While I personally didn’t manage to coax a single squash out of my insect-infested garden this summer, some of you are lucky enough to be reaping in piles of the stuff. So the zucchini part of this recipe is for you. The basil part of it is for me: next to okra, it’s the most prolific crop I managed to grow this year. Combined, the two summery ingredients seem made for each other, the basil lending its pungent pepperiness to the bland zucchini.
Basil may provide the predominant flavor in this lively soup, but zucchini is the main ingredient. After cooking, it’s blended until smooth with the basil and other seasonings, and then the soup is served with strands of raw, shredded zucchini. The thin shreds soften in the hot soup but still retain some crunch.
We loved this creamy zucchini soup. Even E, who usually avoids zucchini, finished her first bowl and went back for seconds. She described it as “like pesto in soup form,” and she’s right. We ate it as a starter course, but add some white beans and you’ve got a heartier, main dish soup. Give it a try before zucchini and basil go out of season.
Creamy Zucchini and Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds zucchini (about 5 small to medium)
- 1 large Vidalia onion , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3 cups vegetable broth (I used Imagine No-Chicken)
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves , packed
- 3 tablespoons raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- additional salt & pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Set aside one of the zucchini; trim and coarsely chop the rest.
- Cook onion in a large saucepan for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the chopped zucchini, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the broth and simmer until zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Pour into a blender (in 2 batches, if necessary) taking care to avoid burns by not filling the blender more than halfway. Add the basil, cashews, and nutritional yeast and blend until smooth.
- Return soup to the pot, season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm. Shred the remaining zucchini with a spiral slicer, mandolin, or grater. Pour soup into bowls and sprinkle grated zucchini over top.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share:
Ali
September 10, 2009 at 11:04 pmThis soup looks great! I can't believe I have not been to your site before!
I love using cashews as a base for cream soups. My girls love "creamy" cauliflower soup made with cashews. I hadn't thought to try zucchini before, but why not, we have loads of it right now! -Ali 🙂
Hanah
September 10, 2009 at 11:14 pmI keep stumbling onto your blog and I like what I see each time. Delicious and Healthy! This soup looks beautiful, thanks.
Rose
September 11, 2009 at 1:21 amThis soup looks delicious, i usually stick to making pumpkin or carrot soup, but i think i may try this one for something different!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Rose
Trish
September 11, 2009 at 7:40 amThus sounds really good and I have almost all in my fridge! I woke to 40 degree weather so soup sounds like an awesome lunch!
Kelston
September 11, 2009 at 7:47 amYou are incredibly creative. I will try this recipe for sure.
Gena
September 11, 2009 at 9:22 amThis reminds me of my zucchini soup! Except cooked, of course 🙂 Delicious recipe.
Chocolate Shavings
September 11, 2009 at 9:26 amThat's a beautiful looking soup!
HayMarket8
September 11, 2009 at 10:01 amThis looks very good. I love the flavor combination.
Josiane
September 11, 2009 at 11:49 amPerfect timing! Our last CSA basket contained zucchini and basil – this soup will be a great way to put them to good use!
Chow and Chatter
September 11, 2009 at 12:40 pmoh what a wonderful and healthy soup
moonwatcher
September 11, 2009 at 1:34 pmHi Susan–
Don't feel bad–I've only gotten ONE zucchini thus far. . .I'll maybe get one more. . .it's just not the year for them in my garden, either. But this soup looks great–it's so pretty–I love the raw curls on the top of it. I bet it's delicious, too.
Thank you,
moonwatcher
A
September 11, 2009 at 2:20 pmThis is the perfect soup!!!! It really looks great!!!
-A
L from Germany
September 11, 2009 at 2:36 pmHi, we had this soup for dinner tonight. Unfortunately my blender didn't work so well, thus the soup was not as creamy as shown in your photo, but nevertheless it tasted really delicious. I used roasted and salted cashews cause I had no naturals at hand, and it worked really well!!!
Thanks for your great recipes and I hope you'll go on blogging for a loooooong while !! 🙂
outoftherabbithole
September 11, 2009 at 3:04 pmThank you for posting the nutrition label! Words like creamy sometimes scare me, but when I see how the calories and other nutrients break out, its very reassuring.
Anonymous
September 12, 2009 at 3:04 amOh, Susan, this soup looks mouth-watering! Thank you!
Anonymous
September 12, 2009 at 10:39 amWow, this recipe looks great, gonna try it tonight. I LOVE your blog and am reading a lot of your archived entries.
My wife has gallbladder problems and so far, eating lowfat vegan with very few refined carbs (along with lots of supplements) is the only thing that keeps her from having attacks. (Google "my stupid gallbladder" to find her blog)
It has been challenging for me as the family cook to say the least. We've tried a couple recipe's so far and they have been quite good. I have gotten a lot of inspiration from your posts and it is so nice to be able to cook some things we can ALL enjoy as a family rather than my poor wife having a special (usually not so tasty) meal all to herself.
