Spinach, Cucumber and Basil Soup
A delicious and nutritious soup made with ingredients from your garden! Make the AIP, autoimmune-friendly, dairy free version, or the vegan version or the more traditional version.
Equipment
- large soup pot, an immersion blender or other type of blender
Ingredients
- 5-8 ounces fresh spinach washed and divided
- 1 cucumber
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped, plus sprigs for garnish if desired
- 1/4 cup onion diced
- 2-3 cups bone broth or use chicken broth or vegetable broth if vegan. Use two cups of broth if using 5 ounces of spinach or three cups if using 8 ounces of spinach.
- 1/2 cup coconut cream chilled in refrigerator to solidify the cream, or if you can tolerate dairy, sub with heavy cream
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or avocado, or coconut oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper omit if your autoimmune protocol does not allow
Instructions
- Make sure the can of coconut milk has been chilling in the refrigerator for at least a day so that the cream will solidify and you'll be able to separate it from the coconut water.
- Wash the fresh spinach and divide in half. I've made this soup with as little as 5 ounces of spinach and as much as 8 ounces with no discernible difference in taste. Just use what you have on hand. If you don't have enough spinach from your garden available, feel free to purchase a box or bag of organic spinach from the grocery store.
- Heat oil of your choice in soup pot and add diced onion. Cook until soft.
- Cut garlic into large pieces and add to onions. Cook for about a minute or two, being careful not to scorch the garlic.
- Peel the cucumber and cut into small to medium sized chunks. Size isn't all that important here as the soup will be placed into a blender after it's cooked.
- Add the cucumber, about half of the spinach, broth, salt and pepper and stir. Heat to a boil then simmer for about 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want all the spinach to cook and the flavors to meld.
- Once the soup has cooked, add the remaining spinach and the 1/4 cup of chopped basil.
- Use an immersion blender or carefully pour the soup into a blender with a container and blend until smooth.
- Add the coconut cream and blend.
- Serve hot with a sprig of basil and enjoy!
Notes
If you are not sure if this meets the requirements of your particular dietary protocol, be sure to check with your health practitioner.
Crock pot instructions: Place half of the spinach and the remaining ingredients, except for the coconut cream and 1/4 cup of chopped basil, in a crock pot on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Remove lid and add remaining spinach and basil. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Add the coconut cream and blend again. Serve hot an enjoy!
