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A cool and creamy, dairy free soup that’s perfect for summer. This Cold Cucumber Soup is easily in a blender in just minutes. Simply blend, chill, and serve!
The kids might be going back to school this week, but we’ve got plenty of hot summer days ahead. Easy recipes to cool us down are still a must.
This Easy Watermelon Blender Juice is a favorite, as is this Tart Cherry Sparkling Lemonade.
As far as dinners go, we’ve been enjoying lots of this cucumber quinoa salad and these 15 minute burgers.
One of my favorites to reach for at lunchtime is this cool and creamy Cold Cucumber Soup. It’s so light and fresh – perfect for using up all of those garden cucumbers. It’s an excellent starter for a heartier meal, too.
Are Cucumbers Good For You
Cucumbers are often overlooked when discussing the most nutrient dense vegetables. Technically they are classified as a fruit, though most would refer to them as a vegetable for culinary purposes. And although they might not boast quite as many nutrients as their cruciferous buddies, cucumbers are still full of health promoting goodness.
You’ll find vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B1, and fiber in these slender green beauties. They are also rich in antioxidants.
Because cucumbers are made up of mostly water, they are low in calories and fat, and are extremely hydrating. This makes cucumbers a potentially great choice for weight loss.
Sliced cucumber rounds make great appetizers with your favorite dip – like my Cucumber Bites with Sun Dried Tomato Spread.
Cucumbers can even be good for your skin. Not only can eating healthy fruits and vegetables, like this Cold Cucumber Soup, make your skin glow, but sliced cucumbers on your closed eyelids may help to reduce puffiness and swelling.
Why Are Cucumbers Bitter
Cucumbers contain cucurbitacins, which are organic compounds naturally produced by the plant, and can cause a bitter taste.
Generally, the cucumbers you find in your local grocery store won’t have much bitterness as they are purposely grown and selected to taste their best. But garden cucumbers, if not grown in perfect conditions, can definitely have a slight bitterness.
The bitterness, if any, will be mostly found on the skin and stem end of the cucumber. Slicing off the ends and then peeling the skin from flower end to stem end should take care of removing any bitterness.
You could even go one step further and rinse your peeler after every swipe to make sure you aren’t dragging that bitterness from the stem end back onto the vegetable.
For this cold cucumber soup recipe, I added a sweet apple to help balance the tart lime and herby basil. It also helps to counteract any bitterness that the cucumbers might have.
We are also removing the seeds of the cucumber to ensure it blends perfectly! I like to use seedless English Cucumbers. They aren’t actually seedless, but the seeds are smaller and more tender than a lot of other varieties. There are also fewer of the seeds in each vegetable, leaving more of the cucumber flesh to enjoy.
Though, your average garden cucumber works perfectly, too!
Blender Soup Recipe
Like I said, summer is meant for quick and easy recipes, and this Cold Cucumber Soup recipe ticks that box.
It’s made fully in a blender in just a few short minutes. Personally, I love to use my high speed Vitamix blender, but an immersion blender in a soup pot or large mixing bowl, or a food processor would work as well.
If you don’t have a well working blender and your soup doesn’t get perfectly smooth, try running it through a fine mesh sieve before serving.
How to Make Cold Cucumber Soup
This chilled soup couldn’t be easier to make. Just chop all of your ingredients and add them to the blender.
Carefully transfer the blended soup to an airtight container and stick in the fridge for an hour or two to chill.
You could certainly eat it right away, if you wish, but I prefer it definitely on the chilled side.
I like to garnish this Cold Cucumber Soup with diced red pepper, slivered almonds, and of course, more diced cucumber.
The red pepper and almond inspiration came from a local farm to table restaurant in a suburb of Minneapolis that now escapes my mind. We stopped in for lunch during the summer of 2017 while on vacation and I ordered their Chilled Cucumber Soup, which came with garnishes of diced red peppers and almonds. It’s taken me over a year, but I finally recreated that dreamy deliciousness!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.
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For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!
Cold Cucumber Soup
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 2 English cucumbers peeled, seeded, & chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves
- 2 green onions
- 1 sweet apple peeled & cored (I used a Red Delicious)
- juice of ½ lime
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or to taste
- water to thin optional, if needed
For the garnish:
- diced cucumber
- diced red pepper
- slivered almonds
Instructions
- Place all of the soup ingredients into a high speed blender and purée until smooth. Add water (or additional almond milk) to thin, if needed.
