10-Minute Cucumber Pea Soup

This cucumber pea soup is sweet, tangy, creamy and deliciously refreshing, the perfect summer dish. It's nutritious, incredibly easy to make and comes together in under 10 minutes! 

This cucumber pea soup is a light, refreshing summer dish made with fresh cucumber, sweet petits pois and kefir (or yogurt) for a tangy, creamy finish. It's low in calories, full of goodness and flavour. It comes together in 3 easy steps, contains a handful of ingredients and requires minimal effort.

Cucumber and pea soup is a classic cold soup, a category of dishes which can be made using either vegetables or fruit and tend not to use prolonged cooking. They are meant to provide a nourishing meal that's light and refreshing, made using simple seasonal ingredients. These can differ from country to country.

For example tomato-based gazpacho is eaten in Spain while vichyssoise soup is a chilled French soup made with leeks, potatoes and cream. The most popular cold soup in Poland is chlodnik (made with beets).

Making pea and cucumber soup involves very little cooking. No more than 3 minutes! All you need to do is heat the petits pois with some stock then add the cucumber, kefir and fresh herbs before pureeing the soup for a smooth and creamy finish.

Cucumber pea soup ingredients and substitutions

• Cucumber: I recommend using English cucumbers (also called seedless or hot-house cucumbers, the star ingredient of Polish mizeria salad) which are widely available, have a mild sweet flavour and thin skin. You could also use garden cucumbers but make sure they aren't bitter.
• Peas: I used petits pois for their delicious, sweet flavour, but you can use garden peas instead (see also spinach pea soup made with frozen peas). Not to be confused with split peas, which are dried peas (see my split pea soup).
• Kefir: natural yogurt is a good alternative.
• Fresh herbs: I used a combination of dill, mint and chives. Alternative herbs you can use include fresh tarragon and Thai basil (use one or the other, approx. 2 tbsp each).
• Garlic.
• Lemon juice.
• Vegetable stock.
• Salt and pepper: seasoning is important as it bring all the flavours together.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Cook peas: Combine the frozen peas with the hot vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 minute then remove from the heat.

2. Add cucumber: To the pot add the cucumber along with the rest of the ingredients.

3. Puree: Using a stick blender puree until very smooth. Adjust the seasoning and chill for 1 hour before serving (see alternative methods below).

Serving suggestions

You can serve this cucumber pea soup on its own, with a drizzle of olive oil, topped with croutons or alongside garlic bread, breadsticks or spinach bread.

If you want to serve this soup as part of a meal it's delicious with fish dishes, such as salmon (for example pistachio crusted salmon or grilled salmon).

TIP: You may want to adjust the seasoning just before serving as this soup can get a little mellow after a few hours in the fridge.

Ways to cool pea and cucumber soup

1. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Place in an ice water bath.
3. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Variations

This cucumber and pea soup is delicious as it is but you can add the following ingredients for a different flavour twist:

• Baby spinach - this will intensify the colour.
• Watercress - delicious with cucumber as well as peas.

Top tips

• I recommend peeling the cucumber before making the recipe as the skin may add bitterness.
• Use either frozen petits pois or garden peas. I tend to use petits pois as they are sweeter.
• Do not boil the peas for longer than a minute as they might lose their bright green colour and sweet flavour.
• You can puree this soup either in a high speed blender or using a stick blender depending on how smooth and creamy you want your soup to be.
• Chill your creamy cucumber pea soup for 1 hour before serving. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Freeze for up to 3 months.

Related recipes

• Quick Fruit Soup Recipe
• Polish Cold Beet Soup
• Simple Fennel Soup

See also these other easy, delicious soup recipes.

Recipe

Keep in touch!

If you make this cold cucumber and pea soup recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. What herbs did you use? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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