Tarator can refer to a soup, appetizer or sauce, depending on where you are or who’s making it. In Bulgaria, it’s a refreshing cold summer soup that’s served in a bowl or a glass. Inspired by Bulgarian tarator, this is an easy vegan cold cucumber soup recipe with fresh dill, walnuts, garlic and more. Traditionally, Bulgarians use whole milk yogurt and thin it with water, but in our case, I’ll offer directions to make it with vegan yogurt, plant based kefir or raw cashews. Regardless of the method you choose to, it comes together very quickly.
This recipe makes ~4 servings.
A few things…
- ・A little pinch of salt over the garlic releases the moisture and softens it. It makes it easier to mince.
- ・To peel or not to peel the cucumbers? I like the added fiber and nutrients that come from the peel, so I tend to leave it on. Other times, I remove it. Do what suits you.
- ・I really liked vegan unsweetened plain coconut yogurt in this cold cucumber soup. It had a higher fat content than other varieties, and gave the soup body and flavor.
- ・If you use vegan kefir or the raw cashews + water, you should not need water to thin either of them. The water is only needed to thin the yogurt.
- ・This vegan cold cucumber soup recipe is best served right away.
- ・As a variation, add some finely chopped carrots or radishes.
- Please enjoy! And check out other UVK recipes, like Grilled Red Pepper Spread, Vegan Cold Beet Soup, Vegan Cucumber Mint Sandwiches, Roasted Fennel and Beets, Vegan Tzatziki Sauce, Cold Mango Soup, Vegan Pickle Soup and more.
Vegan Cold Cucumber Soup
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 large English cucumber, peeled (or not) and finely chopped
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh dill
½ cup finely chopped raw walnuts
1 cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt (OR 2 cups plain unsweetened vegan kefir OR 1 cup whole raw cashews + 2 cups water + 2 Tbsp lemon juice)
Water, to thin (if you used vegan yogurt)
Salt, to taste
1. Chop up the garlic. Sprinkle it with salt, and continue chopping until it’s minced. Add it to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. If you used vegan yogurt, thin it with water until you like the consistency (I added ~1 cup of water). If you used vegan keifer or the cashews, you should not need to thin it.
3. Taste the vegan cold cucumber soup. Season with salt (I added ~½ tsp). Taste again, and adjust seasonings, if needed (more salt? more dill?). Serve immediately.
