This chilled cucumber soup hits the spot on a hot summer day for lunch or a starter for a dinner party. Like many others, it includes yogurt, but it also uses buttermilk for a little tang. It includes fresh watercress and is topped with a summer salsa of tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and white onion.
Make this ahead, and chill for at least 30 minutes, but ideally the day before you serve it. The extra chill time allows the flavors to develop.
Updated June 3, 2022
Need a cold soup for lunch? Or as a starter for a dinner party? This chilled cucumber soup is just the ticket. It's refreshing, creamy with a slight tang from buttermilk, and filled will goodness from the cucumbers and added watercress.
I am a soup person. In winter, it warms me up on a snowy day. In summer, it refreshes me with something healthy. Some soups can be eaten either way, such as this Asparagus Soup. Others should only be eaten cold, such as this Strawberry Coconut Soup and Mango Soup with Coconut and Lime, which came in second place in a recipe contest on Food 52 a few years ago.
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Cucumber Soup Ingredients
- Cucumbers - use English cucumbers. They're a little sweeter, as regular cucumbers typically have larger seeds in them. The seeds contribute a slight bitterness.
- Scallions
- Watercress
- Greek yogurt - plain, full-fat.
- Buttermilk
- Rice vinegar - both plain and seasoned work fine in this recipe.
- Jalapeño
- Avocado
- Fresh dill
- Dried chile flakes (I use New Mexico Caribe Chile flakes)
Soup Salsa Ingredients (Optional)
- Roma tomatoes
- Grilled Corn
- Fresh Dill
- New Mexico Caribe Chile Flakes
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Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Step 1 (10 minutes)
Prep the veggies. Peel the cucumbers, and coarsely chop. Chop the scallions and watercress. Coarsely chop the jalapeño.
Step 2 (2 minutes)
Purée. Pile everything into a countertop powerful blender. Buzz it until you have a smooth purée.
Step 3 (at least 30 minutes)
Chill. Pour the soup into a container, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Chilling overnight is even better - the extra time allows the flavors to meld and develop.
Step 4 (10 minutes)
Prep the salsa (if using). Seed and dice the Roma tomato. Coarsely chop the cilantro. Mince the white onion and jalapeño pepper. Chop the avocado.
Step 5
Serve: Adjust the seasoning of the soup to your tastes, for example a little more lemon or salt. Serve with the garnishes on the soup or on the side.
Cucumber Soup FAQ
Is it necessary to peel the cucumbers?
Yes. It's typically not necessary to peel English cucumbers since their skin is thinner than regular cucumbers. But if you don't peel them for this soup, the texture will be gritty. I've tried this and then added more avocado, but then the soup is bland.
So, yes, peel the cucumbers. And if you use regular cucumbers, be sure to seed them as their seeds can be bitter. This isn't necessary with English cucumbers.
Want more vegetarian and vegan dish ideas? I can help you. I have three newsletters for different topics: 1) Vegetarian Recipes, 2) Vegetarian Meal Plans, and 3) Vegetarian Tips for helping you to move to a more vegetarian diet. Choose which newsletters are most relevant to your lifestyle and you'll also get my 5 SECRETS TO FUSS-FREE VEGETARIAN DINNERS.
Chilled Cucumber Soup with Watercress (Recipe)
Ingredients
Soup
- 4 cups English cucumbers about 1 ½ cucumbers
- ¼ cup chopped scallions about 2 scallions, including the dark green parts
- ½ cup coarsely chopped watercress
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¾ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño
- ½ avocado
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried chile flakes, such as New Mexico Caribe Chile Flakes or Pequin Crushed Dried Chiles
Salsa
- ⅛ Roma tomato seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh raw or grilled corn
- ½ teaspoon fresh dill
- ⅛ teaspoon dried chile flakes see above links for examples
- squeeze lime juice
Instructions
Soup
- Prep the veggies. Peel the cucumbers, and coarsely chop. Chop the scallions and watercress. Coarsely chop the jalapeño.
- Purée. Pile everything into a countertop powerful blender. Buzz it until you have a smooth purée.
- Chill. Pour the soup into a container, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Chilling overnight is even better - the extra time allows the flavors to meld and develop.
- Prep the salsa (if using). Seed and dice the Roma tomato. Coarsely chop the cilantro. Mince the white onion and jalapeño pepper. Chop the avocado.
- Serve: Adjust the seasoning of the soup to your tastes, for example a little more lemon or salt. Serve with the garnishes on the soup or on the side.
Salsa
- Mix the tomato, corn, fresh dill together and toss with lime juice. Serve on the side or a dollop on top of the soup, along with some chile flakes.
