We are head over heels for this simple chilled peach soup with cucumbers. It is refreshing and light but still packed with the flavors of summer. We topped it off with an easy homemade basil oil. This summer soup recipe is naturally gluten-free and so easy to make in less than 20 minutes!
Please read the entire post for tips and tricks to ensure a perfect recipe every time. And don't forget to tag @peelwithzeal on Instagram so we can admire your creation!
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You may have had peach soup before and thought, 'nah, not for me'. You know the one I am talking about. It is good for the first few bites but the heavy cream, added cinnamon, and extra sugar coat your tongue and suddenly it isn't so good?
But cold soup is the perfect lunch on a hot summer day. With this in mind, I made the perfect fresh fruit soup.
📖Why This Recipe Works
This peach soup recipe is light and refreshing, like a peach gazpacho. No need for extra sugar, the ripe peaches are plenty sweet enough. We swamped out heavy creams, milk, and liquors for a tangy greek yogurt (and yes you can absolutely make this peach soup vegan!).
And the basil oil may seem like extra work but we promise it is worth the effort.
🧾Ingredient Notes
Fresh in-season peaches are a must for this recipe. If you can't get your hands on ripe peaches, use frozen. Canned peaches are not a good substitute for this recipe, they are both too sweet and too soft.
You will also need:
- Cucumber- Cucumber adds both water and refreshing quality to the soup. We use an English seedless cucumber but Persian cucumbers also work. If you have standard cucumber cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. The seeds will not pulverize in the blender.
- Honey- I know I said no sugar, but aren't using much. I use less honey when using sweeter varieties like white peaches or clingstone varieties. You can always add the honey last and sweeten it to taste.
- Champagne Vinegar- Many cold peach soup recipes call for white wine to be added in place of another type of acid. I find that liquors and wine overpower the delicate peach and cucumber flavor. Because we don't cook the soup so the alcohol doesn't burn off. Champagne vinegar is my go-to acid of choice in this soup recipe. However, white or red wine vinegar and lemon juice are all great substitutes.
- Garlic- The recipe calls for one SMALL clove. I am not kidding. You need the tiniest bit. I learned the hard way. If you are unsure, put in a fraction of a clove and you can add more from there.
- Greek Yogurt- Thick, creamy, and tangy, it is everything this recipe needs. Be sure your yogurt is plain and unsweetened. You can also use sour cream in a pinch.
- Basil Oil- Rather than adding chopped fresh basil to the soup we opted to make basil oil instead. This keeps the soup smooth and a beautiful peachy color. Fresh mint makes a great substitute here. Peach soups commonly rely on mint. I find it a bit overwhelming and if you do too you can tone it down by doing a 50/50 mint and basil oil. Delicious!
⏲️How to Make Peach Soup
I love how fast cold soups are to make. To be honest, the hardest part is peeling all the fresh peaches.
Step 1- Prep the Peaches
You can peel the peaches with a knife. But if you have poor knife skills, like me, simply blanch the peaches and peel the skin.
To blanch the peaches, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the peaches for 30 seconds, the skins should crack and blister. Move the peaches, using a slotted spoon, to an ice bath for one minute.
Remove the peaches and peel the fuzzy peach skin off. Cut in half to remove the pit and give the peaches a rough chop.
Step 2- Puree
Place all the soup ingredients into a high-speed blender. Puree until smooth, about 60 to 90 seconds. If you have a high powdered blender the soup may be very frothy. You can strain through a fine-mesh sieve to get out the bubbles if you prefer.
Step 3- Chill
The soup needs to chill for at least an hour. If the peaches were sitting on the counter and were warm it might take another hour. I always chill the soup in the blender so if I have to add more garlic, honey, or salt I can zap it right up.
Step 4- Serve
This is one of those dishes that is best served in small bowls rather than family style. You can garnish with a dollop of yogurt, cucumber slices, and fresh basil leaves in addition to the basil oil. For the photos, I used microgreens and extra edible flowers I had leftover from decorating a cake!
Basil Oil
To make the basil oil you first have to blanch the basil by boiling it for just under a minute and then plunging into an ice bath. Then squeeze all the water out of your basil. Blend with olive oil in a small food processor.
This mixture has to rest for at least 30 minutes before straining out the leaves. I store the basil oil in a small squeeze bottle to make it easier to dot onto the soup.
