This post contains affiliate links.
If you grow zucchini, by late August you likely have a pile up on your kitchen counter! This Garden Zucchini Soup is the best way to use up lots of zucchini, and be able to freeze some soup to preserve it for winter! This very simple soup is made by sautéing bacon and then cooking the zucchini in the flavorful bacon fat along with onions and garlic. Blend until smooth with a touch of cream, and top it with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil from the garden.
- Garden Zucchini - I love to grow zucchini because it just produces so much! By the end of the summer I'm throwing zucchini into everything I can! It's a healthy addition to lots of dishes, great in baking and this soup uses up about 5 zucchini!
- A Healthy Soup - This creamy zucchini soup is really just a big pot of blended veggies! I like to store it in jars, serve it for lunch or dinner, and freeze the extras to preserve your zucchini harvest.
- Got Zucchini? Try this Zucchini Corn Chowder and get lots more ideas with these 15 Ways to Use Garden Zucchini!
Jump to:
Ingredients & Substitutions
Just a few ingredients, big flavor from the bacon, and lots of your garden zucchini put to good use!
- Zucchini - Use about 5 medium garden zucchini, or roughly chopped any sized zucchini and just measure 10 cups. This is a great chance to use up zucchini that may have gotten overgrown! This recipe was made specifically for fresh garden zucchini, the water in the zucchini provides the liquid for the soup, along with a bit of cream. Grocery store zucchini works too, but this soup is meant to use up an abundant garden harvest!
- Bacon - A few strips of bacon cook first until crispy, and then the bacon fat is used to sauté the onion and zucchini. It adds savory smoky flavor to the whole pot of soup, and the crumbled bacon is served over the top as a garnish.
- Onion and Garlic - Sautéed in the bacon fat along with the zucchini. Use lots of fresh garlic, but add it after the zucchini is cooked, it only needs to cook a minute or two.
- Cream - Cream adds a rich silkiness to the soup. Because fresh zucchini releases so much water as it cooks, cream is the only liquid this soup needs. If your soup is thicker than you'd like after blending, you can thin it with a little chicken broth, water, or more cream.
- Parmesan Cheese - The garnishes are important in this simple rustic soup! Freshly grated Parmesan added to each bowl adds salty, savory richness.
- Fresh Basil - You can blend in a few leaves, they make the soup even more vibrantly green. Garnish with more leaves on each bowl. You could also change the flavor of the soup by finishing with a different herb like fresh rosemary, thyme or sage.
- Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes - With such a simple soup, you need a good amount of salt and pepper to season all that zucchini. I like to add a bit of flakey salt and fresh cracked pepper over the top of each bowl to garnish, with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to add a little kick!
- Olive Oil - A drizzle over the finished bowl looks beautiful and adds a little richness.
See recipe card below for full quantities.
Instructions
Chop all your zucchini, sauté it in the bacon fat, and blend until smooth! This soup is all about the garnishes and some kind of bread to dunk!
Step 1 - Chop the zucchini, use a large glass measuring cup to measure 10 cups. This doesn't need to be exact.
Chop the onion and mince the garlic.
Step 2 - In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook the 3 strips of bacon, flipping as needed.
Remove to a plate and keep the bacon fat in the pot.
Step 3 - Add the onions to the bacon fat and then the zucchini.
Season with a good amount of the salt and pepper.
Step 4 - Let it cook about 15 to 20 minutes, giving it an occasional stir.
A bit of browning and caramelization is a good thing!
Step 5 - Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so until fragrant.
Add the basil and cream and turn off the burner.
Step 6 - Add the soup to a blender in 2 or more batches and blend until very smooth.
Step 7 - You can pour the blended soup into a bowl while to blend the other batch.
Then return it all to the soup pot, give it a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Step 8 - Garnish each bowl with a pinch of flakey salt, fresh cracked pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, lots of shredded Parmesan cheese, chopped bacon, and fresh basil leaves.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Don't Drain the Bacon Fat - The bacon fat replaces the need for olive oil to sauté the vegetables, and it adds flavor to the whole pot. This is a lot of vegetables, so 3 strips of bacon, with the fat, is the perfect amount. If you want to use extra bacon to have more for garnishing, you can just spoon out and remove a bit of the fat.
- What to Serve it With - This soup is a complete summer dinner on its own with some kind of bread for dipping. It makes a great early fall soup with a grilled cheese sandwich or a piece of crusty bread, or serve it with Garden BLT's or Italian Grinder Subs.
- Storage - This soup can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. I like to add it to glass jars, filled only ¾'s full to allow room for expansion. Cool in the fridge overnight and then freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring in a splash of cream, broth or water if it's too thick.
Yes, for a lighter version, you can substitute the cream with half & half or whole milk. Or use chicken stock for a dairy-free version.
Any size garden zucchini will work, so this is a great chance to use up the ones that got overgrown! You can scoop out and discard very large seeds if you want. Just measure the chopped zucchini to be about 10 cups, but this amount doesn't really need to be exact. If you have a lot of zucchini to use up, a little extra is fine!
You can skip the bacon and sauté the vegetables in olive oil instead. It will be a simpler, lighter soup and you will miss out on that bacon flavor.
More Zucchini Recipes
Love this Recipe?
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
Join the Email List for new recipes delivered straight to your inbox!
Garden Zucchini Soup
Hit the stars to rate this recipe!
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 3 strips bacon
- ½ cup onion chopped, 1 small onion
- 10 cups zucchini chopped, about 5 medium sized zucchini
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 sprigs fresh basil
- Garnish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of flakey salt and cracked pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, chopped bacon, and shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients, chop the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the zucchini.
- Preheat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp, flipping as needed with tongs, about 8 or 9 minutes. Remove the bacon to a cutting board and chop.
- Keep the bacon fat in the pot over medium heat and add the onion and zucchini to saute in the fat, stir occasionally, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- When the zucchini has softened and browned a bit, stir in the garlic. Then add the cream and basil and turn off the heat.
- Add to a blender in batches and blend until very smooth. If the blended soup is too thick, you can add a little water or chicken stock to thin it to the right consistency (I didn't need to add any).
- Return the blended soup to the pot and taste, add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Garnish each bowl with a pinch of flakey salt, fresh cracked pepper, crushed red pepper flakes for a little kick, a drizzle of olive oil, chopped bacon, Parmesan cheese, and fresh basil leaves. Serve with crusty bread or grilled cheese for dunking.
Notes
- Use a large 4 cup glass measuring cup to measure the chopped zucchini. I used about 10 cups chopped from 5 medium to large sized zucchini. This amount doesn't need to be exact.
- If the blended soup is too thick, you can thin it with water, chicken stock, or more heavy cream or milk. You may need to thin it a bit when reheating leftovers.
- Zucchini soup can be frozen in glass jars, filled only ¾'s full to allow room for expansion. Cool in the fridge first and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Do not run a frozen jar under hot water to thaw, it will crack!
Leave a Review