Zucchini Soup
A simple and delicious zucchini soup made with potatoes, sautéed onions, and bolstered with spinach. Add a bit of chopped chile for heat if you like. It’s light and healthful, and at the same time creamy textured and plenty tasty.
This is a straight-forward zucchini soup with a couple twists and tricks to make it ever-so-slightly special and unique. You might not think that a soup with zucchini as the primary ingredient would be worth cooking, but this soup attempts to win you over!
Zucchini Soup: The Inspiration
The inspiration for this soup is simple: peak summer paired with too much zucchini. One option is to use it in a soup. But pale, watery zucchini flesh is a bit sad, and not much to look at. No worries, we have a plan. The potatoes in this recipe provide a good amount of body. And to boost the color and visual appeal, fresh spinach is the secret weapon. By giving spinach a supporting role a vibrant cilantro-flecked zucchini soup in an eye-popping shade of green is created. With a nicely boosted nutritional profile as a bonus.
Creamy without Cream
The goal here is a smooth, pureed soup. I wanted a creamy consistency without relying on copious amounts of heavy cream. I ended up using potato in the soup base which gives the soup a bit of heft and thickness, something people often mistake for a fully cream-based soup. You could finish this soup lwith a tiny splash of cream, or a dollop of creme fraiche, but quite honestly it’s not necessary. Delicious either way!
Week-night Friendly
This soup is great if you like to meal-prep. The bulk of the time commitment here is in the chopping. Beyond that the soup only takes about 15 minutes to make once the ingredients start hitting the pot. It’s a great make-ahead option and keeps well in a jar, refrigerated, for 4-5 days.
More Zucchini Recipes
- Zucchini Bread
- Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream
- Simple Sautéed Zucchini
- Grilled Zucchini & Bread Salad
- Zucchini Gratin
- all zucchini recipes
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Zucchini Soup
I prefer to use a light tasting vegetable broth here or two tablespoons of this homemade bouillon powder (with water). If you'd like a richer version of this soup feel free to finish the soup with a splash of cream, or a dollop of creme fraiche in place of the finishing drizzle of olive oil. Topping ideas include: roasted cherry tomatoes, toasted pita chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro.
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 1 serrano chile pepper, stemmed (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups fresh spinach leaves (or kale), loosely packed
- 1 cup cilantro, loosely chopped
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In a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onions, and chile (if using). Sauté for a few minutes along with the salt. Keep going until the onions soften up and start to take on a bit of color. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini. Add the broth (or water and bouillon powder). The broth should barely cover the other ingredients. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until potatoes are soft throughout, 10-15 minutes.
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Stir in the spinach, and wait for it to wilt, just ten seconds or so. Now stir in the cilantro. Remove from heat. Puree with a hand blender until smooth, or alternately, transfer to a high-speed blender. Taste and add more salt to taste if needed. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, any toppings, and serve.
Serves about 6.
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Comments
Made this zucchini soup last night. Used kale and it was such a gorgeous shade of green! The potatoes made it very hearty – had it for dinner. Loved it!
Fantastic Felisa!
This was absolutely delicious. We ended up eating it chilled, and liked it even better than warm. Served it chilled to friends, and every one was amazed and wanted the recipe. Even the one who said he usually won’t eat green soup. Thanks so much!
This is fantastic – thanks for the comment Adelle!
Surprisingly delicious!! I used a large, fresh zucchini from our garden, an extra potato, and chicken broth, because I didn’t have any vegetable broth on hand. I love zucchini, my husband is not a fan — but we both thought this soup was super delicious. And it was a beautiful, appetizing color. Thank you for this lovely and unique way to use fresh zucchini!
Thanks JT – thrilled you enjoyed it!
This soup is so good and simple! I predict I will be making lots of it this summer.
Thanks Arlene!