- Carefully transfer to an airtight container and place in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours to chill.
- Once chilled, serve garnished with diced cucumber, red peppers, and silvered almonds.
Notes
Storage/Freezing Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. You can also freeze this soup. Transfer the soup to a freezer safe container or plastic bag. It should keep well for up to 3 months. You may need to re-blend it after thawing for the best texture.
*Nutrition facts calculated without garnishes.
Aliza says
Please help! The garlic I used made the soup too strong. Any tips on how to subdue the taste?
Jenn Sebestyen says
Oh, I’m so sorry! Do you have fresh parsley. You can try blending again with a handful of parsley. Or add a little lemon juice or maybe a splash of balsamic. You can also double the recipe, but skip the garlic in the second batch and then mix them together to dilute that garlic flavor. Good luck!
Jilly_K says
While I’m not a vegan, I’ve been having gallbladder issues lately (oh the pain!) so am on a self-imposed liquid diet for the time being. This means no meat, no fats or oils, nothing spicy, and no dairy. I happened upon your recipe which uses almond milk–yay! I made a version of this recipe (with a few embellishments), but it was a bit thin, so added a ripe avocado, and it turned out great! (I also doubled the lime/lemon juice as well). Definitely will check out your other recipes! (already very curious about the dried tomato dip!)
Jenn Sebestyen says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! Avocado sounds like a delicious addition. Let me know if you try anything else. And I hope you feel better soon!
Carol says
I just tried making this cucumber soup with garden cucumbers- don’t know why but there’s a bitterness- took out all the seeds as instructed. I did use regular milk- tried adding more apples and some honey to it. Anything else I could do? Hate to waste it!! Maybe more basil leaves contributed to it? Any ideas would be appreciated!
Jenn Sebestyen says
Hi, Carol. Did you peel the cucumbers? If so, it may just be that your cucumbers were extra bitter. Basil can sometimes have a bitter flavor, too, if the plants are overgrown. Try adding a pinch more salt and stirring well. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil might help, as well. Let me know if that works!
Ben Weiss says
Perhaps this will work: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/trick-for-avoiding-bitter-cucumbers-article
Jenn Sebestyen says
Thanks for the info!
Chris Koponen says
We are having a very warm evening up in the Northwest and so I tried this cold soup for the first time! It is delicious! I doubled the garlic because I like extra heat plus I used a whole limes worth of juice and I left the basil out. (Forgot to buy at the store). Also, i only peeled ONE of the organic cucumbers. Will be making this again! Great leftovers for tomorrow too! TY!
Jenn Sebestyen says
Thank you, Chris! So glad you are enjoying it. And love you added extra lime…I love lime!
Leros says
Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing!
Jenn S. says
Hope you love it!
Cheyenne says
This sounds so good! Does it freeze well?
Jenn Sebestyen says
Hi, Cheyenne. I haven’t personally tried freezing it, but I think it would work just fine. You may want to re-blend once it’s thawed in case it gets a little slushy in texture. Enjoy!
Cheyenne says
Thank you for your response. I also forgot to ask, what is the serving size for this?
Jenn Sebestyen says
About 1 cup. Meant to be an appetizer-type soup, not an entrée. Enjoy!
Jenni LeBaron says
This sounds really good. I love the sweetness added from the apple and the basil really sounds like it elevates the whole dish! Yum!
Jenn S. says
I love the apple in there too. Perfect natural sweetness. Thanks, Jenni!
Kelly Anthony says
Almost every day this summer has been above 90! We could for sure use a cool soup recipe 🙂
Jenn S. says
I am definitely looking forward to fall!
Jessie says
We love Cucumbers in my house and this looks delicious and like a great lunch idea. Plus a great way to use up those cucumbers from the garden!
Jenn S. says
My kids brought in about 15 cucumbers the other day in one haul. Good thing they love ’em too!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
I make a cold cucumber soup too and it’s wonderful for a hot summer day. This looks so refreshing!
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Lisa. I’ll have to check yours out too.
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
I can just imagine how refreshing and delicious this cucumber soup is! I love a good cold soup, but I also love hot soup even in the heart of summer! I’ll be trying your vibrant and delicious soup before the summers end for sure!
Jenn S. says
Oh, me too, Elaine. I could hot soup all year round, but every once in awhile I like to mix it up. Thanks!