Zucchini Soup
131 Comments
Updated May 23, 2024
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This zucchini soup is a refreshing addition to your summertime table. It’s light, fresh, perfectly creamy (with no dairy), and a delicious way to enjoy the best of zucchini season!
When it’s zucchini season, it’s pretty much a requirement to make zucchini soup. Zucchini is of course the star ingredient here, but the punch of onion, garlic, lemon, and herbs are what really makes this soup so good. And when you add cashews into the mix – ooooh boy does it become deliciously creamy.
I’ve made my fair share of blended veggie soups (hello Vitamix soups), but this zucchini soup is a personal favorite. So if you’ve got a bounty of zucchini happening in your fridge, this beautifully pureed soup should be next on your list of zucchini recipes to whip up.
What’s In This Zucchini Soup?
Just like any other blended veggie soup, you want to enhance the flavor of your star ingredient. In this case, here’s what you’ll need to add big flavors to an otherwise simple zucchini soup!
- Zucchini: Just 4 medium zucchinis are needed. But make sure they weight about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds in total.
- Onion & Garlic: Nothing beats this aromatic duo to add tons of flavor.
- Cashews: Cashews are great for their creamy texture, which makes them perfect for blending into soups!
- Broth: You can use either vegetable broth or chicken broth, it’s up to you!
- Lemon: There’s nothing like fresh squeezed lemon juice to brighten up a soup.
- Fresh Herbs: My favorite combo is parsley and dill, but you can really use any herbs you like!
- Salt & Pepper: For that perfectly seasoned flavor.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Zucchini Soup
Grab your upright blender or immersion blender, and watch how easy this soup comes together!
Saute the onions and garlic Let everything come to a boil, then simmer
- Cook the aromatics. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic, until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the zucchini, broth, cashews, salt, and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the zucchini is tender.
Use an immersion blender or blend in a high-powered blender The zucchini soup becomes so deliciously creamy!
- Blend it up! Add the chopped herbs and lemon juice, then use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it’s smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you can use a high-powered blender (see how to below).
- Ladle and serve. Garnish with chopped herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil for the final touch.
How To Store Leftover Soup
This soup freezes beautifully! So you can make an extra large batch is you’ve got an abundance of fresh zucchini.
- Store it: For up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freeze it: You can pour the soup into a freezer safe container, like my favorite Weck Jars or use these amazing silicone Souper Cubes – just pop them out into a bowl and reheat! Either way, the soup will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
More Delicious Zucchini Recipes
Zucchini is one of my all-time favorite vegetables. I love to bake it, saute it, spiralize into zucchini noodles – you name it. So if you need a few more ideas, these recipe favorites won’t disappoint.
If you make this zucchini soup, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Zucchini Soup
Description
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 medium zucchini (1 ½ to 2 pounds), skin on, ends trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth, or more as desired for a thinner texture
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, basil, or parsley work great), plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, and stir for another minute.
- Add the zucchini, broth, cashews, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.
- Add the chopped herbs and lemon juice to the soup. Then use an immersion blender (stick blender) to blend the soup until smooth, or transfer the soup in batches to a high-powered blender, and blend for just 15-30 seconds, until smooth.
- Ladle portions of the zucchini soup into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh herbs.
Lisa’s Tips
- This is my favorite immersion blender – it’s so darn powerful!
- I find that a high-powered blender tends to make this soup a bit smoother in texture, rather than an immersion blender. Both work great, it’s really just up to you and your preference on texture.
Nutrition
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I have made it twice and I haven’t changed a thing . I blend it in my vitamix for creamier results !!! Adding herbs after cooking is génial and I also add only 2 1/2 cups of liquid .thank you for an awesome amazing recipe .
I’m happy you loved this zucchini soup, Brigitte!
I’ve just made this and it’s out of this world! I didn’t have enough zucchini, so I substituted about 50% with broccoli and it still worked! The cashews made it extra creamy and the lemon juice gave it a fresh kick. I would have never thought of adding those two ingredients – but it’s a match made in heaven! I’m thinking next time, I might try adding a piece of avocado as well at the blending stage if it needs thickening.
