Here’s an easy vegetable soup recipe with zucchini that you can serve to a crowd. This make ahead zucchini soup served chilled is perfect for holidays, dinner appetizer soups, or brunch appetizers. Make it in under 30 minutes.
File this under an easy restaurant-style soup to make at home.
Today, you’ll learn:
- How to cook zucchini soup just-right
- How to make a creamy zucchini soup
- Ways to serve zucchini soup for a holiday
- What can you put zucchini in soup? (including toppings)
Ingredients for make-ahead zucchini soup
This is a chicken broth-based vegetable soup with zucchini, onion, and garlic.
So where does the creaminess come from? This is a refreshing appetizer soup with sour cream added in the final steps. It makes this recipe for zucchini soup creamy and silky smooth.
At the end, you can add toppings to zucchini to play with the flavors, just like restaurants do.
How to make zucchini soup
Step 1. Heat a large pot on the stove to medium-high heat.
Add zucchini, onion, garlic, and chicken broth.
How long to cook zucchini in soup
Zucchini cooks very quickly in soup. Once the liquid in the pot begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low.
The goal is to reduce the heat so the zucchini soup simmers. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Once vegetables are soft, remove the pot from heat.
Step 2. Let vegetable and broth mixture cool for 10-20 minutes in the soup pot, or transfer to a bowl. To serve warm, jump to the next step.
To serve later or serve chilled: transfer cooled vegetables and broth (as is) to the refrigerator. Chill for at least one hour or overnight if possible.
The longer it sits (up to a day), the better, as it will deepen the flavor of the soup.
Step 3. Once that deep flavor forms, it’s time to turn this into a zucchini puree soup.
Purée zucchini and vegetables in the broth with an immersion blender for about 1-2 minutes until smooth.
This wouldn’t be a creamed zucchini recipe without the secret creamy ingredient… sour cream. Add in sour cream and blend to combine until the color is consistently green throughout.
Step 4. Serve soup in small cups topped with olive oil, cheese, herbs, salt and pepper as desired.
For a full run down of my summer recipes, have a look at this article— and spend the summer eating seasonal food that’s healthy, easy to make and tastes delicious too.
Tasty toppings for zucchini soup
- Celery
- Croutons made on the stove
- Baked Parmesan Croutons
- Sous vide asparagus
- Dollop of cream cheese
- Sous vide chicken
- Sous vide turkey
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- Grated ginger
- Sauteed mushrooms with thyme
- Sous vide corn
- Diced potatoes
- Overnight sous vide bacon
- Cayenne to make a spicy zucchini soup
- Spinach
- Fresh basil
- If you’re going to skip the croutons, then do yourself a favorite and pick up some crunchy crackers to accompany your soup. The extra texture will do wonders for the soup, bringing out its sour cream smoothness.
Plating tips for zucchini soup
Get artistic with your zucchini soup plating and add an edible zucchini blossom. Look for zucchini blossoms or other squash blossoms at farmer’s markets or specialty grocery stores.
Serve zucchini soup in small carafes, appetizer spoons, or shot glasses. It is a rich soup, so a little bit is perfect for wetting appetites. In easy to sip and walk containers, it’s easier to eat in a socially distanced way.
What to serve with zucchini soup
So, you know exactly how you’ll top and garnish your chilled zucchini soup. Now you’re probably asking yourself: “What can I serve with it?” – especially if you want to serve zucchini soup for a crowd.
From drinks to sides, here are pairings for zucchini soup…
Main dishes to serve with zucchini soup
- Pesto chicken. Make the most of your bright green meal by accompanying it with a flavorful pesto chicken. Make this sous vide whole chicken or simple chicken breast on the stove.
- We’ve all enjoyed a delicate shrimp cocktail before – and we’re here to say that a chilled shrimp cocktail is an excellent pairing with chilled zucchini soup. Make the perfect shrimp every time with this sous vide shrimp recipe.
- Other seafood. Like sous vide scallops and sous vide lobster tails
- A tasty sandwich. Like a sous vide brisket sandwich or something from this list of gourmet grilled cheese ideas.
- It’s always a good night to make homemade pizza with store bought dough or pizza from frozen crust.
- Try this chicken piccata pasta.
- A classic soup and salad pairing with zucchini soup works well with this make-ahead Caprese salad
Zucchini soup drink pairings
- Fresh lemonade. Freshly squeezed lemonade with a bit of honey is a classic drink for any summer meal, but don’t be afraid to add a twist to your lemonade with club soda.
- Spiked lemonade. Taking the same idea as above, pair zucchini soup with lemonade mixed with a fruity liquor – try adding marionberry rum or coconut vodka in lemonade).
- Something tropical. Try something on this list of tropical drink recipes.
Love zucchini? See these oven baked zucchini chips
Modifications for a vegetarian zucchini soup
Make your chilled soup vegetarian by using a vegetable broth. For a vegan zucchini soup, use full-fat coconut milk instead of the sour cream.
For the past few months, I’ve really been obsessed with zucchini soup.
