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Cold Cucumber Soup

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | August 7, 2022 8 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This no-cook Cucumber Soup is almost as good as air conditioning on a hot, humid day. It’s cold. It’s refreshing. It’s infused with the invigorating aromas of fresh mint and fresh lime. And nothing could be easier to make. Just toss the ingredients into the jar of a blender and you’re good to go.

There are hundreds of recipes for Cucumber Soup. I made one delicious version for my YouTube channel the other day (click the play arrow to watch). The recipe below is equally delightful, and — as of this writing, anyway — is my favorite version of the soup. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Main Ingredients for Cucumber Soup

Cucumbers. I prefer English cucumbers here because they are sweeter than common garden cucumbers, and their delicate skin does not require peeling. Garden-variety cucumbers have a tough, bitter skin that should be peeled before use. (English cucumbers are sold in every American supermarket — they are the long, thin, and always wrapped in plastic.)

Fresh mint. If you don’t have mint in your garden, you can always find it at farm stands and farmers’ markets during the warm weather months.

Greek Yogurt. This provides ample body and tanginess. Be sure to use plain (unflavored) Greek yogurt.

Lime zest and juice. You can substitute lemon if you wish, but I think lime pairs perfectly with cucumber.

Sugar. You’ll be amazed at what a little sugar does for this soup. It cuts any trace of bitterness and amplifies the pure essence of the main ingredient — cucumber!

Step-by-step instructions:

Take 2 pounds of English cucumbers and cut them lengthwise in half. As shown in the photo above (and as illustrated in the video), use the tip of a spoon to scrape out seeds. Throw the seeds on the compost pile.

Cut the cucumbers into rough chunks and put them in the jar of an electric blender.

Then add to the blender a big handful (about one cup) of fresh mint leaves…

The zest and juice of 2 limes…

And some salt, pepper, sugar, and a splash of either heavy cream or plain water. Blend at high speed until thoroughly pureed — 15-30 seconds.

Now add the Greek yogurt. Blend at high speed until the yogurt is incorporated — about 10 seconds.

Taste carefully for seasonings! You might like to add more salt. Or more sugar. Pour the works into a pitcher, and refrigerate until the soup is quite cold — at least 3 hours.

You’ll find lots of serving suggestions in the video. Just be sure to serve the soup cold, and garnished, if you wish, with finely-minced cucumber or, much easier, thin slices of cucumber and perhaps a tiny sprig of fresh mint. Enjoy!

Here’s the printable:

Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Cucumber Soup

A refreshing soup that requires no cooking. I like to serve it as a main course for lunch or a first course for dinner during the hot, humid days of summer.
Prep Time5 mins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American, French
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • An electric blender

Ingredients

  • 2 Lbs English cucumbers*
  • 1 cup (a large handful) fresh mint leaves
  • The zest and juice of 2 limes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup water or heavy cream
  • 2 cups (16 ounces) unflavored Greek yogurt

Instructions

  • Trim ends from the English cucumbers, but do not peel them. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise in half, remove seeds by scraping with the tip of a spoon, and then cut the halves into rough chunks. Put the chunks in the jar of the electric blender.
  • Add the mint leaves, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper, sugar, and water or cream. Blend at high speed until the ingredients are thoroughly pureed -- 15-30 seconds.
  • Add the yogurt, and blend at high speed until incorporated -- about 10 seconds.
  • Transfer the soup to a jar or pitcher, and refrigerate it until it becomes quite cold -- at least 3 hours. (Cover the container if you wish to chill the soup overnight.) Serve the soup cold, and garnished, if you wish, with finely-minced cucumber or thing slices of cucumber.

Notes

*NOTE: English cucumbers are sold in plastic wrap at every American and European supermarket. These cucumbers have a thin, sweet skin that does not require peeling. Garden variety cucumbers can be used for soup, too, as long as you remove the tough, bitter skin.

 

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. 1

    Marcy MacDonald says

    August 7, 2022 at 1:01 pm

    Just a perfect soup for Sunday night today. The weather is hot and humid today. Thank you for the great idea.

  2. 2

    Jean says

    August 7, 2022 at 3:35 pm

    Love the recipe! Will try this soon. Thanks for the step by step directions!!

  3. 3

    mlaiuppa says

    August 8, 2022 at 6:37 am

    This sounds perfect for our hot summer months. Here that would be August and September.

    Not a fan of mint so I think I’ll try it substituting parsley instead. Or perhaps sorrel.

    What I really want is a version of cold soup with Sorrel. I had some at a local restaurant a few decades ago and loved it and have never found a recipe that didn’t involve blanching the sorrel and then the soup ended up kinda brown. This soup was very green, just like your cucumber soup. It absolutely was sorrel. And it had an umami undertone to it like maybe they used a beef stock instead of vegetable or chicken but I just don’t know. I’ve looked for one on and off ever since and still am no closer to that cold sorrel soup.

  4. 4

    Sunny says

    August 8, 2022 at 2:52 pm

    5 stars
    This looks wonderful!

    However…Where was it when I had so many cucumbers I didn’t know what to do with them!?!? LOL I have about 18 jars of relish and 4 big jars of pickles. I made other stuff but never thought of a soup! This would have been great to make since we’ve been in the 100+ degrees and no rain for 2 months and still going. I’m surprised at how well my cucumbers did!
    I tore them out this weekend. Will definitely save this recipe though for next year!

  5. 5

    Lynne van der Have says

    August 8, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    My husband and I just came back from a trip to Vancouver, and on our last night we went to a French inspired restaurant. As a starter, I had a bowl of delicious cucumber soup, and as I was enjoying it I thought “I must find a recipe”. Well, what should show up in my inbox the next day but a recipe from Kevin Lee Jacobs! I made it that night and it was delicious. And it didn’t cost $14.00 per bowl!

  6. 6

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    August 9, 2022 at 5:41 am

    Hi Lynne – I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup!

  7. 7

    Linda says

    August 27, 2022 at 12:55 pm

    5 stars
    I’m drinking this from a stemless wine glass and couldn’t be happier. No jalapeño so I used 4 drops of tobasco sauce. Perfect! Thank you Kevin!!

  8. 8

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    August 27, 2022 at 2:30 pm

    Hi Linda – I’m so glad!

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