This silky roasted courgette soup is packed with flavour, from slow-cooked courgette and garlic blitzed with peas and basil, and finished with ciabatta croutons.
🍴 Why you will love this recipe
No saucepan required! This creamy courgette soup has a deep and intense flavour because all the ingredients are roasted together in the oven. The courgettes lose their watery texture and the garlic becomes sweet and mellow.
Blitzed with peas, lemon and basil the humble courgettes are lifted to the next level in this very popular soup recipe.
If you have a courgette glut at the moment, you'll be pleased to know this soup uses up three courgettes AND freezes really well, so you can batch-cook and stock up the freezer for the winter months.
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📝 What you need
Courgettes aren't a vegetable you would immediately associate with soup, but when roasted like this they give a fabulous silky texture. You can use small or large courgettes, just aim for an overall weight of around 950g. If your courgettes are particularly huge you might like to take a look at my Marrow Soup recipe too!
Leek gives a savory base to the soup, but you can use a large onion instead if you don't have a leek to hand.
Garlic turns sweet and mellow when roasted so don't be put off by using 4 cloves!
Frozen peas give the soup its bulk and creaminess. Do use fresh peas instead if you prefer.
🔪 How to make your courgette soup
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.
Slice the courgettes and leeks, add whole garlic cloves (skin on), toss everything in oil, salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make up the stock in a heatproof jug and tip in the peas. Set aside for them to thaw. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven.
Squeeze the garlic flesh out of the skins and discard the skins. Tip the roasted vegetables, stock and peas, dairy free cream and most of the vegan parmesan and basil into a saucepan.
Blitz with a hand blender until very smooth. Toss chunks of ciabatta in oil and bake for 5 minutes until golden and crispy, adding the pine nuts for the final minute.
Serve the courgette soup garnished with basil, vegan parmesan, croutons and pine nuts.
⭐️ Reader Testimonials
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This soup is fantastic! All the flavours complement each other without any of them being overpowering. I always have a glut of courgettes & was looking for a different soup. I’m so pleased I found your site Kate, I’ll be trying lots more of your recipes & have subscribed to your newsletter. Thank you so much for the recipe 😌" Carole
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Made this today with leeks and courgettes from my garden – it is utterly delicious with gorgeous depth of flavours. Will be recommending this for the community cafe I work in! Thank you" Sandy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This is the most delicious soup I’ve ever made, hands down. My partner loves it so much he’s insisted I write the recipe out in case we ever lose the link… The roasted garlic is a genius addition, makes a huge difference. Thanks very much indeed for an excellent few dinners and lunches." Lily
👩🏽🍳 Variations
You can easily play around with the flavours and ingredients in this silky courgette soup to give some variety, (handy if you're using up LOTS of courgettes!). How about...
- Roasting some fennel in with the courgettes for a sweet, slightly anniseed-y flavour?
- Adding a good handful of fresh mint instead of or as well as the basil?
- Crumbling some vegan feta (Violife's Greek-style cheese is really excellent) over the soup just before serving?
- Add some orzo pasta or pearl barley to bulk out the soup into a main meal?
👩🏽🍳 Top Tips and FAQs
Don't skimp on the blending time A decent blender will make this courgette soup silky smooth - do keep the blender (or food processor) running for a good minute or so for the smoothest possible soup. It is tempting to just blitz for 5-10 seconds until it looks puréed, but in fact it takes longer than you think to get a really super-smooth result, and to blitz through those courgette skins and leeks. Take your time!
Keep an eye on the roasting vegetables How long the courgettes take to roast will depend on their size, water content, and how thickly you have sliced them. They could take anything from 30 minutes to an hour so keep watching and turn them occasionally. You want them to be golden brown but not charred or shrivelled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes - this, like most soups, freezes beautifully - and what better way to stock your freezer with home-grown produce through the winter months?
I like to freeze soup in old margarine tubs - they are the perfect size for a one-bowl portion, and stack beautifully in the freezer. Just don't forget to label and date them, or you end up playing the identify-the-mystery-soup game!
Yes absolutely - simply fry the courgettes and leeks in a large saucepan over a medium heat stirring regularly. You won't be able to roast the garlic cloves, so I would use just 2 cloves as they won't mellow in the same way. Peel and crush them and fry along with the vegetables.
Try my Creamy Courgette Curry - it is packed with flavour and gently spiced, with a creamy coconut sauce.
For the more adventurous, a recipe for Courgette Kimchi that my blogging friend Kavita reviewed from a new cookery book. I’m definitely trying this, it looks epic!
This Courgette and Freekeh Salad by another blogging friend Emma looks totally delicious. I’m a recent convert to Freekeh and this is the sort of ‘substantial salad’ I love in a lunchbox in the warm summer months.
For a lovely homemade and homegrown gift from the kitchen, take a look at my easy Courgette Chutney.