I made my first batch of chilled zucchini soup after enjoying it at Portland charcuterie hot spot, Olympia Provisions. If my memory serves me right, they had a warm zucchini soup. With some modifications and my own spin, I’ve found that cold zucchini soup like the one in this recipe is a refreshing take on the dish.
Why chilled soup?
Many people think of roaring fires and cozy sweaters when they take a sip of soup, but not all soups are wintertime soups. In fact, some of the most delicious soups, like zucchini soup, go best with fresh summer vegetables.
For the summer…
To make soup the perfect warm-weather refresher, you can serve it chilled. Sipping chilled soup on a toasty summer day is not only satisfying but can also be hydrating and will leave you feeling clean and refreshed.
For easy serving…
Serving chilled soup is easier for meal prep and makes this a great soup recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or any holiday really. This is one of my favorite holiday appetizer dishes to make ahead.
Meal prepping soup makes life easier
Anytime I can make ahead soup or salads, there’s a 100% chance putting together dinner is going to run a little more smoothly.
With a toddler, it’s so important to stay on a schedule, and putting together a soup appetizer for dinner a few hours in advance really helps. Then I can just focus on making the main dish before putting dinner on the table.
Freezing this soup
Remember my tips on buying and freezing from the grocery store? Yes, soups are great to do this with, too. Freeze them in batches and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
New recipes and foodie guides….
- Tri tip (it’s so good!)
- Homemade pizza
- Smoked wings
- Traeger pizza
- Pan grilled chicken
- Bacon wrapped hot dogs
- Potato side dishes
- Pasta side dishes
- Baked brisket
- Sous vide frozen steak
- Cooked chicken temp guide
- Jalapeno ranch sauce
- Sous vide pork chops
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- GUIDE: How to make hamburger patties
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Grill and smoker recipes…
- Grilled chicken wings
- Smoked pizza
- Smoked chicken
- Smoked tri tip
- Traeger pulled pork
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked chicken wings
- Smoked ham
- Flank steak marinade
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- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked chicken breast
- Grilled broccoli
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Final tips for making this chilled zucchini soup
- Do you peel zucchini for soup? No, you definitely don’t have to. The skin will add to the deep green color and has flavor, so wash the zucchini and keep the skin on.
- Substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt or full fat coconut milk.
- Serving it chilled. If you choose to serve it warm, you can serve it right after pureeing it. Otherwise, make zucchini soup served chilled by transferring the pureed zucchini and vegetables to another bowl, or leaving it in the pan (after cooling down) and transferring to the fridge to cool for 1-2 hours, or overnight.
- Top soup with croutons, diced vegetables, herbs, or cheese.
- Let the flavors evolve. Aim to make zucchini soup between 2 hours and 1 day before serving to let all the tasty flavors do their thing and get better over time.
Are you a foodie, too?
Another easy soup recipe to check out is this Instant Pot chicken noodle – it’s so tasty and great to make ahead.
Until next time, connect with me on Instagram for new recipes @sipbitego and subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel on YouTube.
Make Ahead Zucchini Soup Served Chilled Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
- 3 Zucchini medium, (diced in large chunkswith skin on)
- ½ onion (diced in large chunks)
- ½ tbsp garlic minced
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pot on the stove to medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onion, garlic, and chicken broth. Once the liquid in the pot begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low. The goal is to reduce the heat so the zucchini soup simmers. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Once vegetables are soft, remove the pot from heat.
- Let vegetable and broth mixture cool for 10-20 minutes in the soup pot, or transfer to a bowl. To serve warm, jump to the next step. To serve later or serve chilled: transfer cooled vegetables and broth (as is) to the refrigerator. Chill for at least one hour or overnight if possible. The longer, the better, as it will deepen the flavor of the soup.
- Purée zucchini and vegetables in the broth with an immersion blender for about 1-2 minutes until smooth. Add in sour cream and blend to combine until color is consistently green throughout.
- Serve soup in small cups topped with olive oil, cheese, herbs, salt and pepper as desired.
Video
Notes
- Do you peel zucchini for soup? No, you definitely don’t have to. The skin will add to the deep green color and has flavor, so wash the zucchini and keep the skin on.
- Substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt or full-fat coconut milk.
- Serving it chilled. If you choose to serve it warm, you can serve it right after pureeing it. Otherwise, make zucchini soup served chilled by transferring the pureed zucchini and vegetables to another bowl, or leaving it in the pan (after cooling down) and transferring to the fridge to cool for 1-2 hours, or overnight.
- Top soup with croutons, diced vegetables, herbs, or cheese.
- Let the flavors evolve. Aim to make zucchini soup between 2 hours and 1 day before serving to let all the tasty flavors do their thing and get better over time.
Elizabeth says
I’m not sure how fair my rating is, given the changes I made: I used two zucchini and a summer squash and a whole sweet onion; I added a bit of rosemary and thyme and garlic salt (in addition to the garlic I put in the soup), and I didn’t have sour cream, so I used some heavy cream. And I’m having it while still warm/hot. It’s very good!