You’ll only need FIVE ingredients (not counting salt and pepper) to make this delicious, quick, and easy cream of zucchini soup that my family’s been enjoying for years!
Cream of Zucchini Soup
This creamy zucchini soup is one of the first recipes I ever posted on this blog, back when I hardly knew how to use a camera. It’s a favorite in my house and so EASY to make. It takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish, and one large bowl is only 60 calories! For more healthy creamy soup recipes, try my Cream of Asparagus Soup, Creamy Cauliflower Soup, and Cream of Broccoli Soup. And see more zucchini recipes here!
My brother recently gave me a bunch of giant zucchinis, so I’ve been making all kinds of zucchini recipes. This cream of zucchini soup is an excellent way to use oversized zucchinis. I like to top mine with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated cheese, but that’s completely optional. You can add fresh herbs, yellow squash, or whatever you wish. Enjoy!
How to Make Zucchini Soup
- Boil: This recipe calls for three medium zucchinis, which weigh about eight ounces each. Bring the broth, onion, garlic, and zucchini to a boil over medium heat.
- Simmer: Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Puree: Remove the pot from the heat and puree with an immersion blender. If you only have a regular blender, let the soup cool a bit and fill the blender halfway to puree.
- Season: Add the sour cream, blend it again, and then season with salt and pepper. If your soup is thinner than you would like, add more zucchini.
Does zucchini freeze well in soup?
Yes, you can freeze zucchini soup just like any other soup. Store it in small containers or zip-locked bags and freeze for three to four months. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave or on the stove until warm. In the fall, when you’re missing summer, this creamy zucchini soup will be the perfect treat.
What to Serve with Cream of Zucchini Soup
Serve this healthy zucchini soup with some crusty bread to make it a meal or as a starter with any dinner. It would pair nicely with pesto shrimp skewers, breaded pork chops, lasagna roll-ups, or cavatelli with corn.
Variations:
- Cream: Swap sour cream for Greek yogurt or cream cheese.
- Zucchini: Sub yellow squash for zucchini.
- Vegetarian: Make vegetarian zucchini soup by subbing vegetable broth for chicken broth and double check that your sour cream doesn’t have gelatin.
- Vegan: Use vegetable broth and soy yogurt for a vegan and dairy-free version.
- Onions: Substitute red onion or shallots.
- Herbs: Add fresh basil or thyme.
More Zucchini Recipes You’ll Love:
- Zucchini Tots
- Grilled Zucchini
- Santa Fe Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Veggie Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini
- Zucchini Pie
Cream of Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 small onion, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 medium zucchini, skin on cut in large chunks
- 32 oz reduced sodium Swanson chicken broth, or vegetable
- 2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- fresh grated parmesan cheese if desired for topping, optional
Instructions
- Combine chicken broth, onion, garlic and zucchini in a large pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender, add the sour cream and purée again until smooth.
- Taste for salt and pepper and adjust to taste. Serve hot.
My husband and I loved this soup. I did add a teaspoon of adobo seasoning instead of salt and pepper. It would have been good without it as well as this soup is very flavorful. I will definitely make it again.
I made this today. Thanks for suggesting it with the French Dip. Great combo. It was very good. I did add a little more garlic and some creamy jalapeño hot sauce since we like spicy food. Thank you for another great recipe. I love your site and books.
Thanks Colleen!!
EASY AND DELICIOUS!
Used this as a base recipe. Was fabulous! Thank you!
This is our new favorite soup! I honestly wasn’t expecting much when we tried it – surely nothing *this* simple was going to be that great, right? Wrong! It’s so flavorful and filling, while being easy on the stomach! I’ve been diagnosed with Non-Alcohol Related Cirrhosis so my diet has had to undergo some major changes and recipes like this one have really made my life a lot easier, while still letting me enjoy my mealtimes. Thank you!
I customized this recipe to my taste… and, oh my! It is now our new family favorite soup, to my surprise!
I increased garlic to 4 cloves and 1 shallot, sautéed all veggies about 10 minutes before adding chicken stock (I used normal, not low salt). I added 1 tsp dry basil, 1/2 tsp dry thyme, and I chose to add a little msg and heavy cream. Topped my bowl of soup with grated parm and Penzeys Parisian herb blend. BEST SOUP EVER, thanks for the recipe!
I love it very much!!!
I’ve made this several times…each time adding different herbs, additional vegetables etc….it’s an awesome recipe, so easy and versatile!
This was a super easy recipe, and a great way to use up zucchini! But I found there was really no flavor. I sautéed the onion, garlic, and zucchini in olive oil before I added the broth, to get some carmelization. I added thyme, complete seasoning, and some Better Than Bouillon to bump up the flavor. The texture was nice with the little bit of sour cream. For a very healthy low calorie soup, I liked it, but will need to add some more spice next time.
I make this religiously now!! So simple, so delicious!!
Just made this tonight and HE LOVED IT AND ISN’T REALLY A HUGE ZUCCHINI FAN.
It was sooooooo easy and I boiled some potato slices to throw in to the zukes and this
will definitely be on my rotation. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE AND I WILL BE MAKING A FEW MORE OF YOUR RECIPES THIS WEEK. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING & BLESSINGS.
This soup is so amazingly good and simple! I’ve made it weekly since school started back up. I add parmesan before emulsifying and top with red pepper flakes – it’s sooo good!!
This is one of our “go to” recipes now. It has been for 4 years (since the first time made it). *We also like to top it with croutons. This soup has amazing flavor…and is even food for ya! Btw…I just made it for dinner last night 😋
I forgot to give it 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I can’t believe how delicious this soup is for how simple a recipe! Love it! 😊
So happy you liked it!
Definitely a repeat! We loved it and my sisters back home in India requested for the recipe too. Thank you
This was the easiest and most delicious soup!!!
Love it, easy to make, delicious. Thanks, the Green family.
I’ve made this enough times through the years that I should probably rate it. This past summer, I made it almost weekly! It’s great as-is, but I adore it with heavy cream swirled in instead of sour cream. My boyfriend’s lactose intolerant so we’ve also tried it without any dairy, and it’s still great. The broth/bouillon you use matters, since that’s the only real way to change the flavor, so use your favorite (mine’s Better Than Bouillon).
This zucchini soup is light and full of flavor. It is delicious either hot or chilled. I sauted the garlic and onion first for depth of flavor and used my hand held blender to make it smooth. Vegetable broth and real sour cream for the growing number of vegetarians in my family worked perfectly. A bit of additional sour cream, perhaps some parmesan, and dill on the side has become a habit for us.