Thanks SusanV for all you do here!
Anonymous
September 12, 2009 at 12:52 pmHi Susan,
That not only looks great but tastes great, too. I could "feel" that soup when I read the recipe, and since I have plenty of zuzhini and basil in my garden right now, I just had to do it. And as I said, it is awsome!!
So simple and quick, too! My son loved it!
Regards from sunny Slovenia,
Polona
sandrajayne
September 12, 2009 at 2:46 pmI made this soup today and it was honestly the best soup I have ever eaten. I followed the recipe exactly (unusual for me) and blended it in my vita mix. Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Lisa
September 12, 2009 at 5:04 pmThis sounds delicious! I too have tons of basil and zucchini to use up. Can't wait to try it.
Could you tell me a little about the nutritional yeast? This is not something I keep around, and I'm wondering if I should buy it just for this recipe? Is it crucial to the flavor, or could I maybe use some roasted pine nuts or a little cheese (sorry–I know you don't do cheese!) instead?
SusanV
September 12, 2009 at 5:35 pmLisa, the nutritional yeast just adds to the flavor, making it a little deeper. Roasted pine nuts would probably taste very good. A teaspoon of miso or soy sauce might also work, though both would add salt, so you would want to watch for over-salting. I won't comment on the use of cheese except to say that vegans often use nutritional yeast instead of parmesan. 🙂
Lisa
September 12, 2009 at 5:50 pmOkay, thanks!
Alisa - Frugal Foodie
September 12, 2009 at 5:54 pmmmm, I love cashews in soup, so bring on the fat!
Ksenia
September 13, 2009 at 4:37 amNuts are always great in "creamy" soups! I specially love a lentil pure recipe with roasted peanuts. Yummy!
sarahk
September 13, 2009 at 4:51 amThanks for another fantastic recipe, Susan. The soup is such a great combination of flavours. I made it for my dinner last night and I've got leftovers for lunch all week.
Kata
September 13, 2009 at 6:33 amThanks so much for the recipe, Susan! We've just finished lunch and your soup was amazing! :o)
Michal
September 13, 2009 at 7:30 amThis looks simple and delicious 🙂
Anonymous
September 13, 2009 at 6:52 pmThis soup looks great but I have a stupid question. Do I peel the zucchini?
couchSpud
September 13, 2009 at 7:13 pmI think the joy of soup is somewhat lost on me. Don't you prefer to have some sort of crunch during your meal?
SusanV
September 13, 2009 at 7:52 pmAnon, nope, the zucchini is unpeeled. Zucchini skin is very thin.
couchSpud, this was just one dish of a meal that included beans, a grain, and a salad. I used to not see the point of soup too, but now I really love it. Give it a try sometime!
Anonymous
September 13, 2009 at 7:54 pmI just finished having this soup for dinner. YUM!
Anonymous
September 13, 2009 at 10:13 pmthis should be called, yummilicious zucchini basil soup! soooo good! now i now how to create the perfect creamy base, thanks for sharing it 🙂
Elessar
September 14, 2009 at 2:25 amOk, Susan, you have inspired me again, I have some yellow squash in the fridgea lot of tomatoes from my garden, some loong sweet peppers, raw cashews, lots of basil growing in the garden, fresh English garlic, no vidalias….i am going to work this one! May pick some rosemary to add. Thank you always for inspiration.
Web Design
September 14, 2009 at 4:25 amok now I am hungry. I am a vegetarian and proud of it. Can't turn vegan though.
neta
September 14, 2009 at 7:20 amWe just finished making and eating this delicous soup. Thank you so much for the recipe, it was amazingly easy and yummy.
NICOLE M
September 14, 2009 at 9:25 amthis looks stunning. my head turns everytime the words creamy and vegan and thrown in a sentence together let alone n a recipe!
Parita
September 14, 2009 at 9:29 amLovely combination of flavors!
Anonymous
September 14, 2009 at 10:22 amDelicious soup! I follow Dr. Fuhrman's eating style and just water saute the veggies. Thanks for sharing!
SusanV
September 14, 2009 at 10:53 amPersonally, I don't think water is needed to saute the veggies, but to each his own!
Anonymous
September 14, 2009 at 11:07 amThis soup recipe is awesome…do you think it would be OK to freeze some? I know basil turns black on its own in the freezer but was wondering if the soup would "protect" it.
Jennie
SusanV
September 14, 2009 at 11:20 amI think it probably would change color in the freezer, but maybe not too badly. If you try it, I would love to hear how it comes out.