Manu
Oh yum! This gazpacho sounds so refreshing! Love it!
Hezzi-D
Yum! Sounds like big flavors coming from this soup and I'm liking that it's served cold...perfect for summer!
Shannon @VillageGirlBlog
This sounds spectacular! I have had a cucumber soup that was full of cream and it was delicious but I think I would like the yogurt and buttermilk in yours more. Yum!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I find that cream dilutes the flavors too much since cucumber is such a subtle flavor. I hope you like it if you try it!
Susan
A large family is absolutely overwhelming and wonderful at the same time! You'll always cherish the time and memories together. Now this soup! It's sounds delicious and cucumber is so refreshing.
Marion@Life Tastes Good
I loved reading about the large family and all the different preferences. Too fun! This gazpacho sounds so cool and refreshingly delicious!! yummm
Liz
Oh, does your soup look both refreshing and delicious! Even when I have our small nuclear family at home, I'm having to jump through hoops to make sure there's something for everyone! But it's always fun!
apuginthekitchen
Oh wow Susan, love this soup, perfect for a light summer meal. Perfectly seasonal and delicious.
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch)
What a pretty soup and perfect for Summer
Marlene @Nosh My Way
What an excellent way to please all palates and keep your cool in the kitchen.
Sarah
This looks delicious, I've only ever had cress in salads and sandwiches!
Courtney @ Neighborfood
This looks so incredibly refreshing. What a great way to cool down on a hot summer day. I loved this post--sounds like such a blast to have everyone together!
Shannon R
You know so many good eaters! This looks fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily
Sounds like some fantastic family time 😉
This cucumber gazpacho is lovely and I'll bet it tastes wonderful, perfect for the dog days of summer! Pinned.
Laura Dembowski
This soup definitely looks very refreshing! I'd like a bowl to cool me off now!
cheri
Hi Susan, this is my kind of soup, the this combination. I bet it's refreshing too! Sounds like you are having a wonderful week-end, so glad you have the family you always wanted. What fun!
Simply Gourmet
Lovely soup and I loved your story about your family. Enjoy the tiny bit of weekend that is left.
Julie @ Texan New Yorker
I'm a new gazpacho convert, so I'm so happy to see your recipe this week! I'll have to make this soon.
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour)
This is definitely a summer soup that I can get on board with!
Cathy
Susan -- this looks so nice and cool!
Rosemary
Loved hearing about your family -- you are a trooper! It's hot hot in Walnut Creek, I want try the soup tonight, but don't have watercress...will see what I substitute and let you know how it goes.
Rosemary
My version of your soup was great, and my husband liked it! The topping really made it nice. Since I didn't have watercress, I steamed some turnips (desperately looking for ways to use them up from my CSA), and pureed in the soup. Probably didn't make a lot of difference but I thought might give a little of that radish-y bite flavor. Thanks for the dinner inspiration!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so thrilled that you made it!!! Glad to hear the turnips worked - great idea. That's one of the things I like most about CSA boxes, the creative opportunities they offer with fruits and veggies you might not normally have on hand. Hope you had a great 4th of July!
Cheryl
What a full house you had! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I'm so excited to have so many yummy sounding cold soup recipes to try. Here in New Mexico it is hot and dry, perfect weather for this kind of dish! HUGS
Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
What a gorgeous Gazpacho! I love all the fresh ingredients and the bright color!
Choc Chip Uru
The colour is stunning, and enough to make me devour this beautiful soup 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
What a fun menagerie you have going! I'm sure it's the highlight of your year!
Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Yummm it sounds cool and refreshing, and looks beautiful!
Alice
that is truly wonderful to get something you always wanted! I wanted a close family, but so far its not happened yet... our little family of 4 are close, but the rest of us are still a bit spread out to hang out often.
Also, love your gazpacho! I'm not a fan of cold soups, but I want to be and try every one I can! : )
Amy Kim (@kimchi_mom)
Family time sounds fun in your household! And I agree that it's so much better to eat in!
I love chilled soups...these looks and sounds incredible!
dina
great summer soup. i love anything with buttermilk. yum!
Mary @ Fit and Fed
Beautiful Susan! And perfect for this hot summer weather. I've been having a lot of summer soups myself! I'm glad that you enjoy having your stepchildren and grandchildren visit despite all the necessary fuss. It could easily be the opposite so it shows a lot of generosity and flexibility that you've embraced it.
mjskit
What a lovely soup! Cold cucumber soup is my favorite summer soup and I love your version. Topping it with salsa is a great idea. Great recipe Susan!