15 Cold Spanish Soups for a Refreshing Summer Treat

Spanish soups are some of the best comfort foods you can get out of the Mediterranean region. With so many ingredients and variations, you will get a different experience after tasting each Spanish regional soup.

From cold soup to hot soup, the sheer variety of this side of Spain’s gastronomy will surely surprise you. There are even vegetarian options for those who are a bit more environmentally conscious.

To help you experience an authentic part of Spanish cuisine, I have prepared a list of Spain’s most iconic soups. You will be able to recreate many of these heart-warming recipes from Spain. Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s get into it.

Cold Spanish soup recipes below represent some of the most beloved specialties in Spain. You may find recipes with the same ingredients but having totally different cooking methods. That’s the true beauty of Spanish cooking diversity.

1. Spanish Vegetable Soup (Sopa Or Menestra De Verduras)

Total time: 40 minutes

This entry is a vegetarian recipe of Spanish cuisine. Sopa (or Menestra) De Verandas is Spain’s own version of a vegetable soup. You can make it with any in-season vegetables, that’s why it’s popular with many Spaniards.

Menestra De Verundas was a popular restaurant food in both regions of La Rioja and Navarra. But nowadays, you only find home cooks making it.

To recreate the dish, you will need the following ingredients: cabbage, carrots, and leeks. The first step is to clean and chop up the vegetables. After sauteing onions and garlic in a skillet, add the chopped vegetables and stir well.

The final step is to add the broth and cover the skillet with a lid. When the vegetables turn soft enough, you can transfer them to a bowl. Menestra De Verduras is a refreshing soup that can warm you up on cold days. The broth gives this soup a very sweet and savory aroma.

2. Spanish Lentil & Rice Soup (Lentejas Con Arroz)

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Known in Spain as Lentejas Con Arroz, the Spanish Lentil And Rice Soup will give you a boost of energy when you are feeling under the weather.

For this recipe, you will need vegetable broth, lentils, and a variety of vegetables. You can also add rice alongside the lentils. First, you will need to chop up the vegetables before adding them to a skillet. When the veggies are sweated nicely, you add the tomato sauce.

As soon as this mixture comes to a boil, you pour in the broth and the lentils. Cook until the lentils are soft. The final step is to put the rice in the skillet and close the lid. Once the rice completely puffs up, you can scoop the soup into a bowl.

Lentejas Con Arroz is a very great and heart-warming dish. Due to the cooking process, the essence of the soup seeps into both rice and lentils. That means a single spoonful of them is enough to charge you up for the day.  

Whenever you want a good pick-me-up, just make this fantastic Lentejas Con Arroz. 

3. Spanish Pea Soup (Sopa Cremosa De Arvejas Or Sopa De Guisantes)

Total time: 45 minutes

If you prefer a creamier type of soup, let me introduce you to the Sopa Cremosa De Arvejas, or Spanish Pea Soup. This delicacy hails from the southern region of Andalusia, where most of Spain’s unique food comes from.

The origin of pea soup is from Greece in 400 BC when locals started harvesting the plants. Thanks to the spread of Greek culture across Europe, this delicacy arrived in Spain around the same time period.

In order to recreate this soup, you will need peas, heavy cream, and any type of cured meat (for this recipe, I choose Serrano ham). The first step is to create a mixture of peas and vegetable broth. You cook this mixture until the peas turn soft before blending them together.

After you’re done with the blending, pour this back onto a skillet and add heavy cream to thicken up this soup. You can add slices of cured meat as a garnish. Sopa Cremosa De Arvejas is very rich and filling. One bowl of this soup will sustain you for quite a while.

4. Spanish Almond Soup (Ajo Blanco)

Total time: 10 minutes

Before the arrival of tomatoes to Spain in the 16th century, ancient Spaniards had another popular ingredient to make their soup. Introducing Ajo Blanco or Spanish Almond Soup, it’s a creamy soup made from almonds that will steal your heart instantly.

What you need to cook this unique dish are blanched Marcona almonds, dried white bread, and cold water. The first step is to blend the bread, almonds, and cold water until you see a smooth mixture in the blender. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

You can serve Ajo Blanco as it is, or you can chill it for a couple of hours. This cold Spanish soup is a really great way to help you cool off during the summer. It’s fresh and savory with a hint of nuttiness on the side.

5. Spanish Bread & Garlic Soup (Sopa De Ajo Or Sopa Castellana)

Total time: 30 minutes

If you want to quickly whip up a bowl of soup during a busy day, Sopa De Ajo or Spanish Bread & Garlic Soup will be just enough. The recipe for the soup only requires a few simple ingredients, but the flavor is not so simple at all.

