Garden Zucchini Soup

Zucchini soup drizzled with olive oil and bacon with basil.

No ratings yet

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: to 6

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Meryl Downing

Ingredients

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!

Nutrition