Easy Cold Cucumber Soup
As soon as the warm weather hits, this Cold Cucumber Soup becomes my absolute go-to for a quick meal. It’s incredibly refreshing and the perfect way to stay hydrated when the temperature climbs above 85°F (30 °C here in France!). The of all? You can whip it up in just 5 minutes and no stove or oven is needed!
In this article
Ingredients and Alternatives For Your Cucumber Soup
When I make my Cucumber Soup, I always start from the same base:
- Cucumber: I recommend keeping the skin for color and vitamins!
- Cream cheese: For smoothness. For a lighter version, replace it with Greek yogurt or skyr.
- Fresh herbs: To spice up the soup. Dill goes great with cucumber and I also like to add mint and flat-leaf parsley for freshness.
- Seasoning: A good drizzle of olive oil, a clove of garlic, salt and pepper.
In addition to these basic ingredients, I like to add other green ingredients to give more flavor to the cucumber, which is basically neutral.
- Lime or lemon for acidity (you’ll only need the juice).
- Green apple, Granny Smith type, for a slightly sweet-tart touch that’s super interesting.
- Celery stalk, just a stalk to enhance the taste.
Depending on what you have left in the fridge, you can also add a handful of spinach shoots (to intensify the color), blanched peas for sweetness, green bell pepper or jalapenos to spice things up.
And if you love cucumber as much as I do, try my melon, cucumber and feta salad or my cucumber salad with cream.
👉Recipe Card
Easy Cold Cucumber Soup
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Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers coarsely chopped, skin on
- 2/3 cup cream cheese 150 g, Greek yogurt or skyr
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 green apple quartered, core removed
- 1 stalk celery coarsely chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh herbs chopped parsley, mint, dill
- 1 lime or 2 for extra flavour, pressed (we use only the juice)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until perfectly smooth and homogenous. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, lime or more cream cheese to taste.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve chilled in bowls, garnished with croutons, cucumber slices, a touch of cream cheese and a final drizzle of olive oil.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How to make cucumber soup
The recipe is really simple, you’ll see:
- Blend: Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you obtain a perfectly homogenous, velvety consistency.
- Leave to cool: chill your soup for at least 30 minutes (an hour is even better) to ensure that it is well chilled.
- Serve with toppings: Just before serving, add a few cool toppings to add crunch: cucumber slices, fresh mint leaves, a touch of whipped cream cheese or crème fraîche, and a few homemade croutons.
Tip if you’re in a hurry: If you don’t have time to wait for the soup to cool, you can add a few ice cubes directly into the blender as you blend. This may make the soup a little runnier, so adjust the amount of yoghurt or whipped cream cheese accordingly!
Do you like cold soup? Try my cold melon, basil and mint soup.
What to serve with cold cucumber soup?
What I love about this cucumber gazpacho is that you can serve it all summer long for any occasion. When I feel like eating light, I serve it as a main course, accompanied by a nice salad like my peach and burrata panzanella, a Niçoise salad or a small tomato tarte Tatin. If you’re looking for something heartier, try my potato and green bean salad or my zucchini and feta quiche.
This cold cucumber soup is also a great idea for a light starter when you’re hosting, for example, before my famous coq au vin blanc or my poulet basquaise.
Finally, you can simply serve this gazpacho as an aperitif in these little verrines (see photo) with a piece of crispy garlic baguette or my salted cake with tuna, feta and olives, herb and parmesan cookies, or with a slice of homemade salmon rillettes.
FAQ
Yes, absolutely! You can prepare it in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just remember to stir it well before serving, as the ingredients may separate slightly when resting.
No. Cucumbers are made almost entirely of water, and the recipe contains yoghurt or fromage frais: the texture won’t stand up to defrosting at all, and your soup may slice (the water will separate from the rest). It’s so quick to make that it’s better to do it at the last minute!
If your soup resembles a mush or a too-dense cream, simply add a small trickle of very cold water or an extra ice cube to your blender, then blend again for a few seconds until you obtain the fluid consistency of a real soup.
EXCELLENT gazpacho! The only thing I changed was adding a bit of cayenne for a bit of a kick. Drizzled some finishing olive oil on the top. WOW
Thank you, Denise! It’s a good tip to add a little Cayenne pepper.
Prepared it yesterday. It is a wonderful dish for a hot summer day. Thank you.
Thank you, Kerstin!
Absolutely delish
Thank you, Katharine!
I’ve read and re-read the instructions several times, am I just adding whole limes to the blender?
Hi Jeremy, sorry, it was just the juice. Now I adapted the recipe card 🙂
Good
Thanks !
Very tasty and refreshing soup… and so easy to prepare. I did it in a few minutes for a last minute dinner invitation. My guests did not know this French recipe and loved. Even the baby had a go at it!
Merci Helene! 🤗
Looks lovely, but do I need to peel the cucumbers? I want to make this for a summer luncheon. I am really enjoying your recipes because they are tasty and not to difficult.
Thanks a lot! No need to peel the cucumber 🙂
What is the red or pink garnish on the cucumber soup?
These are red onion pickles. You can see the recipe here: https://lacuisinedegeraldine.fr/en/red-onion-pickles