresh, vivid character of fresh mint. Fresh mint only for this soup.
Can I make this vegan?
Yes — use olive oil instead of butter and oat cream instead of double cream. The colour and flavour are identical.
Can I add croutons?
Yes — small cubes of sourdough fried in butter and seasoned with salt are an excellent garnish alongside the cream swirl.
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