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Creamy Watercress Soup (Old Family Recipe)

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This Watercress Soup recipe is a creamy and bright soup loaded with vegetables and tons of flavor. An old family recipe from the restaurant.

I absolutely love cooking and eating watercress. It’s such a bright and fresh vegetable, so whenever I see it in season, I grab a few bunches. This watercress soup elevates this humble green and makes it shine.

This creamy watercress soup recipe came from my Aunt Ruth’s cookbook, she was one of the best cooks around!  The below recipes was served at her and my grandfather’s restaurant Murphy’s, and was a crowd favorite.

This Creamy Watercress Soup Recipe Is:

  • Bright
  • Fresh
  • Flavorful
  • Satisfying
  • Loaded with Flavor
  • Vegetarian and Gluten Free
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Make Watercress Soup Vegetarian

This vegetarian watercress soup recipe is a simple way to get extra veggies in your diet. I’m all about making recipes plant-based when I can. Vegetarian cooking does NOT have to be bland, boring, or flavorless… It’s quite the opposite when done right. By building meals around vegetarian pantry staples and swapping in a few plant-based ingredients you can make better meals for you and your family.

What’s In This Cream of Watercress Soup Recipe?

See the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!

  • Watercress, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes
  • Unsalted Butter – we only use unsalted butter which helps keep the sodium down in this soup. You can always add salt later, but it’s impossible to take out of a recipe.
  • Watercress – a bight and flavorful green, sometimes sold by the salad mixes, sometimes by the herbs! I love adding this amazingly fresh watercress to soups and salads, or avocado toast.  
  • Low sodium vegetable stock
  • Half & Half or Light Cream – I find that using either half & half, or light cream has just enough fat content to make this totally decadent – no need to use heavy cream in this.
  • Pink Himalayan Sea Salt & Black pepper
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The Best Blender for Soups

I recommend using a good-quality high speed blender for this recipe. I have a fantastic Vitamix blender, which I have been using for years, and it gets daily use in our home.

Choose a blender that has a lot of power, and can pulverize even the toughest of ingredients. My blender can chop ice, dates, frozen fruits, make soups, and even blend nuts into homemade nut butter. Using a good high-speed blender will make perfectly creamy smoothies and sauces every time!

How Do I Make Soup with Watercress?

  1. Sauté leeks and onions in butter. Add the grated potatoes and the stock. Cook until tender, about 45 minutes.
  2. Boil watercress in salted water for about 2 minutes. Drain and put in a blender with leek and onion mixture.  Add milk and half-and-half and blend until well combined.
  3. Serve hot or cold with a dollop of cream on each cup.
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Get the Same Ingredients for this Creamy Watercress Soup Recipe

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Creamy Watercress Soup

Kelly Jensen
This Watercress Soup recipe is a creamy and bright soup loaded with vegetables and tons of flavor. An old family recipe from the restaurant.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American, Family Recipe
Servings 6 servings
Calories 200 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 3 leeks chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 potatoes grated
  • 1 bunch watercress
  • 3 cups Vegetable Stock
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt *see note below
  • Cream for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Sauté leeks and onions in butter. Add the grated potatoes and the stock. Cook until tender, about 45 minutes.
  • Boil watercress in salted water for about 2 minutes. Drain and put in a blender with leek and onion mixture.  Add milk and half-and-half and blend until well combined.
  • Serve hot or cold with a dollop of cream on each cup.

Notes

*my Great Aunt’s original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of salt, I lowered it to a teaspoon as we tend to eat low sodium in our household.

Nutrition

Calories: 200kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 6gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 450mgPotassium: 689mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1102IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 148mgIron: 2mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a rating and comment below, let us know what you loved about it!

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Posted in American, Dinners, Friend & Family Recipes, Gluten Free, Holiday Recipes, Side Dishes, Soups, The Herbeevore Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

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