As August begins to reach its end each year I begin to pick up my pace. Everything feels slightly more accelerated and slightly more pressing. I begin buying fruit in bulk. My kitchen would suggest that I am preparing for some long days of industrial canning, or for a situation in which the several fruit markets down the street are forced to shut down. In all actuality I’m not preserving or freezing or saving any fruit (or at least not much of it) for when the days become colder. Instead I am just eating it all. And a lot of it. You know what they say about living in the moment. My version of living in late summer moments is eating as much watermelon and as many peaches as I possibly can.
In addition to fruit, I am enjoying all other raw foods before I preheat my oven and keep it busy over the next few months with vegetables to roast and pies to bake. The weather has been cooperating almost perfectly with this venture. A few minutes out on my balcony and I break into a sweat. These hot temperatures are destined to leave Munich in a few days, but for as long as they last you can find me sitting in the sun eating avocado buttermilk soup. I’ll probably be wearing cut-offs and I’ll most likely be drinking a cold beer or some lemonade.
Cold soup is a funny thing. I automatically associate soup with blankets, scarves and Russian literature. Just the word itself makes me want to curl up and light a candle or two. It makes me want to toast some bread and brew some tea. The mention of soup doesn’t necessarily make me think of cut-offs or beer. In my mind soup is branded as a winter dish so as the weather warms up each year I find myself being reminded that soup does not need to be hot. No matter how much gazpacho or cold cucumber cream soup I eat in a summer as soon as fall comes around I forget about summer soup. 
However, I’m sure that I won’t forget about avocado buttermilk soup even when I am wearing snow boots. Avocados are certainly one of my staples. You’ll rarely not find one in my kitchen. I eat them more days than not. My fondness for them should be obvious enough that I can skip words like love and addicted and dependent. All those adjectives, however, can also be applied to how I feel about buttermilk so my feelings for avocado and buttermilk soup are a no-brainer.
This soup is refreshing yet creamy. It is cold in temperature and rich in flavour. It is simply all that anyone could ever ask a summer soup to be. Go make it now before autumn whisks summer away.
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Chilled Avocado Buttermilk Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
This chilled avocado buttermilk soup is a refreshing and creamy dish perfect for hot summer days, combining the rich flavors of avocado and buttermilk with a hint of lime and cayenne.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1/3 of a shallot, diced
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- Juice of half a lime
- 1 heaping tsp pumpkin seeds, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup - 2/3 cup (120-160 ml) water
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and reserve about a third of one half. Set that third aside, keeping it with the pit to prevent browning.
- In a blender, combine the remaining avocado flesh, buttermilk, diced shallot, cayenne pepper, lime juice, and water. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Season the soup with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Adjust the thickness by adding more water if desired.
- Chill the soup in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld and the soup to become refreshingly cold.
- Before serving, dice the reserved avocado and use it as a garnish along with pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For a thicker soup, use less water.
- Keep the avocado pit with the reserved avocado to prevent browning.
- This soup is best served cold, so ensure it chills for at least an hour.
- Garnish with extra pumpkin seeds for added texture.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 18
- Carbohydrates: 16
- Fiber: 7
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 5
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I keep the reserved avocado garnish from browning?
Step 1 instructs you to keep the reserved avocado piece with the pit — the pit slows oxidation. Dice and use it just before serving for the freshest color, since the soup chills for at least 1 hour after blending.
How thick should this soup be, and how do I adjust it?
The recipe blends one avocado with ½ cup buttermilk and ½ to ? cup water. The notes say to use less water for a thicker soup; you can add water a tablespoon at a time while blending until you reach your preferred consistency. The soup also thickens slightly after chilling.
What does the buttermilk bring to this soup, and can I skip it?
Buttermilk is the defining ingredient here — the author describes their fondness for both avocado and buttermilk as a “no-brainer” combination, and the ½ cup called for provides the creamy tang that balances the richness of the avocado. Skipping it would fundamentally change the soup’s character; a thin plain yogurt thinned with water is the closest structural substitute.
Can I make this soup ahead of time?
Yes — the recipe requires at least 1 hour of chilling, and the author describes it as a soup she returns to even when no longer in summer. Blend and refrigerate up to a few hours in advance, keeping the diced avocado garnish and pumpkin seeds separate until serving to preserve their texture and color.
