Cream of Zucchini Soup
on Nov 12, 2022, Updated Aug 06, 2024
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This Cream of Zucchini Soup is something my parents have been making me for as long as I can remember. We don’t traditionally use heavy cream in our 🍲 soups, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love a creamy soup! The secret ingredient? We add 🥔 potatoes instead to achieve that luscious, thick, and creamy texture.
Why You’ll Love Cream of Zucchini Soup
My family’s Cream of Zucchini Soup is so light, luscious, and thick, you would never guess that there’s no cream or dairy in it! This soup is so nutritious, chock full of healthy 🥕 veggies, and you can amp up the nutrition even more by adding in some spinach or kale. This soup is also a fantastic make-ahead or meal-prep recipe. I love making a big batch and then keeping some in the fridge for the week and 🧊 freezing individual portions for easy dinners on a busy night, without resorting to takeout.
How to Prepare Cream of Zucchini Soup
🔪 Start by using a sharp knife to chop up the onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, zucchini, potatoes, and garlic.
🧅 In a big pot on the stove set to medium-high heat, add to 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the onions.
🥕 Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper and stir. Then add the garlic and stir.
🧂Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and then stir again.
🥔 Add the zucchini and potatoes.
💧 Cover with enough water and then let it come up to a boil.
⏲️ Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover it with a lid, and then let it cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
🥖 In the meantime cube the bread and then add it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
🫒 Season the bread with salt, Italian seasoning, and a drizzle of olive oil.
🔥 Massage with your hands and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes or until golden.
🌀 Once the soup is done, use a stick blender or blender to blend the veggies and stock in 2 batches.
🍲 Pour soup back into the pot and taste for salt. Serve with the croutons and parsley on top and enjoy.
Nonna’s Tip 🔪
Don’t spend too much time dicing up the veggies for this Cream of Zucchini Soup. You do not need to dice anything finely or precisely, because everything will be puréed in the end.
Variations and Substitutions for Cream of Zucchini Soup
- You can use any bread of choice to make these croutons, whatever you have such as rye, whole wheat a harvest loaf, or a 🥖 baguette.
- If you don’t have Italian seasoning you can use dry oregano instead.
- Feel free to add in or swap the veggies in this Cream of Zucchini Soup for what you have: 🍠 sweet potatoes, peas, kale or 🥬 spinach would also be delicious in this soup.
- To save some time, you can absolutely use store bought croutons in this Cream of Zucchini Soup recipe as well.
Similar Recipes
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Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe
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Creamy Vegetable Soup
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Creamy Dill Pickle Soup
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Best Served With
- A beautiful side 🥗 salad, such as my Simple Green Salad or High Protein Green Goddess Salad.
- A beautiful loaf of 🥖 bread is perfection with this Cream of Zucchini Soup. Try my No Knead Peasant Bread, No Knead Gluten Free Bread, or No Knead Focaccia.
Common Questions
Yes, you can certainly experiment and add whatever veggies you have on hand to this Cream of Zucchini Soup. Spinach, kale, peas, or sweet potatoes would also be delicious.
Absolutely! This Cream of Zucchini Soup freezes well for up to 3 months. Just make sure to cool it completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
You can certainly make this soup ahead and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to reheat and eat.
I used water here to keep it light, but you could also use chicken broth for some protein or vegetable broth for added flavor.
Cream of Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, roughly diced
- 2 carrots, roughly diced
- 1 rib celery, roughly diced
- 1 red bell pepper, roughly diced
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 5 small potatoes , peeled and quartered
- 3 teaspoons salt
- pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 5 cups hot water, or broth of choice
For the Croutons
- 5 slices bread, I used rye
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Start by chopping up all your vegetables. You do not need to dice anything finely or precisely, because everything will be puréed in the end
- In a big pot on the stove set to medium-high heat, add to 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the onions.
- Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper and stir. Add the garlic and stir. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and stir again. Add the zucchini and potatoes.
- Cover with enough water or broth of choice and let it come up to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and partially cover it with a lid and let it go for 25 to 30 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
- In the meantime cube your bread of choice, add it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Season the bread with salt, Italian seasoning, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Massage with your hands and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Once the soup is done, use a stick blender or blender to blend the veggies and stock in 2 batches.
- Pour soup back in to the pot and taste for salt. Serve with the croutons and parsley on top and enjoy.
My Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The BEST zucchini/potato soup I’ve ever made or eaten. It’s so flavorful and NOT boring, which so many other recipes for this soup tend to be. I just made it yesterday and it’s almost gone. Will make it again tomorrow. Thank you!!!
Wow, love to hear it! Thanks Patty!
Very good! love the addition of the red pepper.
Any chance you could add the nutrition info?
Thanks Sue! I don’t have nutrition info for the blog yet, but something I’m working on.
Could u add some tiny pasta to this would that work
Would be super starchy but if you want to. There’s potatoes already in here so I typically don’t
I held on to this recipe too long before trying it. It is so delicious! I did use chicken broth instead of water but intend to try the water version also.
How about posting the cream of zucchini soup you mentioned?
Thank you for this soup.
Christine, so proud and happy you loved it
So happy to hear that Christine. I BELIEVE it’s up on the blog ( I have to triple check )