Vegetable soups like this often appear on my table during the spring and summer months. In hot weather, I don’t feel like eating heavy, meaty dishes; I definitely prefer lighter meals with more vegetables. Thank you for the recipe; I’ll save it and try to make it soon.
Just made this with changes based on my refrigerator contents: zucchini, garlic scapes, scallions (added the whites at the beginning and the greens near the end), kale, cilantro, and since the potatoes I planned to use were sprouting, I replaced them with some stale sourdough bread. Soup is delicious now, hot, and I think it will be good cold, too, with vinegar or lemon. Thank you for the inspiration!
I wish I had these problems LoL! Can’t even grow a little pot of basil in my tiny NYC apartment. You are all encouraged to send your extra zuchinni to me. 🙂
p.s. The soup looks delicious!
This looks gorgeous! Can’t wait to try it out this weekend …
I just made this. What a delicious way of using zucchini! I changed it slightly with the omission of cilantro (yuck!) but the addition of goat cheese. I served it with a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Wonderful!
Hi Heidi, Thanks for the great soup recipe, it was fantastic. This is my first year growning zucchini and am overwhelmed by the crop. The soup is welcome addition to my 1000 things to do with with zuchs and spuds. Last night I combined zucchini with smoked haddock and cheese sauce; another winner.
Hi, Heidi. I just made your spinach and zucchini soup, it turned out GREEN and TASTY, but I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the texture. I think the mistake was pureeing the cooked potatoes with a machine. I’ve always heard from great chefs that one must never make a potato puree in a food processor or blender, because the potatoes will turn sticky and gummy. It’s much better to mash patiently by hand. Slower, I know, but I think this would improve the soup’s personality. Next time I’ll try mashing only the potatoes by hand, the rest is ok in the blender.
I made your zucchini bread today; I didn’t skip any ingredients marked “optional”—even the scary curry powder.
Absolutely amazingly delicious. We all fell upon it as though starved. When I was making it, I thought, oh no; two loaves? Now, two won’t be enough.
Felicitaciones Heidi, has recibido mi nominación para el premio BLOG SOLIDARIO.
Un beso grande!!!, Mar
http://todocaserito2.blogspot.com/
A hand blender is not the same as a hand mixer right? What do you do if you don’t have a hand blender?
Gorgeous! It’s such a perfect shade of green.
Another way to give this soup more body is to add Creme Fraiche. This is a common French ingredient, which is essentially thick soured cream. If you cannot get Creme Fraiche, try for any soured cream instead. The advantage of adding this as it makes the soup thicker (zucchini soups tend to be a bit watery) and also gives it a richer and fuller taste.
new lover of your blog here. this recipe looks delicious. i bet substituting zucchini for artichoke hearts would be tasty. almost like a soup version of spinach artichoke dip. yummm.
new lover of your blog here. this recipe looks delicious. i bet substituting zucchini for artichoke hearts would be tasty. almost like a soup version of spinach artichoke dip. yummm.
That soup looks like a pretty little maiden vacationing in Hawaii:):)!
This soup looks absolutely delicious – thanks for the recipe Heidi. I too am getting fed up with zucchini and I’m having a hard time trying to find yet new ways to prepare it.
My weekly fruit&veg box delivery seems to have nothing but zucchini these days. I’m expecting more next week, but they are adding spinach as well, so I know exactly what to do with it.
What a nice soup! I like to make zucchini pancakes–like latkes, only zukes instead of potatoes.
But there are times when you finally get enough.
Lovely soup! I think it was in one of the more recent Julia Child cookbooks that I read (Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom?) you could puree cooked rice to add a creamy consistency to soups instead of dairy. That might be an option instead of potatoes.
This looks beautifully light and summery.
My zucchini gat a late start this year so I’m lookforward/dreading a few more weeks. Thanks for new recipe for the lovely green monsters!
