Spinach soup or Palak soup is a wonderfully flavorful, comforting, and healthy dish. It’s made with simple, wholesome ingredients for a highly nutritious soup. Here you’ll find step-by-step instructions with photos (and video) for how to make my easy one-pot spinach soup that is gluten-free too.
More on Spinach Soup
Spinach (palak) has long been known as an incredibly healthy “supergreen” ingredient. Raw spinach is a low-calorie food packed with essential nutrients like iron, calcium, and vitamin K.
But although spinach is healthful, not everyone is fond of its flavor. However, if cooked properly and seasoned well these nutritious greens really can make a fan of even the staunchest spinach critics.
This spinach soup, for example, is an easy and delicious way to include leafy greens in your diet. Flavorful aromatics are sautéed with fresh spinach, then made faintly thick and mildly sweet with chickpea/gram flour.
The soup is seasoned beautifully so that every spoonful has a wonderful – and not overwhelming – taste of earthy, savory spinach.
I use an immersion blender to get the palak soup perfectly creamy, and the recipe is therefore a one-pot dish as well! Consider topping the soup with some coconut cream like I have done to make it an even healthier vegan spinach soup.
I love to make various Soup Recipes and they are so comforting and healthier during colder days. Sipping a mug of steaming hot soup is like a warm hug during winters.
Continue reading for the full recipe and video for how to make my favorite, ridiculously simple, bright and flavorful spinach soup from scratch!
How to Make Palak Soup (Spinach Soup)
Prep Spinach
1. Using a strainer or colander rinse some spinach leaves very well in water a few times, removing any mud or soil clinging on the leaves or stems. Drain all the water.
Remember that if the stems are tender, you can use them. If the stems are stringy or fibrous, then only use the leaves.
2. Then chop and set them aside. Measure and you will need 2 cups of chopped spinach.
Sauté Aromatics
3. Heat 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of oil (any neutral flavored oil or olive oil) in a saucepan or kadai. Keep heat to a low. Add bay leaf and sauté for 2 to 3 seconds.
Note that instead of bay leaf you can also use tej patta (Indian bay leaf).
4. Then add ¼ teaspoon of chopped garlic cloves. Sauté on low heat until the garlic is lightly browned. Be careful to not burn the garlic or it will taste bitter.
5. Then add ¼ cup chopped onions. Sauté stirring often until the onions are softened.
6. Add the 2 cups of chopped spinach. Stir to combine, and season with ¼ teaspoon black pepper and salt to taste.
7. Now add 1 tablespoon gram flour (besan). You can also use chickpea flour or all-purpose flour or cornmeal instead.
8. Combine and stir to mix well.
Cook Palak Soup Mixture
9. Next pour 2 cups of water into the pot. For a more flavorful soup opt to add vegetable stock instead of water.
10. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low to medium heat.
11. After the soup mixture comes to a boil, simmer for 3 to 4 minutes on low to medium-low heat.
12. Add ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin powder. Mix again.
13. Switch off the heat and remove the pot from the burner, and let the soup mixture cool slightly.
14. Before blending remove the bay leaf (or tej patta) from the soup mixture and discard it.
If you forget to remove the bay leaf/tejpatta, your spinach soup will have a weird bitter taste.
Make Spinach Soup
15. Once the soup has cooled, use either an immersion blender or hand blender to blend until smooth.
You can also use a standing blender or mixer-grinder and work in batches if needed. Just be sure the soup has dropped to a temperature that’s safe for whatever equipment you use.
If the soup looks a bit thick, then add ¼ cup water and stir. The consistency should be smooth, and slightly thin.
16. Turn the stovetop heat back on to medium, and bring the palak soup to a gentle simmer. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Before serving check the seasonings. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
17. Pour in soup bowls and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of coconut cream.
Sprinkle some crushed black pepper if needed. A topping of bread croutons also tastes good with this soup.
18. Serve Spinach soup hot or warm as a starter or as a light dinner with a side of any Vegetable Salad.
You can also serve this soup as an entree with a main course of any baked dish or Pasta or simple rice-based dish like Pulao or pilaf.
FAQs
Add freshly cracked pepper, or a pinch of crushed red pepper for some heat. For a non-vegan version you can also grate on some paneer or other cheese, or add a dollop of low-fat cream before serving. Make this a heartier soup by adding cooked macaroni.
Enjoy a warm bowl of this soup with crusty bread or crackers for dipping. It’s great to serve with a fresh green salad for lunch or a light dinner.
Yes, this soup is easy to prepare in larger quantities! As-is this will serve 2 people. Double or even triple the recipe for however many servings you need.
Stored in an airtight container leftover spinach soup without the coconut cream will keep well for up to 2 days.