For the ingredients, you will need a baguette or any suitable bread from Spain, garlic, and vegetable broth. First, you need to chop up the garlic. Then, you saute the garlic with olive oil until you smell a nice fragrance.

Add the bread to a pan, and stir a little before adding the vegetable broth. When the broth starts bubbling a bit, crack an egg to thicken up the soup.

Despite its simplicity, Sopa De Ajo is still rich and delicious. The garlicky aroma and sweet vegetable broth enhance the whole soup. The texture is very lumpy and saucy, thanks to the bread and egg.

6. Spanish Cold Tomato Soup (Gazpacho)

Total time: 45 minutes (With 30 minutes of chilling time)

As I have mentioned above, it was not until the 16th century that the Spaniards brought tomatoes back to their homeland from the Americas. This new addition helped Spain create a new set of dishes, including its most popular soup Gazpacho.

This famous Spanish starter comes from the southern regions. The main ingredient list includes vegetables of your choice, apple cider vinegar, and seasoning. The first and most important step is to wash the veggies thoroughly before cutting them into bite-sized cubes.

The next step is to add all of the vegetables into a bowl and pour in apple cider vinegar and lime juice before mixing. Season the soup to taste.

You can serve the soup immediately, or you can chill it in a fridge for a few hours. The soup is just a good way to relieve both heat and stress. The soup packs a lot of delightful flavors from crunchy vegetables to tangy lime juice and spicy hot sauce.  

This simple Gazpacho tutorial can help you cool down a lot in the summer.

7. Spanish Cold Tomato And Bread Soup (Salmorejo)

Total time: 35 minutes

Now, let’s move on to a variant of the Gazpacho. While the main portion of this version is still tomatoes, both the texture and the ingredients are different. It’s also quite popular in many southern Spanish regions, especially Andalusia.

For the cooking process, you will need tomatoes, any type of white bread (for this recipe, I choose sandwich bread), and sherry vinegar. You start by deseeding and chopping the tomatoes. Next, you put the tomatoes and white bread into a bowl before pouring in hot water.

Wait until both tomatoes and bread turn soggy. After that, you blend them into a puree and add the sherry vinegar. When you’re done, transfer the soup onto another bowl and garnish it with olive oil and shredded ham.

Similar to Ajo Blanco, Salmorejo is very smooth and creamy. You can cleanly taste the umami from the tomatoes. The olive oil and ham add that light saltiness to the soup.

8. Thick Cold Tomato Soup (Porra Antequerana)

Total time: 10 minutes

This next specialty is another cousin to Gazpacho. Porra Antequerana is almost identical to Salmorejo, but its texture is thicker. That’s why Spaniards also like to have Porra as a dip. This soup also comes from the south, specifically from the municipality of Malaga.

For the main ingredients, you will need tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and peppers (both green and bell). The cooking process is simple for this recipe: you only need to blend all of the ingredients above together until a smooth mixture appears.

After that, pour the mixture into a bowl. You can refrigerate the soup for a few hours before serving it. Porra Antequerana goes well with a piece of bread or some shredded ham. Since the dish is a type of cold soup, you will feel better eating it on a hot day.

9. Spanish Mango Soup (Gazpacho De Mango)

Total time: 20 minutes

To cap off the various versions of Gazpacho, I want to introduce you to Gazpacho De Mango, or simply Spanish Mango Soup. This unique spin on a classic Mediterranean soup will bring you to a more tropical side of Spain.

In order to recreate the soup, you will need mangoes, tomatoes, and peppers (jalapenos and bell). Similar to Salmorejo and Porra Antequerana, you need to blend all of the veggies together to create a smooth liquid. You can add vinegar and seasoning to adjust the taste of the soup.

Once you’re done with that step, pour the Mango Soup onto a plate or a bowl. You can let the soup chill in the fridge before serving. Aside from the usual umami from the tomatoes, the mangoes add both sweetness and sourness to the cold soup.

10. Caldo Gallego (Galician Soup)

Total time: From 50 minutes to 2 hours 50 minutes

Taking a break from the southern Spanish soups, I would like to tell you more about this Galician delicacy from the northern side. The origin of Caldo Gallego was from Galician farmers who had to make this soup from whatever ingredients they could find on the land.

That is why the core recipe for this dish is different from place to place. For this particular version, you will need to get white beans, potatoes, and turnips. Aside from the veggies, you can add ham and chorizo as proteins for the soup.

First, you need to cook the ham and the chorizo in a pot until it’s done. After that, you add white beans and water to simmer. When the beans turn a little soft, you put in both potatoes and turnips. Cook until all of the vegetables become a little tender.

