Homemade zucchini soup is smooth, simple and easy to make. It tastes wonderful with so few ingredients and is so rich and creamy that you won't believe that it's made with zucchini. Bursting with flavor, this summer soup is delicious hot or chilled.
Silky smooth zucchini soup is made with fresh ingredients and thickened naturally with potatoes instead of flour or cornstarch. It's as delicious as it is beautiful. A great way to use up those garden zucchini or to enjoy the end of summer season when the weather starts cooling off. Who knew Zucchini recipes could be this delicious?
Be sure to also try Zucchini Carpaccio and Zucchini Pasta.
This is a perfect vegetable soup to make ahead of time - simply make a big batch and put several containers in the freezer. Whenever ready to use - thaw in the fridge overnight.
Key Ingredients for Easy Zucchini Soup
- Zucchini: I don't peel the zucchini since the skin adds texture and flavor, but if your zucchini is large, the skin can be tougher and thicker. Most of the zucchini you'll find in the grocery store will be picked before they are fully grown, so the skin will be the perfect consistency.
- Veggie broth: Every delicious soup starts with rich and wholesome stock or broth, infused with flavor to build upon. Because we are making zucchini soup, I definitely would go with the veggie broth.
- Russet potatoes: These work great as a thickener in soup. You get a nice creamy consistency and it's a much better flavor than any of the starch options.
- Salt: I used both regular and celery salt.
- Heavy cream: Cream is something you add at the end and also something you use as a seasoning, adding to taste and not exact volumes.
How to make zucchini soup at home
So what's in this homemade zucchini soup? It's basically diced zucchini, an onion, some garlic and a starchy potatoes. Making soup only takes minutes, but your guests will think you've been cooking all day!
1. Brown the zucchini
In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once heated, start by browning zucchini and onions till they have some color.
Cook the vegetables until the zucchini is soft and onion is translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Zucchini has a high water content and cooks really fast.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
2. Simmer the potatoes and zucchini
Pour in the veggie broth, salt, potatoes, lemon juice, celery salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Once a simmer is reached, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer until the potatoes are tender and falling apart. About 15 minutes.
The starches from the potatoes will thicken the soup even more so if you blend them in the next step.
3. Blend
Use an immersion blender to blend in the potatoes with zucchini and achieve that smooth finish you want, then add some salt black pepper to taste.
4. Add cream and cheese
Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and heat until melted. I always add heavy cream at the end. The cream doesn't develop or absorb any flavors so you gain nothing from adding it in earlier. But if you overheat it you can risk splitting it and ruining the entire dish.
What to serve zucchini soup with
You can serve this delicious zucchini soup as the main entrée or as an accompaniment to a variety of dishes, such as your favorite summer salad, grilled chicken or fish. It also tastes delicious along a sandwich or when served with rolls.
Serve garnished with croutons, olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, and chopped parsley, if desired. But can never go wrong with croutons or crusty Dutch Oven Bread!
Homemade Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs zucchini chopped
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups veggie broth low sodium
- 1 lb russet potatoes peeled and cut into small even pieces
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Optional Garnishes
- croutons
- drizzle of olive oil
- fresh cracker pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the zucchini and onions and cook until the zucchini is soft. About 6-7 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Pour in the veggie broth salt, potatoes, lemon juice, celery salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Once a simmer is reached, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer until the potatoes are tender and falling apart. About 15 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and heat until melted.
- Serve garnished with croutons, olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, and chopped parsley, if desired.
Tips on making the best zucchini soup
- Use an immersion blender to blend in the potatoes with zucchini and achieve that smooth finish you want. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can blend the soup in a normal blender in batches.
- When to add cream: Always add cream to soup when you are about to serve it.
- Try to get a nice brown on the zucchini if you can. Browned zucchini has a bolder flavor that just sauteed zucchini and it adds so much yummy flavor to the soup.
- Taste the soup to see if you want more salt before serving.
FAQ
- Can I make zucchini soup dairy free? Add dairy free yogurt instead of the heavy cream. You can also just leave out the cheese if desired.
- Should I peel the zucchini? The short answer is no, but if your zucchini is large or the skin is tough, then go ahead and peel it.
- What if my soup is too watery? if you find your soup taste too thin, you just need to cook it down and reduce the liquid for longer. Or use more potatoes. You should not need any thickener other than the potatoes themselves.
Variations to the recipe
- This recipe is fairly customizable: Use curry powder or a pinch of cayenne. Add shredded carrots in when you add the potatoes to add more veggies.
- Make it chunky: If you don't want it all the way pureed you can keep it slightly chunky.
- Broth: You can use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.
Storage and leftovers
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. The soup may separate slightly (due to the presence of heavy cream and starch) as it sits but once warmed up again will stir together again nicely.
- Rewarm covered in the microwave.
- Freeze: Make a large batch and save the extra zucchini soup in the freezer for days when you don't feel like cooking. To do so allow the soup to cool completely, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container or portion it into several containers if you're meal prepping. The soup will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm it up on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through. You may want to add ¼ - ½ cup broth to the frozen portions when you reheat.
Joeye says
Oh zucchini soup! My personal flaw
Olya says
Zucchini is so good in muffins, cakes and brownies!