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Spinach Soup Recipe (Palak Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped spinach (palak)
- ¼ cup chopped onions
- ¼ teaspoon chopped garlic or 2 to 3 small to medium-sized garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon gram flour or chickpea flour – swap with cornmeal or all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin (cumin powder)
- 1 bay leaf – small sized, swap with tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 2 cups water or vegetable stock
- 1 or 1.5 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or add as required
- salt as required
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut cream for topping, optional
- 2 to 3 pinches of crushed black pepper – optional
Instructions
Preparation
- First rinse the spinach leaves very well in water a few times. Then drain all the water.
- Chop the spinach leaves and keep aside. If the stems are tender, you can use these too.
Sautéing and cooking spinach soup mixture
- Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add the bay leaf or tej patta and sauté for 2 to 3 seconds on low heat.
- Now add the chopped garlic and sauté till the garlic is light browned or browned. Don't burn the garlic.
- Sauté the garlic on a low heat. Add chopped onions and sauté till the onions are softened.
- Add the chopped spinach. Stir and season with black pepper and salt.
- Now add the besan or gram flour. Mix well.
- Pour 2 cups water and mix again.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add ground cumin and stir well.
- Switch off the heat and let the soup mixture cool a bit.
Making spinach soup
- When the soup mixture's heat has reduced or has become warm, first remove the bay leaf or tej patta and discard it.
- Then blend with a hand blender or in a blender until fine and smooth.
- Check the seasonings and add some more salt or pepper if required.
- If the soup looks thick, then add about ¼ cup water and stir.
- Keep the well blended soup back on the stove for simmering for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Serve spinach soup hot sprinkled with some freshly crushed black pepper and coconut cream.
Video
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Spinach Soup recipe from the blog archives first published in July 2013 has been republished and updated on November 2022.
Made this today. It was so amazing and flavourful. Thanks
Glad to know and thank you. Welcome!
The spinach soup turned out so creamy and delicious. Thank you for your ready to follow yet perfect recipes always 🙂
Great and thanks for sharing this lovely feedback.
Made the spinach soup today and it was so good. Will surely increase the proportions for next time. Thanks a lot.
I love your soups and have tried a variety of them recently. Since we are vegetarians, i have really enjoyed your veg recipes.
Thanks a lot for sharing your feedback on the soup recipes that you have made from the website. Thanks also for the rating on this recipe.
Dear Dassana,
I tried the spinach soup with your recipe, came out amazing very flavoursome. Thanks.
Nice to know and thanks for the rating and feedback.
Dear Dassana ji
Perfect timing for healthy Soup recipe.
I have tried many of your recipes and everyone in our family enjoying it.
God Bless you with all success.
Warm Regards
Thanks a lot Vina ji for the feedback on the recipes you have tried and also for your kind wishes.
love the way you tell your recipes.
Thank you Roopali.
Under your guidance,we are made mostly receipes ,now we stopped to purchase (parcel) or eating out.Thanks.
That is good to know and thank you. Welcome and Happy Cooking.
Your every dishes..I already made at home..n I love your receipe… specially my husband like your palak soup..
thanks sarita for the positive reviews on the recipes you have tried and the palak soup recipe. glad to read them. happy cooking.
Hi Dassana! I have been converted to Vegan recently. It was very difficult to eat vegan recipes of other countries (fitness based recipes), when I had the taste buds familiar with South indian recipes.
Your website helped me to fulfill my fitness journey in a good way for the past 6 months!
Regarding the recipe, its fantastic, just added sesame seeds as a garnish!
Nice and easy recipe but i would like to know which ingredient makes Sodium reading high. As per nutrition chart it is 1196 (50%) which is i believe very high. Even ready made soups have lower sodium. I assume serving size is medium size bowl- 250-500 grams.
thanks snehal. i calculated the nutrition data again. not sure what was giving this error of such a high sodium content. after calculating it again, the sodium content has become 39 now. thanks for letting me know about this. i have changed it in the recipe card also.
Hey, thank for quick reply. New number make more sense.. I am going to try your recipe today and will share experience. I am sure it is going to taste well. thank you again and keep sharing healthy recipes. I am newbie to kitchen and want to eat healthy food.
welcome snehal. yes it does make sense. sure do share and i hope the recipe goes well for you. already i have shared many healthy recipes on website and will definitely try to add more.
Have made several recipes from your blog, but this is the first time I’m commenting. The soup turned out perfect, and the besan was a touch of genius!
Thanks for this treasure trove of never-fail recipes – much appreciated and often referred to!
Welcome Mekhola. Glad to read your positive words full of appreciation. Thanks for your positive feedback on recipes.
It’s very tasty and I liked it very much. Just one small query, can we use any other flour instead of besan or gram flour?Do you have any option??
Thanks Priya. You can use corn flour.
Tried this today. It turned out awesome. Perfect consistency – exactly like Restaurants.
Your picture tutorial helps a great deal… Thanks for sharing your talent with us 🙂
Welcome Kruti. Glad to know that you liked the recipe.
I love palak soup but was never able to cook like restaurant.. I followed this video today and the soup tastes amazing and just like restaurant.. 🙂
Thank you dassana
thanks shweta for this positive feedback on the palak soup recipe. welcome 🙂