This vegan chilled curried cucumber soup looks fancy, but it’s incredibly easy to prepare—and it offers a delicate blend of pleasing flavors and textures.

I adapted this recipe from an article in the June 2015 edition of Vegetarian Times magazine. I replaced yogurt and sour cream with vegan options to make it entirely plant-based. And I tweaked a few other details to simplify preparation. The results are extremely satisfying.

Curried Cucumber Soup

You can prepare this curried cucumber soup in about ten minutes. But then you need to chill it for at least two hours. The quinoa adds additional prep time if you don’t cook it in advance. Here’s the timeline:

Rinse and cook the quinoa (about 15 minutes)
Prep and blend the soup ingredients while the quinoa is cooking (about 10 minutes)
Chill the soup (about 2 hours)
Combine the black quinoa mixture while the soup is cooling (about 5 minutes)

Basically, you want to prepare the soup at least 2 hours before serving.

How to Make Fluffy Quinoa

For fluffy quinoa that isn’t mushy, follow these steps:

Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer unless the package says “pre-rinsed.” If you skip this step, the quinoa might taste bitter.
Bring 2 parts water and 1 part quinoa to a boil. (Ex: 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa)
Cook the quinoa on medium-low for about 10 minutes or until seeds begin to release “tails.”
Drain any remaining water, fluff with a fork, replace the lid, and allow the quinoa to sit on the warm stove for at least 5 minutes.

You can use any variety of quinoa; black just looks pretty in this recipe.

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Curried Cucumber Soup with Black Quinoa

Prep Time 2 15

Total Time 2 15

Servings

Ingredients

Quinoa

1 cup cooked black quinoa*
1 Tbs. fresh mint chopped
1 Tbs. fresh parsley chopped
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. lemon zest

Soup

2 English cucumbers peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
½ cup plant-based plain Greek-style yogurt I use Tempt Hemp
½ cup raw cashews soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained
1 clove garlic
3 Tbs. water
3 Tbs. fresh mint chopped
3 Tbs. fresh parsley chopped
½ Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1-2 tsp. sweet curry powder to taste
½ tsp. lemon zest
⅛ tsp. ground ginger
⅛ tsp. fine sea salt

Instructions

Quinoa

Combine cooked quinoa (see notes below), mint, parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

Soup

Add all soup ingredients (cucumbers, yogurt, cashews, garlic, water, mint, parsley, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sweet curry powder, lemon zest, ground ginger and sea salt) to a high-speed blender.
Begin blending and the lowest setting and slowly turn up to the highest setting.
Blend on high for approximately 40 seconds or until smooth. (Use tamper if necessary.)
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours then pour soup into 2 – 4 bowls. Top each bowl with ¼ – ½ cup of the black quinoa mixture and serve.

Notes

The recipe yields about four cups of soup. A serving is one cup.

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate for special dietary needs. I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.

Nutrition

More Cold Soup Recipes

Looking for more cold soup recipes? (If it’s hot outside, your answer should be “Yes!”) 😁 Try these tasty options:

Blender Borscht – A mostly raw version of a classic, this soup offers just the right mix of sharp, sweet, and tangy flavors.
Simple Tomato Basil Gazpacho – This soup is loaded with healthy ingredients, and you can whip it up in about five minutes.
Spicy Cantaloupe Gazpacho – Another one that takes minutes to prepare, this soup offers a zesty and refreshing mix of flavors.

Curried Cucumber Soup with Black Quinoa

Curried Cucumber Soup

How to Make Fluffy Quinoa