Got zucchini to use up? Make this zucchini soup! It's full of flavor, and packed with chunks of zucchini, carrots, white beans and spinach.
There are lots of zucchini soup recipes out there, but I'm here to tell you that you should really just make mine.
Why? Most zucchini soup recipes are blended. That's fine and all, but I personally think zucchini is better chunky, so that's how I made my soup. This soup is brothy with big chunks of zucchini, carrots, beans, spinach, basil, and a touch of lemon. It's light and simple and perfect for summer.
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What You'll Need
- Olive oil. Feel free to substitute any high heat oil, although olive will give you the best flavor.
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Celery.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable broth. I like Better Than Bouillon in Roasted Vegetable Flavor.
- Cannellini beans. You can substitute just about any variety of canned beans if you'd like. Kidney beans or chickpeas would work really well.
- Red pepper flakes. You can omit these for a milder version, or increase the amount for an extra spicy soup.
- Zucchini. Yellow summer squash works in this soup too. It won't be zucchini soup, but it will still be delicious.
- Baby spinach. The recipe calls for fresh spinach, but I can't see why frozen wouldn't work. I recommend thawing it out first if you go this route.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed for the best flavor.
- Fresh basil.
- Salt and pepper.
How to Make Zucchini Soup
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down to skip right to the recipe!
- Heat up some oil in a large pot, then add diced onion, carrots and celery. Sweat the veggies for about 10 minutes, until they begin to soften up.
- Add minced garlic and cook it with your veggies for about a minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Add broth, cannellini beans, and red pepper flakes.
- Crank up the heat and bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
- Sir in some chopped zucchini and let the soup continue simmering for about 5 minutes more. You want the zucchini to be tender, but be careful not to overcook it to the point that it becomes mushy.
- Stir in the spinach and cook the soup for just a minute or two more, until it completely wilts.
- Take your soup off of the burner and stir in some lemon juice and fresh basil. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle your soup into bowls and dig in! I like to top mine with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover soup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Quesions
It is!
Absolutely! Summer squash can be substituted directly.
Nope! The peel is totally edible and will soften up while your soup cooks.
More Vegetable Soups
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📖 Recipe
Chunky Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or taste
- 1 pound zucchini, quartered and sliced (about 3 medium zucchini)
- 2 ounces baby spinach
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil and place it over medium heat.
- Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion, carrot and celery. Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften up.
- Stir in the garlic and cook it with the veggies for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, beans, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
- Stir in the zucchini and continue simmering for about 5 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but not mushy.
- Stir in the spinach and continue simmering for about 1 minute, until fully wilted.
- Remove the pot from heat, then stir in the basil and lemon juice. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
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Can I use lime instead of lemon?
You can! The flavor will be bit milder and more floral. I would start with less than the recipe calls for and add more to taste, just to see how you like it.
Can I freeze this
Yup! Keep it in an airtight container and it should be good for about three months.
I was looking for a soup that used zucchini as its healthy for you and I enjoy it. I kept coming across cream zucchini soup and I know my husband wouldn't touch those. Then I found your recipe. We used mushrooms instead of carrots as we had fresh mushrooms to use. Love it. Thank you.
We LOVE zucchini and this combo and style is fabulous! Loved it!
Great recipe! I have needed creative ways to keep up with my zucchini harvest in the garden. This helped! Plus I got to use up a bunch of veggies and herbs (dill and basil pesto) I had in my fridge. I will make this again and again.
Delicious! I omitted the beans and added more zucchini and carrots. Very flavorful and filling. This recipe will definitely be on repeat!
I made this with what I had subbing vegetable broth with water and lots of oregano and skipping the celery and carrots. I like creamy soups so I added a few tablespoons of cashew cream and it turned out amazing. Really comforting!
Can you pressure can this soup?
Everybody loved this soup , I added a couple of tins of corn as I had very little carrot . Will definitely be making this again
Excellent.
My family likes noodle so I added 1 cup of dry noodles and another 5 cups of broth. Big hit!
The 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes was perfect heat. Chunky is definitely the way to go! Keeper!!!
Hey, This soup looks delicious and seems easy to make. I am going to try this with my nephew as I am trying to show him that being vegan is not hard and can be not only rewarding but also tasty.