Coconut Green Soup with Celery, Kale & Ginger

May 11, 2016
(last updated December 31, 2020)
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Coconut green soup with celery, kale and ginger is creamy, comforting, and restorative with a touch of spice. Delicious and super healthy.

An overhead shot of bright green coconut green soup on top of a white marble background. There is a grey napkin nearby. The soup is garnished with cooked black rice, chickpeas, avocado, and fresh herbs.
Overhead shot of ingredients for soup on a white marble background and bamboo cutting board.
A white Dutch oven with tons of chopped chard added to it. A wooden spoon is sticking out of the pot.


This happens to me every other week or so. I buy celery to use as a base component of recipes, like in a soup, vegetable stock, or grain pilaf. Then, inevitably, I get a decent amount of limp celery stalks just sitting in my crisper with no real end purpose. I usually take that as my cue to make even more vegetable stock. But why not do something where celery gets a chance to shine a bit? I had some equally non-vibrant greens hanging around and knew that I needed a comforting coconut green soup with celery, lots of spices, and hearty garnishes.

Other clues that I needed this glowing green soup: we had a super busy weekend that gave way to lots of snacking and a few takeout boxes. We’re getting a new patio put into our backyard and, because of some last-minute scheduling, we realized that we needed to rip out our existing deck and some shrubs ASAP. I stayed within a comfortable caffeine high for about 3 days straight, and was kind of thinking about pizza whenever I wasn’t actually eating pizza haha.

I knew that I needed a bit of a reset day to just eat really colourful and simple things. Smoothies, tons of water, hot tea, and this vibrantly green and gorgeous soup! We’ve been having some cool and damp nights, so a warm bowl of this loaded up with toppings felt so good.

I think this coconut green soup is open to plenty of interpretation. You could use radish/carrot tops, nettles, or ramp greens. Fennel instead of celery. Maybe purée some soaked cashews or pistachios in the mix. Use cashew milk or a thick homemade almond milk instead of coconut. And garnish it however you like to really make it your own! These are my favourite kind of recipes because they’re adaptable and always within reach, no matter what kind of week you’re having.

Some other simple blended soups that you might like: fennel walnut soup with turmeric and leeks, kabocha squash and chestnut soup, and this carrot ginger soup with tahini cream.

Up close shot of chopped celery on a bamboo cutting board
An up close shot of kale wilting in a pot of soup with a big puddle of creamy coconut milk in the middle.
An overhead shot of bright green coconut green soup on top of a white marble background. There is a grey napkin nearby. The soup is garnished with cooked black rice, chickpeas, avocado, and fresh herbs.
An up close, overhead shot of bright green coconut green soup.The soup is garnished with cooked black rice, chickpeas, avocado, and fresh herbs.
An up close, overhead shot of coconut green soup in a wide bowl. The bowl is topped with black rice, chickpeas, diced avocado, and fresh basil. The bright green soup is streaked with coconut milk and hot sauce.
Print Recipe
5 from 8 votes

Coconut Green Soup with Celery, Kale & Ginger

Coconut green soup with celery, kale and ginger is creamy, comforting, and restorative with a touch of spice. Delicious and super healthy.
PREP TIME15 mins
COOK TIME25 mins
TOTAL TIME40 mins
Course Main Course, Soup
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 6
Author: Laura Wright

Equipment

Ingredients

Soup

  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 large shallot, chopped (about ¾ cup diced shallot)
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 1 small bunch of celery, chopped (about 4 cups chopped celery)
  • 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (roughly 2 tablespoons)
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 cups chopped and packed greens (I used kale and a bit of chard)
  • 1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice

For Topping/Garnishing

  • cooked brown rice
  • cooked lentils or chickpeas
  • sliced ripe avocado
  • extra coconut milk
  • olive oil or chili-infused olive oil
  • chopped basil or chives

Instructions

  • Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds to the pot and toast in the dry pot until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the spices from the pot and grind them to a powder. Set aside.
  • Drop the coconut oil into the pot and let it melt/heat up for 30 seconds. Add the shallots to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, celery, and apple to the pot and stir. Add the ginger, ground cumin and coriander to the pot and stir to distribute the spices among the vegetables.
  • Add the vegetable stock to the pot and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the vegetables and broth to a boil and then simmer, stirring here and there, until the zucchini is very tender, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the chopped greens and coconut milk to the pot and stir to mix. Keep simmering and stirring until the greens have wilted and are bright green. Remove the vegetables and stock from the heat.
  • Purée the soup with a stick blender or in batches using an upright blender. Return the puréed soup to the pot and bring it to a boil. Stir the fresh lime juice into the soup and adjust any other seasoning. Serve coconut green soup hot with any garnishes you like.

Notes

  • I cook a diced zucchini in this soup to make it a little extra bit creamy, but if you have cooked white or navy beans on hand, you could throw 3/4 cup of them into the soup right before you purée it for a similar texture and extra protein.

Posted in all seasons, appetizer, autumn, everyday eats, gluten free, grain-free, how-to, main course, nut free, quick, refined sugar-free, soup, spring, summer, vegan, winter
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