Cream of Spinach Soup

Rich and creamy spinach soup, with fresh or frozen spinach, onion, potatoes, broth, cream and sour cream. Serve hot or chilled.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Cream of Spinach Soup
Elise Bauer

This delicious cream of spinach soup is as rich, smooth and creamy as the label "Cream of" would imply.

It's basically a vichyssoise, with spinach in addition to the potatoes, and can be served either hot or chilled.

Cream of Spinach Soup
Elise Bauer
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Cream of Spinach Soup

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Servings 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups chopped fresh spinach - packed - (or 1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed)
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 1 pound)
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes (or vegetable bouillon cubes for vegetarian option)
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • Optional: chopped chives and/or ground allspice for garnish

Method

  1. Cook the chopped onion:

    In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in butter for 4 minutes or until translucent.

  2. Build the soup:

    Add potatoes, chicken broth, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

    Add spinach and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer until spinach is tender.

  3. Purée the soup, whisk in half-and-half:

    Working in batches, purée soup mixture in a blender. Return to saucepan. Whisk in half-and-half, salt and pepper.

  4. Whisk in sour cream:

    Over low heat, bring to just before simmering. Whisk in the sour cream. You may want to use an immersion blender to get the sour cream fully incorporated.

    This soup can be served hot or chilled. Garnish with chopped chives, sprinkles of allspice, or a dollop of sour cream.

Recipe adapted from Potatoes!: Recipes for America's favorite vegetable published by The American Cooking Guild.