Thrilled to hear you’ve found a new way to cook with zucchini!
Thank you for all your recipes and particularly this one. It was delicious and easy to make. I’m not an experienced cook. But a year ago I started seeing a lady who has various health problems and has to eat gluten and dairy free. Your site and your recipes have been an inspiration to me. Thank you very much.
I’m glad you’re enjoying all my recipes! :)
This soup is delicious. The addition of the cashews makes it creamy but not heavy. I have some in Souper Cubes in my freezer. Guess what’s for dinner tonight?
What a great freezer meal to keep on hand!
This soup is so good , I doubled the recipe I used 6 cups water, before blending I removed about 1 1/4 cup of the broth I do this in case the soup is too thin , it’s easier to add to thin it out , I am glad I did because it would have been a tad to thin . I love the herbs being blended at the end , it’s so good , creamy but not overly creamy .
Glad you enjoyed this zucchini soup, Brigitte!
This soup is beyond delicious!! It’s fairly easy to prepare and freezes great. I have shared this recipe with many!! Thank you, Lisa! ❤️
Happy to hear you’re loving this soup Nicole!
I just made this tonight and served it with homemade cheese straws. This soup was delicious!!! I didn’t have raw cashews so I had used raw walnuts. For the fresh herbs I used chives, thyme, and basil. It was so flavorful. It will be a great chilled soup this summer for visiting family members who are vegetarians. Thank you for this delicious recipe! 💗
Glad this zucchini soup was a success Tricia!
The best yummy soup! I add a potato or two to get the bulk up- and often some coconut milk to cream it up too! So good!
Glad you enjoyed this zucchini soup Meg!
Wow. Wonderful! I recently made this soup and absolutely *love* it. I couldn’t put my spoon down!
In fact, I’ve loved every recipe that I’ve tried from this site, especially the soups. Thank you, Lisa for all of your wonderful creations! All of the recipes are very simple to make and the flavors are absolutely delicious.
I’m so glad you’re loving this zucchini soup recipe Ann!
I have made this soup several times and it’s Perfect every time ! Last fall, I had an abundance of Zucchini so I packaged them up in bags, tossed in a copy of this Zucchini soup recipe and handed the bags out at the start of a Board of Directors meeting I volunteer at. 2 members emailed me within days giving RAVE reviews this soup. One has said she now makes it monthly. The key ingredients are the cashews and the fresh herbs. I use parsley. This soup is fantastic! Fantastic! Fantastic!!!!
My elderly client is on a soup diet. So glad I found this recipe it is so good and easy to make 😋
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I can see this being good served cold. Or maybe it’s just me wishing it were warm enough to want a cold soup – February and freezing.
You can enjoy this warm or chilled!
This soup is simply AMAZING I have made it every week for about a month now
The dill and lemon are great combinations!! Although I love courgettes anyway , you wouldn’t guest that what is made from . Simply love it thank you
Delicious!!! And the dill is a must, I’m not too fan of dill but here it is delicious!!
Made this recipe this morning and it is so delicious! I used chopped fresh basil and thyme from my herb garden. And I substituted a shallot for the onion because that’s what I had on hand absolutely great thank you for sharing!
Ok this was so darn good!! I used extra basil and added some toasted pine nuts and it was out of this world. Served it alongside your butter lemon garlic shrimp recipe and it was a huge hit. Thanks for giving me all these recipes that impress my guests! Little do they know how easy it was haha.
Yay! Glad you loved this zucchini soup Mia :)
This soup is so simple but oh so delicious! Lemon and dill were the perfect pairing
With my over abundance of zucchini…yellow & green this was excellent!
Glad this soup recipe came in handy Carmen!