You can serve the soup hot in a bowl. Caldo Gallego is especially rich with both ham and chorizo. The beans provide a lot of starch and necessary nutrients. This delicacy is versatile since you can eat it in the morning, afternoon, and night.

The recipe for Caldo Gallego is worth it if you want a rich meal for a whole day.

11. Spanish Seafood Soup (Sopa De Marisco)

Total time: 1 hour  

If you’re someone who likes tasty Spanish seafood recipes, I have just the suitable Spanish soup for you. Sopa De Marisco, or Spanish Seafood Soup, takes full advantage of Spain’s position between two large bodies of water.

This is another delicacy from the capital of southern Spanish cuisine, Andalusia. Despite the fact that Spaniards have enjoyed seafood for centuries, it was not until the 19th that the soup was created.

For the ingredients, you will need fish filet, prawns, and mussels. Aside from the seafood, you also have to get water and fish stock. First, saute garlic and onions in a skillet. After both turn brown, you add in the fish stock and water. The final step is to add in the seafood.

When you see the fish turn musky white and the mussels opening up, transfer the soup onto a plate. You can season the soup to taste or eat it straight. The seafood already adds a lot of that savoriness to the broth.

12. Spanish Chicken Noodle Soup (Sopa De Pollo Con Fideos)

Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Every country has its own rendition of chicken soup. And Spain is not an outlier. Sopa De Pollo Con Fideos, or Spanish Chicken Noodle Soup, is a great chicken recipe from Spain. The delicacy is the main course of many Spanish meals.

To make the Spanish Chicken Noodle Soup, you will need the following ingredients: chicken, vegetables, herbs, and spices. In the past, people used chicken broth to cook this. But now, they replace it with water to reduce the amount of fat.

The first thing you need to do is saute the chopped-up veggies. Then, you place the chicken in the pan until it is brown. After this, add the water, herbs, and spices. When you see the soup is boiling, take the chicken out, remove the bone, and put the meat back.

Bring the soup back to a boil and add the noodles in. You can use any type of noodles, but I highly suggest pasta. When the noodles are soft, you scoop the soup into a bowl. When you experience a cold day, this soup will be your lifesaver with its rich and warm nature.

13. Spanish Chickpeas Soup (Sopa De Garbanzo)

Total time: 2 hours

Another staple Spanish soup, Sopa De Garbanzo, or Spanish Bean Soup, comes from the southern region of Andalusia. In the past, this used to be a poor man’s food, but it started gaining a lot of popularity among the upper class during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

For the main ingredients, you will need chickpeas, chorizo (a type of spicy sausage from Spain), and spices. First, you need to wash and soak the chickpeas overnight. In the meantime, you can chop the chorizo into smaller cubes before adding it to a pot with chicken stock.

Cook the stock for a little bit before adding the chickpeas and spices. If you want to, you can add potatoes as well. When the soup comes to a boil, scoop it out onto a plate.

14. Spanish Leek Soup (Porrusalda)

Total time: 30 minutes

This Spanish specialty comes from the Basque Country, northeastern Spain. Porrusalda, or Spanish Leek Soup, contains all of the goodness that comes from the region. It’s a tasty food that you cannot miss out on.

In order to prepare Porrusalda, you need leeks, potatoes, and chicken stock for the broth. First, you have to chop up both the leeks and potatoes. Saute the leeks on a skillet first to loosen up all the fiber. Then, you add the potatoes in and keep cooking until they turn soft as well.

The final step is to pour the chicken stock in and wait until the soup comes to a boil. To add a bit more flavor, a piece of salted cod can be added. Garnish the dish with parsley before serving. This warm soup is perfect when you need something warm and comforting to eat. 

Learn how to make Spain’s comfort food Porrusalda through this tutorial.

15. Spanish Potato And Chorizo Soup

Total time: 40 minutes

Potato And Chorizo is a pork-based recipe from Spain that you should try. It combines two popular ingredients in Spanish cooking. The simplicity of this soup is what makes it an instant classic to most Spaniards and other parts of the world.

In order to prepare this delicacy, you will need chorizo (a spicy Spanish sausage), potatoes, and chicken broth. Aside from those, bacon is an important part that gives the soup a richer taste. First, you saute the bacon until it crisps up. After that, transfer the bacon to a plate.

Remove some of the fat from the skillet but continue browning the chorizo with the rest. Then, you add the onions and tomato paste. Finally, when everything gives off a nice aroma, you put the chicken broth, potatoes, and bacon in. Add a bit of heavy cream to thicken up the soup.

As a soup, this dish is very filling thanks to the potatoes and the chorizo. Not only that, the cream makes the texture of the soup so delectable. You also have the savoriness from the bacon and the sweetness from the broth.