I adore zucchini/courgettes and eat them all year round where practical. There are just so many different ways to cook and serve them – even steamed is nice (boiled is NOT), microwaved, sautéed, raw, grated, stir-fried…… and, of course, in ratatouille and other vegetable stews. And soups, of course (I would rather use a dark cabbage than spinach, but that is personal taste – and try making a soup with green peas, fennel, and a courgette!).
We don’t know about zucchini bread in this country, but there are so many other ways of eating it that we don’t feel the need.
Hi Heidi,
The other day I noticed a HUGE zuchini in my garden that I must have overlooked because I never noticed it before and now it was as big as a cat!
I decided to make your zuchini bread, I omitted the candied ginger, zest, and poppy seeds mainly because I didn’t have any of those items.
I loaded up the zucchini – a bit more than 3 cups, and the walnuts – a solid cup and a half. But here is the clincher, no curry powder, or cinnamon. I used a heaping tablespoon of home made Garam Masala, and YUM, I have the best tasting zucchini bread I’ve ever eaten!
Thanks Heidi for inspiring me to experiment – and come up with something delicious!
Whoever does your photography is amazing!! It looks like that soup is just sitting on my desk and I could eat it right now.
Bravo (the recipe looks great too!)
Wow that’s gorgeous.
Yeah, zucchini grows like weeds up here in the Pacific Northwest. It a good thing they’re delicious.
That sounds delicious! I like the spinach trick. Here’s a grilled grilled tofu and zucchini stack that has a lot of flavor, is quick, and gets some protein into your meal.
i am so with you on this. i’ve had it with squash. but tomorrow i KNOW that my csa share will be brimming so i will make this soup and then that IS IT. (can’t wait – sounds really good).
i a so with you on this. i’ve had it with squash. but tomorrow i KNOW that my csa share will be brimming so i will make this soup and then that IS IT. (can’t wait – sounds really good).
Hey Heidi,
Just a shoutout to say that I recommended you for Blogday 2007! 🙂 http://nekit0.livejournal.com/72352.html
Thanks for the recipes, thanks for everything. I just made this soup and it is delicious (but… I made it with my thermomix instead, I hope you forgive me!)
Oh! And I love your book! ^_^
Greetings,
nek0 from Spain
This looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it.
Did you catch Daniel Patterson’s zucchini column in last Sunday’s NYT’s magazine? I’m making the terrine for dinner tonight–definitely a new take on a familiar (and abundant!) vegetable.
This looks so beautiful and from the ingredients, I bet it tastes great. Thanks.
Yum… I’ve been reading your blog for years and love it! I’ve included you in my Blog Day celebration.
A celebration of summer with a nod to a bountiful harvest and the savoury delights of autumn… thank you, Heidi, for turning hearts, bodies, and minds toward gratitude for the many good things around us… seemingly created for our pleasure.
This is beautiful. The color is amazing. I love serving soups and such in easy to manage cups. Can’ wait to try. Thanks for sharing—R.
What a beautiful picture! The recipe sounds great – I’m so glad you kept it light with the potato – that is such a great idea.
Make Zucchinni chocolate cake! Its SOOO delicious.
Soup is nice too, though 🙂
B
http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com
This looks fantastic. I LOVE zucchs and spinach. Is there a more nutritional substitute for the potatoes? What happens when they are omitted?
eating spinach in fresh or boiling from hot water in less time, then mixed with vegetable oil and galic, also with sugar and little salt, you’ll get the most benefit from it.
What a beautiful recipe! Very picturesque soup–I hope you submitted this to Tastespotting.
Weird – I did exactly the same thing last night, only with butter and a little sea salt stirred in at the last minute. I’m going to be cooking a hugely overgrown zucchini tonight, diced and browned, with a packet of instant sambal that came in a box of dosa mix I got at Morrison’s. When good zucchini goes bad …
This looks lovely. You’re right, the spinach does work wonders for the colour. The zucchini/courgette keeps coming for us too – I’m even into zucchini sandwiches now to use them up (not as austere as it sounds – ricotta, zucchini, lemon and mint)
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