Chilled Cucumber-Spinach Soup 

Published June 11, 2025

Chilled Cucumber-Spinach Soup 
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
6 hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes, plus cooling and chilling time
Rating
3(21)
Comments
Read comments

This chilled soup is easy to put together and most welcome on a hot day. The soft tofu garnish, dressed with sesame oil and soy sauce, is a lovely contrast to the bright green base. It is worth hunting down shiso leaves or Thai basil at an Asian grocery. Their bright flavors add interest.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • cup unsalted butter or avocado oil
  • 2medium leeks, trimmed, white and light green parts chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ teaspoon pimentón or smoked paprika
  • 1pound baby spinach
  • 2large seedless English cucumbers, peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)
  • 6ounces silken tofu, cut into rough ½-inch cubes
  • 3tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2tablespoons soy sauce
  • Shiso or Thai basil leaves, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

223 calories; 19 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 532 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Melt butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the pimentón. Cook, stirring until leeks are softened, about 10 minutes, lowering heat as necessary to prevent browning.

  2. Step 2

    Add spinach, season with salt and pepper and turn heat to high. Add 2 cups water and quickly wilt spinach, stirring. Remove from heat and spread out on a sheet pan or platter to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    In a food processor or blender, blend spinach mixture and cucumber in batches until very smooth, and pass through a fine-meshed strainer.

  4. Step 4

    Taste and adjust seasoning. If necessary, thin soup with ice water until it’s the consistency of a thin milkshake. Chill up to 24 hours for the freshest taste and color.

  5. Step 5

    To serve, put tofu in a low bowl, add sesame oil and soy sauce, and toss gently.

  6. Step 6

    Ladle soup into chilled soup bowls. Top each bowl with tofu. Drizzle with more sesame oil and soy sauce. Garnish with torn or slivered shiso or basil leaves.

Ratings

3 out of 5
21 user ratings
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Comments

Step 2 is unclear: does the two cups of water that had been added to the spinach mixture also go in the sheet pan/platter to cool or is the spinach mixture alone removed from that water?? If the water also cools in the sheet pan, how can the slushy mixture be neatly transferred to the food processor/blender??

Presumably we strain the cooked stuff before spreading it out on a sheet pan? :)

Haven't made it yet but if I do I plan to skip the sheet pan business and just let it cool in the pot before blending. Washing sheet pans is a pain but waiting for something to cool is not. I'll usually use a wide deep skillet for something like this anyway, allowing for faster cooling.

I can’t eat soy, so I substituted tahini for the tofu and just put a dollop on top of the soup when serving. Then I dotted sesame oil and my substitute for soy sauce, coconut aminos, around the tahini also on top of the soup. It was delicious and pretty and left a new flavor in my mouth with each bite. In the recipe, I made sure to add plenty of salt and pepper and I also included all of the sesame oil and soy substitute from the ingredients in the blending.

One really needs to add much more spice than is indicated in the recipe. In addition, this is not a recipe for silken tofu. Silken tofu is too fragile and does not lend itself to being cut into cubes. In order to make this recipe more palatable I added much more basil.

The texture confused me. I cranked a Vitamix up to 8 (had to add a couple Tbs of water so it wouldn’t seize up), and still got a texture like finely chopped spinach. Straining was impossible unless I wanted about a cup of clear, spinach flavored cucumber water and many cups of solid discard. Agree with others that the flavor is basic. Maybe ancho or chipotle chili powder instead? Green hatch powder, maybe? Or go in a different direction and try baharat or curry. I’m inexperienced with cold soups so I’m afraid to just chuck in garlic. I really wanted to like this but the flavor doesn’t make up for the texture.

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