Chilled California Avocado Soup with Coconut Milk Recipe

Last week, Kristen of Dine and Dish and I asked you to save the date for a California Avocado 4th of July Blast. From June 27th through July 4th, we’re hosting a link-up party and are hoping you will share your favorite avocado recipes with us for a chance to win some amazing prizes (read the details here). While you’re putting your thinking caps on and slicing open those avocados (check out How to: Prepare an Avocado), I have a chilled avocado soup to share with you, one that highlights the natural creaminess of this sunny fruit.

Whether you’re celebrating the 4th of July in the U.S. or Canada Day on July 1st, the blazing heat always comes as a shock as the calendars flip to July. Cool drinks and chilled meals seemed to be the only thing that my body craves this time of year. That’s where this simple, chilled soup comes in. On a hot day, there is nothing more refreshing than a cold vegetable soup, such as these asparagus or zucchini ones.

In each of my chilled soups, I like the fresh taste of the vegetable to shine through, and I avoid masking the natural texture by leaving out heavy creams. In this case, I pureed the avocado with some vegetable broth, as well as some simple aromatics. An extra layer of flavor and a touch more creaminess is achieved with a smidgen of coconut milk.

Given the buttery nature of avocados, this soup is rich and satisfying. I suggest serving it in small portions as an appetizer.

Be sure you don’t miss Kristen’s Salmon Sliders with Tangy Avocado Sauce. I’m already dreaming up additional ways I could use that gorgeous avocado sauce!

The recipe:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan set over medium-low heat. Add the onion and jalapeno pepper, and sweat (cook without browning) until the onion is soft and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for additional 2 minutes. Stir in the mint. Let the mixture cool slightly.

Place the avocados in a food processor or heavy-duty blender, along with 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth. Pulse until finely chopped.

Add the remaining broth, along with the onion mixture, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
Pour the soup into a medium-sized bowl and stir in the coconut milk.

Cover the soup and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled, garnished with some diced tomatoes (if desired).

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by the California Avocado Commission. In addition, they supplied me with some gorgeous avocados to use for this recipe.

Tagged as: avocado, chilled, coconut milk, dairy-free, jalapeno, recipe, soup