Spinach Soup Recipe (Vegan)
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This creamy spinach soup recipe takes just 20 minutes to make, uses basic ingredients, and requires barely any clean-up! It’s also wonderfully light, creamy, vegan, and gluten-free.
Published on May 2019 /Updated on Dec 2024
It’s time to re-share this delicious, creamy spinach soup recipe, which is brilliant for warming you up and kicking off a new year. It’s a breeze to make with a handful of ingredients, perfect for returning to a healthy diet after the holidays or whenever needed.
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Also, I must admit that this recipe was a happy accident. I remember I intended to make a vegetable soup, but surprisingly, I had no fresh veggies in the fridge. Instead, I found some potatoes and a bag of spinach in the freezer and decided to make it work.
And it turned out to be a delicious spinach soup recipe!
It’s light, flavorful, packed with superfood leafy greens. Thanks to a starchy potato, it’s also cosy and thick. There is no half-and-half, no butter, no sour cream, only a starchy potato and plenty of spinach.
And it’s a ridiculously easy to make! It’s one of those simple soup recipes that comes in handy when cooking feels like a chore, when you run out of fresh ingredients, or when you crave warming meals that are also simple and healthy, perfect for this time of year.
Enjoy with a touch of fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavors and crusty bread, my delicious Italian crostini, or croutons (if you don’t count calories! 😉).
List of the ingredients
- Frozen spinach
- Potato
- Vegetable broth
- Onion + Garlic
- Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Fresh basil
- Salt & pepper
How to make spinach soup
(Note: this is a quick description; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.
- Add potato chunks, broth, seasoning and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add thawed spinach leaves and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, stir in fresh basil leaves, and blend until smooth.
- Stir in fresh lemon juice and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve with crusty bread, croutons or freshly grated parmesan cheese, if you don’t keep it vegan. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Spinach soup recipe ingredients
Olive oil, garlic, and onion: This combination builds flavor and infuses the broth. To keep things simple, I’ve used onion and garlic only, but you’re welcome to add diced carrots and/or celery or leeks.
Spinach: This spinach soup recipe uses convenient and economical frozen spinach. I usually keep fresh spinach for salad or wilted spinach, but I use frozen spinach for recipes that call for volume.
Potatoes: They add body to the soup, making it thick and creamy. Yukon gold is the perfect all-purpose potato, and it is great for this soup, but almost any type of white or yellow potato will work fine.
Broth: I use low-sodium vegetable broth, but any vegetable or chicken broth will work in this recipe if you don’t keep it vegan. And if you use a broth that tastes quite salty, adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Basil: For fresh, aromatic notes. You can use dill or parsley instead of basil.
Salt & pepper: Make sure you adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice provides a touch of bright and zesty acidity and maximizes iron absorption from the spinach.
STORAGE TIPS & LEFTOVERS
This spinach soup keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes very well. To freeze it, let the soup cool completely and then transfer it to a freezer-safe container or multiple containers. Freeze for up to 2 months.
MORE VEGAN SOUPS YOU’LL LOVE!
You might want to check out this collection of 30+ vegan soup recipes; below are some of my family’s favorites:
- Lebanese red lentil soup
- Vegan lentil soup
- Vegan celeriac soup
- Tomato soup with potatoes
- Mediterranean lentil soup
Let me know if you are making this spinach soup recipe! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
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Spinach Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 large garlic clove, sliced or minced
- ½ lb (220 grams) Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 ½ cups (840 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth
- 16 oz (450 grams) frozen spinach
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 a handful of basil leaves (optional)
- 2 tablespoon lemon, juice
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large Dutch oven or pot and place over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic and onion and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the potatoes and vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low heat, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the frozen spinach (no need to thaw it), bring to a simmer, and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add a handful of basil leaves or your favourite fresh herbs.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup to a smooth consistency, season to taste with salt (I use 1 teaspoon salt) and pepper, and finish with fresh lemon juice for freshness and acidity.
- Serve with a good drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, and a wedge of lemon juice on the side. You can enjoy this soup hot or chilled.
Can you freeze it and re-heat?
Yes, Jessica!
Have a great week. x
I made last night. Added 3 clove garlic, I tsp nutmeg and I tsp of
garlic powder after reading the comments.
Very yummy
Hey, I am looking forward to making this tomorrow. Can you just let me know if this is 96 kcals per potion? Or 96kcals in total? Thankyou. Looks lush. Will # a photo of mine tomorrow x
Hi Kelly, calories are per serving. Looking forward to seeing your photo then! 😉 x
Could you use fresh spinach for this? Would the measurements be the same?
Hi April, I’ve never made this recipe with fresh spinach and I can’t give you the right measurements for the swap.
I think you need more than 1 lb of fresh spinach to make the equivalent of 1 lb of frozen spinach (probabily about 1 1/2 lb).
Sorry if I can’t be more precise! x
How much is one serving size? 1 cup, 2? Trying to accurately calculate how many calories I’d be eating. Thanks so much… Recipe looks amazing and can’t wait to try it! (:
It’s a generous cup, let’s say 1 cup + a couple of Tbsps 😊 x
This is sooo good! I didn’t change a thing. The taste reminds me of palak paneer but this is like a healthy version without the cheese. It’s so quick and easy too. I would definitely make this over and over again.
I’m so pleased you loved it, Norie! Thanks for your lovely feedback 💛
I like how it came out, but I did have to tweak the recipe. At the end it needs a good bit of salt, and I would definitely add more basil leaves. I also ended up using 3 garlic cloves because the 1 in the beginning cooked down so much it wasn’t really detectable. (At the end I used a pinch of garlic powder too.)
Next time I make this I think I want to incorporate some rosemary as well.
I liked this recipe a lot though, and the lemon at the end 100% makes it!
Thanks so much for your comment, Sheridan! I like the way you tweaked it, and I’m thinking now I might test again the recipe adding more garlic, I love the idea 😉 x