🌿 Tarragon Pea Soup 2.0

This isn’t just a pea soup — it’s a nutrient-dense, diabetes-friendly upgrade that blends classic comfort with fresh, vibrant add-ins. The base is a smooth pea and leek soup with tarragon and turmeric, but the garnishes — avocado cubes, red radish slices, broccoli sprouts, hemp seeds, and a touch of ground mustard seed — take it to another level. One blue corn tortilla chip on the side adds just the right amount of crunch.

🥣 Ingredients

1 tsp butter
½ onion, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups water
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
¼ tsp dried tarragon
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp turmeric
½ avocado, cut into small cubes
2 radishes, thinly sliced
¼ cup broccoli sprouts (or more to taste)
½ tsp ground mustard seeds (freshly ground if possible)
2 tsp hemp seeds
Salt & pepper, to taste
Optional: 1–2 blue corn tortilla chips for garnish

👩‍🍳 Instructions

In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add onion and leek; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in peas, water, broth, tarragon, cumin, and turmeric. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Purée with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste and season with salt & pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls and garnish each serving with:
- Avocado cubes
- Sliced red radish
- Broccoli sprouts
- A pinch of ground mustard seeds
- A sprinkle of hemp seeds
Serve warm with 1 blue corn tortilla chip on the side (or crumbled on top).

💚 Nutrition Highlights (per serving, ~4 servings)

Calories: ~145
Protein: ~7 g
Fat: ~8–9 g (mostly healthy fats from avocado + hemp)
Carbs: ~16 g
Fiber: ~7 g
Sodium: ~140–150 mg (with low-sodium broth)

🥑 Why This Soup Works for Diabetes-Friendly Eating

Fiber-rich: Nearly 7 grams per serving helps slow glucose absorption.
Balanced macros: Moderate carbs paired with protein and healthy fats.
Phytochemical boost: Broccoli sprouts + mustard seed = sulforaphane, turmeric + cumin = anti-inflammatory, avocado + hemp = omega-rich fats.
Low sodium: A fraction of the salt of traditional soups when made with low-sodium broth.

I had this cold, and ate it for breakfast, but that is only because I had fixed the soup early this morning (10/02/25). Because of all the garden peas I was trying to add other items that would nudge this back to something more “diabetic friendly,” and it turned out to be delicious on many levels.

I added the hemp seeds at the end and was surprised at how much they added to this dish. I added the cumin & turmeric to punch the flavor. I have been eating a lot of broccoli sprouts with ground mustard seeds in my lunch salads ( sulforaphane production ) and have also begun adding slices of red radish. Currently I can get a good sized bag of red radish, already trimmed of the green tops at Aldi’s. *In previous times, I’ve wanted the tops to see if I can add them to a soup, but it always seems that they go bad (maybe only a day later) before they get to the soup stage. Oh, the Tostitos Organic Blue Corn Tortilla chip is because I had them yesterday for the first time (I recall?) and they were the best blue corn chips I’ve had so far. They are relatively low in sodium, but still provide just the right amount of salt.

I probably had the basic Tarragon Pea & Leek Soup for the first time about 15 years ago. I think I originally bought my Braun MultiQuick setup, with the stick blender, to blend a Curried Apple Soup, but the Tarragon Soup came shortly thereafter. Both of these soups are delicious hot or cold. Unfortunately, the Curried Apple Soup spikes my blood sugar, so I can’t afford to make a bunch of it and then eat it all. *I haven’t had it in a long while, but I used to love to make it and eat it day after day cold.

Recall that the Braun MultiQuick “Combo” provides a stick blender, whisk and the food processor, which I also use to make salsa and hummus.