Keep this lettuce soup recipe in your back pocket for those summer days when you get carried away with the selection of the green at your local farmers market—or for when you realize you have a head of lettuce or a full bag of romaine hearts that have been sitting in the back corner of your veggie drawer for far too long. The recipe is extra forgiving: Any mix of salad greens, including arugula, spinach, watercress—even iceberg lettuce—works fine. Don’t throw away the outer leaves or ribs either; while rotten leaves should be discarded, if they’re merely slightly wilted, they’ll do just fine here. Similarly, you don’t need to be too specific about the type of potato you use. A starchy russet will give it the most body, but any spud goes. Resist the urge to substitute chicken broth or vegetable stock for the water. These ingredients would mask the subtle sweetness of the greens, making your lettuce soup taste more like vegetable soup.
Feel free to get creative with the finishes and garnishes. Want a zippier soup? Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before serving, or top a bowl with a dollop of sour cream. Want a little richness? Stir in a drizzle of heavy cream. A bit of crunch? Make some crispy olive-oil-fried croutons. Or, top it with chopped bacon and diced tomatoes, and suddenly, it’s not just lettuce soup: It’s BLT soup.
Recipe information
Total Time
35 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Melt 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a 4–5-qt. heavy pot over medium heat. Add 1 cup chopped onions, scallions, leeks, or shallots and 1 garlic clove, chopped and cook, stirring, until softened, 3–5 minutes. Add ¾ tsp. ground coriander, ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute, to bloom spices. Stir in ¾ cup chopped peeled russet potato, 8 cups coarsely chopped lettuce leaves including ribs (about ¾ lb.), and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potato is very tender, about 10 minutes.
Step 2
Purée soup in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) and return to pot (alternatively remove from heat and use an immersion blender). Bring soup to a simmer, whisk in remaining 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, and more salt and pepper to taste. Divide soup among 4 bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh tender herbs (if using).
Editor’s note: This lettuce soup recipe was first printed in the May 2005 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for our favorite summery cold soup recipes →
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Reviews (52)
Back to TopI used sweet potato because it's (supposedly!) healthier and it was YUM. Next time I'll double the recipe, it only just makes four servings. Lettuce from the garden ~ a warm and fuzzy bonus!
sandiola
Bangalow, NSW
7/18/2023
Do not forget to add radish tops, the green fuzzy stuff its great way to save your gardening efforts if the radish get a bit woody.
Anonymous
holland mi
7/7/2022
I just made this and we really liked it. I followed the recipe for the stated ingredients - with a couple of small changes. I used 16 oz of lettuce from our garden, and so, I increased the other amounts by 1/4. I tossed in a couple of basil leaves, too, but I cudn't taste them. I used a homemade chicken broth. I used only 2 pinches of coriander. I added a tsp of plain rice vinegar and about 5 drops of Tabasco towards the end. I don't have a blender, so I broke up the cooked and quite stringy leaves with my pot blender and then cooked it a bit more (covered) to make them easier to blend. (I cud have chopped them up at the start to get around that problem!) It wasn't as smooth as if it had been done in a blender, but it still had a nice texture. I sprinkled fresh chives on top before serving. At the table, I added a bit of 2% to my own bowl and I liked it. My husband had his soup plain. I think the Rose idea is a good one. At the most, even with the increased amounts I used, it made 4 modest servings.
Helen K
Burlington, Ontario
6/22/2022
Add or substitute one cup of French Rose’ wine at the end of the soup. Cook for a couple of minutes …Magnifique
Barbara Anderson
Central Florida
1/9/2022
We had 4 individuals create this soup and compared the outcome. What one might call a success, another might call a complete caca disaster. Don't listen to Jujuloafer, this 100% should be warm when ingested. Don't skimp on lettuce, it's an important ingredient. Also, consider adding carrots for a wonderful color explosion. Godspeed and good luck. <3
Jujuloafer is a Fraud
YMH, Minnesota
12/27/2021
Wow! Love the flavor of this soup. We've been eating a lot of soup lately and I'm always looking for new & different recipes, so naturally Lettuce Soup caught my eye. I was really skeptical it would be good -- boy was I wrong. I used only iceberg lettuce in the soup. The only change I made was to replace the water with chicken broth and added about 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes. The soup reminds me of classic French Vichyssoise soup (potato & leek) -- very elegant soup. Definitely will make again, both for family and company.
dory92064
San Diego, CA
4/22/2021
I add some mushrooms and parsley....surprise delicious taste
nellac
11/16/2016
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