This Broccoli and Zucchini Soup is one of the easiest soups you can make! It's packed with veggies, and it comes together in under 45 minutes! It's perfect for lunch or a light dinner on weekdays. Serve it on its own or with croutons. It's freezer-friendly, great for meal prep, and easy to make vegan and gluten-free!
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Why You'll Love This Broccoli Zucchini Soup
Creamy and comforting - Zucchini is what makes this soup extra creamy. It gets extra soft after simmering for 30 minutes and helps thicken the soup. You can add heavy cream as well but you can keep it vegan if you prefer. It's hearty, filling, and perfect for cold weather or late summer when zucchini and broccoli are in season.
Easy and simple - This soup requires minimal work and takes only 45 minutes from start to finish (most of which is spent letting the soup simmer). It has a mild flavor with just thyme and bay leaf. Most of its flavor comes from all the veggies! It has broccoli, zucchini, carrots, celery, yellow onion, and garlic. There's nothing complicated or hard to find. It's the perfect fail-proof lunch you can make ahead.
Great for meal prep and freezer-friendly - This soup stores really well, and you can freeze it too! I like making a double batch and freezing it preportioned to have it ready for lunch or dinner on busy weekdays.
Ingredients
- Broccoli - You'll want to look for a dark-green, firm head of broccoli. Avoid ones with yellow or black spots or broccoli with a softer stem that looks wilted.
- Zucchini - Pick firm dark green, medium zucchini without any visible marks or mold. You'll need 2-3. I usually don't peel the zucchini.
- Yellow onion, carrots, celery, and garlic - These base vegetables give the soup a ton of flavor; you don't want to skip them! You can also use frozen veggies here. I like to chop a lot at once and freeze them for soups.
- Potatoes - You only need one or two medium potatoes. They thicken up the soup and make it creamier and more filling. Most common yellow potatoes will work. My favorite are Russet or Yukon potatoes.
- Herbs - The soup is simmered with dried bay leaves and fresh thyme. You can use dried thyme or dried oregano instead if you don't have fresh. Italian seasoning would also be great here! I also use fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Vegetable broth - To keep the soup vegetarian (or vegan if you don't add heavy cream), I'm using vegetable broth but chicken broth would be delicious in this soup as well.
- Cooking oil - I always use pure avocado oil because it has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point but any cooking oil you normally use works great! Olive oil could also work here because it's not extremely high-heat cooking, though I still prefer the avocado oil.
Variations and Substitutions
- Heavy cream - I like adding some heavy cream at the end of cooking for an extra creamy texture, but it's totally optional. You can also add coconut milk or other creamy dairy-free milk.
- Chickpeas - If you don't have potatoes, canned chickpeas are a great alternative! Add 1 cup of drained and rinsed canned chickpeas with the rest of the ingredients and follow the rest of the instructions as written.
- Spinach - You can add some baby spinach or kale at the end of cooking to wilt it down and blend it along with everything else to up the nutrients. It's a great way to hide some extra greens in your meal!
- Cheese - You can add some grated cheddar cheese for a classic broccoli cheddar soup, but with zucchini!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add chopped yellow onion and sea salt and sauté it for 5-6 minutes until glossy and slightly golden.
- Add minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until just fragrant.
- Add sliced carrots and celery and stir to mix. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add diced potato, broccoli florets, diced zucchini, bay leaves, fresh thyme or oregano, and vegetable broth.
- Stir to mix and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer partially covered on low-medium heat for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and use an immersion blender to carefully blend the soup until smooth.
- Stir in heavy cream and blend again briefly to mix it in. Serve with croutons, toasted bread, fresh herbs, more heavy cream, a dollop of sour cream, or Greek yogurt.
Expert Tips!
- Freeze any extra carrots, celery, and onion - Whenever I have a large quantity of any of these in the fridge, and I know I won't use them up, I dice them and freeze them for later. You can add them straight from the freezer into your pot for this soup! It's a great way to lower food waste and save time!
Serving Suggestions
- Toppings - You can serve the soup on its own or add various toppings. I like sprinkling on some freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme leaves. You can also add a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream or a drizzle of heavy cream or a dairy-free alternative.
- Croutons - Top the soup with some Homemade Croutons or the broccoli croutons from this Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Broccoli Croutons.
- Grilled cheese - There's no better sandwich to serve with soup than grilled cheese and you totally don't have to only serve it with tomato soup. Try this Goat Grilled Cheese with Pear and Sage. or this Apple Brie Grilled Cheese!
Storing and Reheating
Fridge: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Wait for the soup to completely cool down in the fridge before closing it with a lid.
Freezer: You can store the soup in the freezer in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months when stored properly. I like freezing my soups in silicone souper cubes to have them preportioned and ready to go so that I know exactly how much I need to defrost.
Reheating: If your soup is frozen, you can either defrost it in the fridge overnight first or reheat it from frozen. Run your container under warm water to get the soup out and reheat it in a small saucepan on the stove on medium-high heat with a splash of water to prevent it from burning. Heat until it reaches a gentle simmer. If it's refrigerated, it will take about 5 minutes to reheat. You can also reheat the soup in the microwave. I just don't have one, so I always use the stovetop.
FAQs
Yes, you can! Frozen broccoli will be more mushy in soups, but it doesn't really matter in this one since you blend it at the end.
More Recipes with Broccoli
Broccoli is sometimes an underappreciated vegetable, and it definitely shouldn't be! It's so versatile and really good when you season and cook it well. Below are a few of my favorite broccoli recipes that I think you might like if you like this soup. If you've never tried broccoli for breakfast, I highly recommend the breakfast muffins!
If you want to see more soups, head over to Soup Recipes.
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Print📖 Recipe
Broccoli and Zucchini Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Broccoli and Zucchini Soup is one of the easiest soups you can make! It's perfect for lunch or a light dinner on weekdays. Serve it on its own or with croutons. It's simple, flavorful, and great for meal prep!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ cup finely diced yellow onion (1 small onion)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup chopped carrots (1-2 carrots)
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 1 potato, peeled and diced
- 4 cups broccoli florets (2 heads of broccoli)
- 4 cups diced zucchini (2 medium-large zucchinis)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme (or both, or sub 1 tsp dried)
- 4 ½ cup vegetable broth
- ½ cup heavy cream (or a dairy-free alternative, optional)
- For serving: croutons, toasted bread, more heavy cream, sour cream, Greek yogurt, or fresh herbs
Instructions
- Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add chopped yellow onion and sea salt and cook for 5-6 minutes until glossy and slightly golden.
- Add minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until just fragrant.
- Add sliced carrots and celery and stir to mix. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add diced potato, broccoli florets, diced zucchini, bay leaves, fresh thyme, and vegetable broth.
- Stir to mix and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and use an immersion blender to carefully blend the soup until smooth.
- Stir in heavy cream and blend again briefly to mix it in.
- Serve with croutons, toasted bread, fresh herbs, more heavy cream, a dollop of sour cream, or Greek yogurt.
Equipment
Notes
Storing: Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Always wait for it to cool completely before closing it with a lid. You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3-4 months.
Reheating: You can defrost the soup in the fridge overnight or reheat it from frozen. Just add it to a saucepan and reheat on medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer. If it's frozen, add a splash of water to prevent it from burning.
Veronika Sykorova says
I've made this soup so many times in the past few months, I hope you like it as much as I do!