Triple Spinach Soup Recipe
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If you're in the mood for something vibrant and green, and a salad just isn't going to cut it, try this triple spinach soup recipe. It's cozy yet light, and it's packed with spinach three different ways. The first layer is a blended combination of spinach and Yukon gold potatoes to provide a silky-smooth base. For added texture, the second layer consists of wilted spinach, and a bright and lemony spinach pesto acts as the third layer for the ultimate fresh finish. This is one of those soups that can be enjoyed year-round, and is a great way to pack in the veggies on a weekday or wow your guests with on a weekend.
"I love using spinach because it is nutrient dense, and you can use a large amount that shrinks down to a reasonable serving size," wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn says. "This is a great make ahead soup because it will keep well for up to a week if kept in an airtight container in the fridge."
Gather the ingredients for triple spinach soup
To make this recipe, start in the produce aisle and pick up a leek, garlic, Yukon gold potatoes, baby spinach, and a lemon. Yukon gold potatoes have very thin skin, so you won't even need to peel them, and they make the soup extra creamy. Then grab some vegetable broth and walnuts. Check your condiment cabinet for olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Step 1: Add oil to a pot
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a pot and bring the heat to medium.
Step 2: Saute the leeks and garlic
Add the leeks and 2 minced garlic cloves. Saute for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add broth and potatoes, then simmer
Stir in the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Add pesto ingredients to a food processor
In the meantime, make spinach pesto. Add 2 cups spinach, the remaining olive oil, remaining garlic, juice from ½ lemon, ½ teaspoon salt, and the walnuts to a food processor.
Step 5: Blend the pesto
Blend until smooth.
Step 6: Add spinach to soup pot
Once the potatoes in the soup are tender, add 4 cups of spinach to the pot and cook for 2 more minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
Step 7: Transfer soup to a blender
Transfer the soup to a blender.
Step 8: Blend until smooth
Blend until smooth.
Step 9: Squeeze lemon juice into soup and season with salt and pepper
Return the soup to the pot and add the remaining lemon juice, remaining salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer.
Step 10: Add more spinach to pot
Add the remaining 2 cups spinach to the soup pot and stir for 1 minute to wilt the spinach.
Step 11: Garnish soup with spinach pesto and serve
Serve the soup and top with a dollop of pesto.
Triple Spinach Soup Recipe
This super green soup features spinach not one, not two, but three ways - blended in, wilted in, and as a pesto garnish.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 leek, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- 8 cups baby spinach
- 1 lemon, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a pot and bring the heat to medium.
- Add the leeks and 2 minced garlic cloves. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, make spinach pesto. Add 2 cups spinach, the remaining olive oil, remaining garlic, juice from ½ lemon, ½ teaspoon salt, and the walnuts to a food processor.
- Blend until smooth.
- Once the potatoes in the soup are tender, add 4 cups of spinach to the pot and cook for 2 more minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Transfer the soup to a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Return the soup to the pot and add the remaining lemon juice, remaining salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer.
- Add the remaining 2 cups spinach to the soup pot and stir for 1 minute to wilt the spinach.
- Serve the soup and top with a dollop of pesto.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 167 |
| Total Fat | 10.3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.3 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 17.8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 1.8 g |
| Sodium | 624.5 mg |
| Protein | 3.1 g |
What are ingredient substitutions for this spinach soup?
There are several easy swaps for the spinach soup if you prefer to use different ingredients. To start with, if you can't find a leek, substitute that with a yellow or white onion for a slightly different base flavor but one that's still delicious and aromatic. If fresh garlic isn't available, use 1 teaspoon of garlic granules in the soup portion of the recipe and ½ teaspoon in the pesto. For the broth, you can use chicken stock for a more full bodied soup, mushroom broth for a umami twist, or even just make your own vegetable stock.
If Yukon gold potatoes are not available, red potatoes make a good substitution and don't need to be peeled. Russets can be used as well, but those will require peeling to maintain the silky-smooth texture. For a lower carb option, you can even use cauliflower here.
For the spinach, regular spinach works but you'll want to chop off and discard the heavy stems. The walnuts in the pesto can be swapped out for pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds. If you're out of lemons use either apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar to brighten up the pesto.
What are some other uses for the spinach pesto?
Pesto is very versatile and, once you taste this one, you're going to want to put it on everything. To start, spinach pesto makes for a great dip for toasted baguette slices, raw carrots, cucumbers, or radishes. Use it a base for bruschetta by layering it on toasted baguette and topping with diced tomatoes, salt, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
You can also use spinach pesto as a sandwich spread. Try it with a ham and Swiss sandwich, a roasted vegetable panini, or a grilled chicken wrap. Use it as a base for pizza instead of a red sauce. It pairs exceptionally well with roasted red peppers, artichokes, and mushrooms. The pesto can also be used as a pasta sauce. This amount of pesto you make for this recipe will work in combination with 8 ounces of pasta, so you may need to reduce the amount of pasta you use depending on how much pesto you pair with the spinach soup. Just toss when the pasta is warm using some reserved pasta water to help it spread evenly. You can easily double the recipe to accommodate for a full box of pasta. To use the pesto as a salad dressing, whisk it with some fresh lemon juice and a little more olive oil, and toss over your salad.