Wonderful recipe. Have made it a twice. Doubled the garlic and the fresh herbs because I love both. Figured I’d comment because some people have asked about substitutes for cashews. Tonight I realized mine had gone rancid just as I was about to add them so I used a little coconut cream from my pantry instead to get the creaminess and it worked great. I would imagine some canned white beans could be a good vegan sub as well.
Just made this today with fresh dill. Absolutely gorgeous flavour.
I have made this soup several times and it’s Perfect every time ! Last fall, I had an abundance of Zucchini so I packaged them up in bags, tossed in a copy of this Zucchini soup recipe and handed the bags out at the start of a Board of Directors meeting I volunteer at. 2 members emailed me within days giving RAVE reviews this soup. One has said she now makes it monthly. The key ingredients are the cashews and the fresh herbs. I use parsley. This soup is fantastic! Fantastic! Fantastic!!!!
I gave it a try, boy I tell you it’s smooth and tasty, on a Hot day in Illinois 😋
Glad you loved this zucchini soup Cynthia!
Can you eat this soup cold?
Yes, you can!
So tasty! I used walnuts instead as that’s all I had at home! Turned out great! Thanks Lisa!! Maddy from Sydney, AUS 😊😊
I am making this soup for the second time. It was lovely. I’ve been given lots of freshly picked zucchinis so of course I must make soup. Thank you!
Hi there! I just found this website and I cannot wait to make some of these recipes. Now I am searching for advice, granted not sure how much I will find LOL! I am trying to go back gluten free and working on going dairy free (probably hardest thing I have ever tried!!). Now I also have a nut allergy, so many recipes (like this one) call for nuts, what are some common swaps or how necessary are they to these recipes? My biggest challenge has been trying to substitute recipes but nuts are the most common sub. Any general advice? Or just pity because from what I hear cashews and almonds are some of the best tasting nuts out there! Thank you!! Kayleigh
Hi Kayleigh – I’m so glad you stumbled upon Downshiftology! For this recipe, cashews are used to help thicken the soup. But technically, it’s not necessary and can be omitted. It’ll just be a tad less creamy, but still delicious!
Hi Lisa,
I had a glut of zucchini and found your recipe and the soup is delicious!
I added some basil with the parsley.
Cheeky me added just a touch of butter for extra silkiness but it probably didn’t need it!
This will be my go to when zuccs get out of control!
All the best from down under.
Lee
This soup really is a great way to make use of any leftover zucchini you have in the fridge 😉
That butternut squash soup is so delicious. I love so many of your recipes.
Thank you!!
I used dill for the fresh herbs….so delicious!
A delicious and tasty recipe as always. I just replaced the lemon for ginger to get the acidic taste and it was perfect.
Thank you Lisa fir this great recipe! Can’t wait for your book !
Happy to hear you enjoyed this zucchini soup Adriana!
Delicious delicious delicious!
I can’t stop making this recipe I just switch vegetables and all of them are just as tasty as this! I love your website you have the best healthy recipes thank you for sharing 💚 With all these yummy recipes it makes it so easy to stay healthy!
Yay! Glad you’re loving this zucchini soup Fabiola :)
Just tried this soup today & it is super delicious. I am vegetarian but my boyfriend is not, so I added diced potatoes & turkey sausage to his. He loved it. I think it would also be good with added veggies like potatoes, carrots & celery for a hardier winter version. This will be a regular in my house.
Great way to amp up this zucchini soup for those who are not vegetarian!
Made this tonight (pics on my insta) and it was sooo good! Because I cant have Lemon due to histamineintolerance I used thai basil to get a bit of citrus flavor and it turned out really well. Thank you Lisa, amazing recipe!
Great idea on the basil in replacement of lemon!
Made this yesterday and can’t wait to have the leftovers today! Surprisingly very delicious and delicate summer flavour :)
Leftovers of this soup are always welcome! Glad you enjoyed this zucchini soup :)
Hello from Midland Ontario,
Using a full size blender? Yes/no…
I’ve got a bunch of zucchini so…
Thank you this great idea
I made this zucchini soup today and it is absolutely delicious! I love garlic so I too added extra. Will definitely be making this again!