Or if you have some of those really huge courgettes or marrows hanging around, my creamy Marrow Soup with coconut milk is just what you're after.
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
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📖 Recipe
Roasted Courgette Soup with peas & basil
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 950 g courgettes (zucchini) about 3 large courgettes
- 1 leek
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon olive or rapseed oil
- 750 ml vegetable stock check it is vegan
- 200 g frozen peas
- 75 g dairy-free parmesan optional
- 20 g fresh basil
- 4 tablespoon dairy-free cream or milk
For the croutons:
- 1 ciabatta roll
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan) / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4.
- Trim the ends off the courgettes and slice them into chunks about 1cm thick. Place on a baking tray / roasting tin.
- Trim the ends off the leek and slice into rounds of a similar size. Place on the baking tray along with the garlic cloves (still in their skin), then drizzle everything in the olive or rapeseed oil, season with salt and black pepper, and toss everything together until fully coated in the oil.
- Roast the veg for 40-45 minutes, turning occasionally, until soft and golden brown (but not too charred).
- Meanwhile, make up the vegetable stock with boiling water in a heatproof jug, then tip in the frozen peas and set aside to let them thaw.
- When cool enough to handle, squeeze the flesh out of the roasted garlic cloves and discard the skins.
- Tip the roasted vegetables into a saucepan, along with the stock and peas, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until the peas are just cooked through.
- Add most of the dairy-free parmesan and basil (keep a little of both back for garnish), and the dairy-free cream. Use a hand blender to blitz to a smooth purée (or tip into a blender or food processor) then taste and add salt and black pepper as required.
- To make the croutons, cut the ciabatta into cubes, toss in the olive oil and bake in the oven for 5 minutes until crispy. Add the pine nuts and cook for a further minute until just starting to brown.
- Serve the soup with a sprinkle of basil and dairy-free parmesan, topped with the croutons and pine nuts, and with a swirl of dairy-free cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Susan says
I've just made this soup and wondered if you think it will keep safe in the 'fridge for a couple of days? We intended to eat it this evening but have just been invited out to supper, I don't want to lose the nutrition. What do you think ?
Christine Bowles says
I made this yesterday, exactly as per recipe, except I left out the parmesan as it is optional and I didn't have any, and the soup was delicious, thick and tasty. I have a glut of courgettes so made double and after having some for lunch yesterday, froze the rest in portions.
Helen says
Just delicious. Not vegan or vegetarian so used cream and usual Parmesan. Loved it. Would recommend without hesitation!
Jay says
Roasting definitely makes the difference with this!
I did find the parmesan overpowered the other flavours a bit - another time I'd probably only use half.
Mine turned out a bit thick so I added a dash of milk as well as the cream
Nice recipe, will try again
Jayne says
Looks amazing . Is it ok to freeze ? I’m never sure with soups that contain cream .
Kate Ford says
Hi Jayne, yes absolutely - this freezes really well.
Cindy Vanderzalm says
Way better than I even expected. I did use real cheese, cream and chicken stock (as that is what I had on hand)...but WOW, this will be one of my go to recipes for all seasons. Thank you so very much.
Kate Ford says
This is lovely to hear, thanks Cindy!
Lucy Powell says
A delicious soup to use up some homegrown courgettes an that is before i add any Parmesan or cream.
Thank you!
Kate Ford says
Great to hear, thanks Lucy!
Ann says
Great soup. So tasty.
The roasting does seem to add depth to the flavour compared to other courgette soup recipes. For economy’s sake (I’m cooking for one) I shall try frying. I look forward to trying some of the variations also.
Kate Ford says
Thanks for the feedback Ann, glad you enjoyed it.
Julie says
Try brushing with oil and grilling. I didn't add the cheese or basil since it was delicious without. I will try grating some on top of a bowl though to see if it adds anything to the soup.
Sandra says
We're not vegans, or even vegetarian, but grow a lot of our own veg and I'm always looking for courgette recipes.
This is a really tasty soup, my husband has requested I make more of it! I used 'real' Parmesan and cream and used mint not basil.
David Caple says
Is i9t OK to use real Parmesan and cream?
Kate Ford says
Yes absolutely - will still work fine.
Sam says
This is the best courgette soup going ; really scrumptious, thank you for sharing
Kate Ford says
That's lovely to hear, thanks Sam!
Beth says
This sounds delicious. I've never had zucchini soup, so I'm eager to try it. They're one of my favorite vegetables.
Casey says
Roasting the veg is key in the recipe--love that idea!! It was delish!
Kate Ford says
Yes absolutely, roasting makes all the difference! Glad you enjoyed it x
Kushigalu says
What a flavorful soup recipe, this is. Perfect for the weather here. Thanks for sharing.
Dannii says
What a deliciously vibrant looking soup. Such a great way to use up all the courgettes we are growing.
Irena says
Looks delicious!!! Your recipe made me miss living in London, I remember fondly those vegan brands of cheese and cream.