I love experimenting with rich, complex recipes every now and again. I do. But let’s face it: summer’s running out, and I don’t want to spend these last, gorgeous sunny days tethered to the stove or working my way through complicated prep steps. (I’ll have all winter for that.)
So I was delighted to receive a recipe from my sister-in-law Lauren for a zucchini basil soup that’s not only delicious, but splendidly easy to make. (Especially if you have an immersion blender!) It also happens to be a great way to use up the zucchini that may or may not appear on your front stoop on Thursday, a.k.a. Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night. (What? You don’t have that on your calendar? Click here to fix that right now!)
Anyhow, this savory soup tastes great with all kinds of mix-ins and toppings, so you can easily make it your own. It’s also good hot or cold, perfect for the steamy dog days of August—or cool nights, if you’re lucky enough to get a few. In fact, you may just want to make a double batch—it has a way of disappearing from the fridge!
As an added bonus, you score over half a pound of vegetables in a single serving of soup. (Which is super handy if you’re trying to put away two pounds of veggies a day.)
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- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 + 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 large zucchini (2 pounds), trimmed and sliced
- cooking spray (or saute with broth)
- 4 cups veggie broth (no-salt-added homemade or low-sodium from the store) or water
- ⅓ cup packed basil leaves
- 1-2 handfuls baby spinach (optional, for extra-gorgeous green color)
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- Coat a large, heavy pot with cooking spray. Saute onion and 4 cloves of garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add sliced zucchini and saute for another 5 minutes.
- Add vegetable broth and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes (zucchini should be tender).
- Remove from heat. Add 2 cloves chopped raw garlic, basil, spinach, and salt. Puree in the pot with an immersion blender, or in a regular blender in multiple batches.
- Serve and enjoy!
<i><u>Toppings</u></i>
Anything that adds a little extra texture or crunch would be delicious! Possibilities:
<ul><li>Lemony cashew cream and toasted sliced almonds (what I used)</li><li>Crushed whole-grain crackers or rice cakes</li><li>Popcorn</li><li>Toasted pine nuts</li><li>Vegan sour cream</li></ul>
<i><u>Mix-ins</u></i><ul><li>Fresh corn kernels (good!)</li><li>White beans (haven’t tried, but I bet would work well)</li></ul>
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Shared on Natural Living Mondays, Fat Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, and Whole Foods Wednesdays, some of the hippest blog hops around!
For a more decadent take on zucchini, try some rich chocolate zucchini truffles. (If you’ve never tried zucchini for dessert, you’re in for a treat!)
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
I like this soup idea! I'll admit I AM getting a bit tired of the usual grilled summer squash and I'm looking out into the garden and seeing at least 4 more that will be ripe soon. Thanks Lee!<br />P.S. It is a beautiful color as well!
You have zucchini in your garden? I'm jealous–I have zero sun, and can only grow tiny little greens. That said, Thursday is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night! Have any unsuspecting friends next door? 😉
Mmm this sounds great! I love finding new ways to incorporate zucchini – it's always plentiful at the market so I like to buy and put it to good use =)
Hi Kimmy, hope you enjoy it! I'm a huge fan of zucchini, so I'm always looking for new recipes, too. 🙂 Was so glad when my sis-in-law sent it!
Yum! And what a gorgeous color!
More spinach = more emerald. I'm all about pretty food! (One of the reasons I love Brussels Sprouts–they're so cute!)
Hello, Lee! This looks YUM!!! And with all of the zucchini in my garden right now it's prefect timing!<br /><br />Hey, I wanted to let you know that I accepted your Liebster Award and finally finished my post! Head over here to read about it: http://helynshealthykitchen.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-liebster-blog-award.html<br /><br />Thanks again! It was a lot of fun! :)<br /><br />Helyn
Hi Helyn, thanks for stopping by; I hope you like the soup! I'm so glad you had fun with the Liebster Award, too–I'm off to read your post right now!