How to Make Vegan Peach Soup
This recipe is easy to make vegan, in fact, I highly recommend the vegan versions of this peach soup whether you are vegan or not. There are two ways to make this soup vegan, one is with vegan yogurt and the other is coconut milk.
Using vegan yogurt I typically stick with a nut or oat-based plain unsweetened yogurt. I find soy yogurt has a stronger flavor that clashes with the peaches.
For coconut milk, you want to use canned milk, not coconut cream or coconut beverage. Make sure you the coconut milk is well blended before adding to the blender, you want an even amount of the cream and the water. When using coconut milk I do a 50/50 basil-mint blend. I love the mint with the coconut. It is like a totally different peach soup- in a good way! You can also substitute all, or part, Thai basil.
For both versions, you will omit the honey and use 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar. You can add additional sugar once the soup has chilled. I don't recommend using maple syrup in this recipe.
👩🏻🍳Expert Tips
- To make this peach soup more like a chunky gazpacho make the soup as written. After blending, stir in 1 cup of diced peaches and ½ cup of diced cucumbers and chill. This will increase the servings from 4 to 6.
- The basil oil recipe makes more than is needed for the soup. Store the excess in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. We like to use the excess on our roasted eggplant!
- Make the soup the night before if serving for brunch. It is an easy fuss-free but elegant first course.
- Not a good year for peaches? You can actually substitute nectarines, 1 for 1 in this recipe for a chilled nectarine soup.
- Or do a mix of peaches and nectarines for a stonefruit soup. Add an apricot in while you are at it!
🌡️Storage
The soup will last 3-5 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. The garlic flavor will become more pronounced over time so if you want to make in advance leave it out.
More Summertime Recipes
The best part about summer is the food. All the amazing local fresh fruits and vegetables, grilling out and sipping cocktails. Here are a few of our other favorite summertime recipes:
- Peach Crisp (Gluten and Dairy Free)- More peaches, of course
- Blender Gazpacho- A quick and easy gazpacho recipe made without bread
- Vegan Poke Bowl- a great no-cook meal for a hot day
- Blueberry Iced Tea- Refreshing and easy to make, add a splash of bourbon if you are feeling cheeky
- Lemon and Artichoke Zucchini Noodles- My go-to light summer dinner
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave us a rating or a comment. It helps other wonderful people connect with our food.
📖 Recipe
Chilled Peach Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups peaches, peeled and diced
- ¾ cup seedless cucumber, peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoon raw honey coconut sugar for vegan
- 2 teaspoon champagne vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- ⅔ cup greek yogurt or use dairy-free yogurt for vegan
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Basil Oil
- 1 cup basil leaves, tighly packed
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Peach Soup
- Place all ingredients in a blender, puree until completely smooth.4 cups peaches, peeled and diced, ¾ cup seedless cucumber, peeled and diced, 2 teaspoon raw honey, 2 teaspoon champagne vinegar, 1 clove garlic, peeled, ⅔ cup greek yogurt, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Chill until very cold, at least 1 hour.
- Spoon the chilled soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with basil oil and garnish with cucumber slices, microgreens, or peach slices.
Basil Oil
- Bring a small pot of water to boil. Blanch basil by boiling for 45 seconds then plunging into an ice water bath.1 cup basil leaves, tighly packed
- Press the water our of the basil and place it in a blender with olive oil and salt. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.½ cup olive oil, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes then strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the solids and store the oil in a sealed jar in the fridge until use.
Video
Notes
- You can use fresh or frozen peaches in this recipe.
- To make pack soup with mint substitute mint for the basil to make mint oil. Alternatively, you can do a 50/50 split of basil and mint.
- For our two vegan variations of this recipe, please see the full post.
Erica says
I have never heard of peach soup! This sounds perfect for a hot summer evening and i'm intrigued to try it. The final photo is beautiful!
Jen says
Thank you so much!
Julia says
The perfect summer soup - refreshing and easy to make! Love it!
Toni says
Thank you so much for the tips and tricks you shared! My family enjoyed this soup! A I love how easy this is to make!
Jen says
Glad everyone enjoyed!
Safira says
This was incredible and so unique. I had never had peach in a soup before. YUM!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
This soup is just lovely! I have had chilled cucumber soup before, but never peach. I'm anxious to try your combination of both—especially accented with that basil oil!