You can never go wrong with extra garlic in this recipe :)
WOW I made this last night because I found myself with an abundance of zucchini… This is the simplest soup recipe but PACKED with flavor. I’ll admit I doubled the garlic but it’s so good!! I used Kettle & Fire’s chicken and mushroom broth and parsley for my fresh herbs. Will definitely make again.
Happy to hear you really enjoyed this zucchini soup! It really is such a great way to make use of zucchini :)
Dear Lisa, thank you for the recipe, I’ ve made it with basil and with parsley, too. My family and my guests liked it very much, my adolescent boy wanted more and more…
😀
Victoria from Hungary
That’s wonderful to hear everyone enjoyed this zucchini soup Victoria :)
Simple ingredients, quick prep/cooking time. Absolutely delicious. Who could ask for more!
Lisa, I really appreciate the dedication you have to clean, healthy eating and all of the hours you put into getting the information out there. I follow you on Instagram and YouTube as well. I have food issues due to Hashimoto’s, this information is priceless. I don’t mean to sound sappy, but you are helping me feel better because of your recipes. Thank you for the work you do.
That makes me incredibly happy to hear that you’re feeling much better and healthier Susan! That is the goal for Downshiftology and this amazing community. So let’s keep on cooking up easy, delicious, and all around healthy meals together :)
A soup that tastes just like summer! I made it according to the recipe using fresh parsley. This recipes is a keeper. Love it! Thank you, Lisa!
Happy to hear you loved this zucchini soup Julie!
Really excited to try it! Picked up some lovely zucchini from the farmer’s market :)
(How does this freeze, btw?)
Can’t wait for you to try this! The soup freezes just fine :)
So easy to make and yummy!
Glad you enjoyed this zucchini soup Angela!
Very fresh and light tasting. Makes a great basic soup. Love the simplicity of it and that is uses the surplus zucchini I have on hand. Was going to make the zucchini fritters ( which are very delicious even without cheese) on your site for the third time but saw this new recipe and decided to branch out tonight! Will have to make this more often as autumn arrives. I substituted almond flour/meal for the cashews since we have allergy issues and it worked very well.
This soup really is a great and delicious way to make use of a zucchini abundance!
A big surprise use for my bumper crop of zucchini. I added 2 Tbsp butter for richness and substituted finely chopped raw almonds since I didn’t have cashews. I used Mrs. Dash for herbs ingredients. Outstanding and light.
Happy to hear this zucchini soup was a success with raw almonds instead!
We have a family member with a severe nut allergy. Any recommendations on what I could use to substitute here?
Hi Ann – we are using cashews here to help thicken it as a dairy-free option. But if you can eat dairy, then you can simply use a cream :)
What is considered a serving size? I measure my food for weight loss purposes so accuracy is important to me. Thank you.
It’s about 2 cups for this recipe.
I made this yesterday. Taste is wonderful, but the soup is a little thin. Is there anything I can add to thicken it up a bit?
The cashews are used to help thicken it up, so you could add a bit more blended cashews if you’d like. Or if you can eat dairy- you can also use a cream as well.
This soup was so good! Everyone loved it! Thank you for the great recipe!
Glad everyone enjoyed this zucchini soup Ellabeth!
This was so good and creamy! My zucchini is going nuts in the garden, so this recipe came at a great time!
Perfect timing! Glad you enjoyed this zucchini soup Jessica :)
I know I can always trust Lisa’s recipes, and this was no exception. This is a delicious, creamy soup! Hard to believe it’s so healthy. I used the white and light green parts of one large leek instead of the onion.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this zucchini soup Ezzie!
These sound awesome. Keep up your great work.
I could not imagine someone who loves zucchini as much as I do. So excited and I’m going to make this soup this weekend! Your video mentioned soaking the cashews. Can you tell me a little more about that step?
Just soak the cashews in a bowl of water :)
I absolutely love zucchini cant wait to make this recipe!
Let me know how it goes Regina! :)