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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Noodle says
Added nutritional yeast, cider vinegar, chili flakes, only had coconut milk (drink, not can). No leeks, red onions instead. It was tasty!
Jeni Hughes says
Lovely soup! I've done courgette soup many times a a way to use up a glut at this time of year but the Roasted garlic really adds a wow factor. This is now a firm family favourite. I didn't bother with the croutons because I'm lazy.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Jeni! X
Jill says
Absolutely gorgeous soup. Saving this recipe for when I have an abundance of zucchini later this summer. Yum!
Pam says
amazing recipe! thank you so much for sharing. making it again this weekend 🙂
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Pam
M Falcon says
Also - the pic of the roasted courgettes is certainly not one of 3 large courgettes. With that many, they cannot all lie on the bottom of the tray.
You will also notice there is no leek in with the courgettes.
M Falcon says
This is one of these 'mine didn't look like that' recipes. Always guaranteed to irritate.
1) I roasted the veg and there was so much water in the courgettes that it was mushy not roasted. Should these be hollowed out first? The 'chunks' mentioned are actually courgettes sliced lengthways,, then sliced across in 1cm (?) thick. Why not say so?
2) Adding the frozen peas to the stock doesn't cook the peas - it just defrosts them. The whole combination needs heated afterwards.
3) Unless you have a large blender, it is best to blend the mix before adding the peas/stock mixture for further blending.
I will have to retry after I've managed to roast tthe veg minus the water.
Kavey Favelle says
I love courgettes and your soup looks fabulous! Didn't know you could freeze this! Very handy.
Carole Meers says
This soup is fantastic! All the flavours complement each other without any of them being overpowering. As it’s summer I might also try it chilled, like a green gazpacho.
I always have a glut of courgettes & was looking for a different soup to my usual courgette & dolcelatte, (which is delicious, I’m not vegan)
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 😌
Sandy M says
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
Lily says
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.
Somehow hadn't heard of veg space before this, but will be bookmarking now! Thanks very much indeed for an excellent few dinners and lunches.
Kate Ford says
Thats so lovely to hear, thanks Lily! X
Tamsin Aston says
I just made this and it was delicious! I have lots of courgette plants at my allotment and so I feel I shall be making this a lot this summer.
jenny walters says
What a wonderful looking soup.I love the colours and roasted garlic is just THE most amazing ingredients for soup.Pinned.Thankyou for sharing #CookBlogShare
Corina Blum says
This soup sounds so delicious! I love courgettes but I am the only one in my family who likes them unfortunately! I still get them and try to tempt everyone else and this soup would make a delicious lunch for me even if no on else would eat it. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
I'm not sure I've ever had a courgette soup before, but it sounds delicious - especially with the addition of peas and basil!! And such a fab way to use up a glut 😀 Eb x
Stephanie says
I always have zucchini in my fridge even year around. One of my favorite veggies. Never thought to turn them into soup. Will be trying this soon.
thevegspace says
Me too Stephanie, and I'm not sure why I haven't tried soup with them before, it is so silky and creamy - delish!
Traci says
I'm in love with this idea...and it's zucchini season!! Love it that you offer dairy free and conventional ingredient options. Just pinned and will be bookmarking for later. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
thevegspace says
Thanks Traci!
Sandi says
This soup is such a gorgeous color, and the combination of flavors just convinced me to give it a try!
thevegspace says
Great! Let me know how it goes.
Rhona Dunn says
This is delicious ......
I have never tasted a better courgette soup.
Lauren Vavala @deliciouslittlebites says
I have zucchini growing in my garden and expect it will go crazy as usual! Adding this recipe to my list because I get tired of the same old thing with zucchini and this sounds soooo good!
thevegspace says
It always does! This is great for using up the bigger ones.
Haley D Williams says
I love this color of the soup! I have to try this for lunch soon!
thevegspace says
It is lovely isn't it - I love that you never really know what colour your soup will end up until you turn on your blender!
Madi says
I've never heard of a courgette before! I can't wait to try one now, this soup sounds amazing!
thevegspace says
No way! They are called zucchini in the US. You must try one!