Gluten-free, vegan Watercress Soup is amazing. Apart from the nutritional boom (watercress is rich in folate, pantothenic acid and copper, and a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese) the colour is incredible. Watercress has a peppery fire that is very distinctive and delicious. Wonderful in salads, the fire in watercress becomes much more subtle when blanched or cooked. This is a great early-summer soup that reminds me summer is well and truly on its way.

Many watercress soup recipes use potatoes as a base. I’m not a fan of potatoes in a summer watercress soup. I prefer to use buckwheat to thicken the soup slightly. Many recipes also cook the watercress way too long (some up to 35 minutes!?) – I prefer to blanche the watercress. This keeps the colour, flavour and nutrition. It just takes the edge off the fiery heat of raw watercress.

Watercress Soup is very easy and quick to prepare. It takes only 20 minutes from starting the soup to bowls of steaming green gorgeousness on the table. Best eaten straight after cooking. Or chill very quickly to serve cold.

Perfect for lunch or light dinner and fancy enough for a dinner party starter. Serve with Gluten Free Vegan Rosemary and Sea Salt Crackers or as a starter to a larger meal such as Baked Mushrooms With Crispy Sage.

Allergy Information – Watercress Soup

The soup is gluten-free and vegan as well as… low FODMAP*, coconut free, garlic free, lupin free, mustard free, nightshade free, onion free, peanut free, sesame free, soya free, tree nut free.

*For low FODMAP, remember that one serving of celery stalk of less than five centimetres is low FODMAP (more than that is moderate to high FODMAP) and one serving of this soup contains less than five centimetres of celery stalk.

Top Tips – Watercress Soup

Watercress Soup is also wonderful served cold in the height of summer.

Blend using an immersion blender, jug blender or food processor. Whichever you prefer.

This is just one of the fabulous soups gluten-free, vegan (and allium-free and coconut-free) in my FREE E Book: 10 Quick, Easy and Delicious Soups. Download the E Book for FREE now! Just click the button below, sign-up and download.

Recipe – Watercress Soup

Difficulty easy
Serves 4-6
Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients – Watercress Soup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 stick celery, finely chopped
0.25 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
500 millilitres unsweetened almond milk
300 millilitres water
4 bunches (approximately 480 grams) watercress, washed and roughly chopped

Method – Watercress Soup

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a low heat and add the celery. Add the salt and cook gently until soft (approximately 10 minutes). Stir in the buckwheat flour and cook for a minute
2. Gradually stir in the almond milk and 300 millilitres water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for five minutes
3. To blanche the water cress take a large bowl of cold water and add lots of ice to it. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and plunge in the watercress to the boiling water to wilt the watercress (just 30 seconds or so). Quickly drain the watercress in a colander and place the watercress into the iced water
4. Drain the cooled watercress and add to the pan. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or with a food processor and season to taste.
5. To serve reheat if necessary or chill to serve cold. Delicious either way.