Creamy Broccoli and Zucchini Soup

With just 7 main ingredients and 5 simple recipe steps, this creamy broccoli and zucchini soup is not only easy to make, it's delicious, too! It's light yet comforting, cheesy, veggie-packed, and the perfect way to use up your late summer garden harvest!

Once August arrives in NNY, I'm adding zucchini and summer squash to every meal possible! I'm making everything from zucchini pumpkin muffins, zucchini mozzarella quiche, and zucchini scrambled eggs to sauteed zucchini and corn and air fryer zucchini.

But, my all-time favorite way to use up this versatile and tender vegetable is to make it into a creamy, cheesy, and oh-so-delicious broccoli and zucchini soup.

This broccoli zucchini soup recipe blends broccoli florets, chopped zucchini, onions, and vegetable broth until silky smooth. It is then thickened with heavy cream and shredded cheddar cheese, then seasoned with dried thyme and garlic powder. It's a restaurant-worthy soup recipe that your whole family will love!

Why you'll love this recipe

• Flavor - It's rich and creamy yet light and delicate, thanks to the all-veggie base.
• Minimal ingredients - You only need 7 main ingredients (not including seasonings), all of which are kitchen staples!
• Low cost - This creamy zucchini soup is very budget-friendly, especially if you make it when zucchini and broccoli are in season.
• Easy to double - It's easy to double the recipe to make enough leftovers for several lunches

Ingredients

• Zucchini: Choose small to medium-sized zucchini (also known as courgette). Giant zucchini can be tough and have really large seeds in the middle. In general, zucchini just becomes difficult to work with once it has exploded in size.
• Broccoli: Fresh, medium-sized heads of broccoli are best. My instructions are for fresh, uncooked broccoli, not frozen broccoli or leftover steamed broccoli.
• Cheddar cheese: Use high-quality, shredded, sharp cheddar cheese. The cheddar cheese will give this soup a creamy texture and rich taste.
• Heavy cream: The heavy cream will enhance the soup's rich and creamy flavor and give it a silky mouthfeel.
• Aromatics and seasonings: Aromatics and seasonings add savory flavor and depth to the zucchini broccoli soup. This recipe includes onion, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper.

Special equipment needed

• You'll need an immersion blender or a handheld stick blender because they're long and narrow and perfect for reaching deep into a large stock pot.
• Unfortunately, a regular blender isn't an option here. In most cases, soup needs to cool down before it's mixed in a blender. But for this recipe, we need the soup to stay hot so the cheese melts after it's mixed in.

How to make broccoli and zucchini soup

Step 1: Add the chopped onion and the butter to your soup pot. Sauté the onion and butter over low heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Step 2: Once boiling, add the chopped zucchini and the chopped broccoli florets. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the zucchini and broccoli are soft, about 10 minutes.

Step 3: Remove the soup from the heat and blend it until smooth using an immersion blender.

Tip! Be very careful when using an immersion blender! It's easy to splatter hot soup onto your skin. To prevent splatter, keep the blender fully submerged in the hot liquid, blend on low speed, and turn it off before pulling it out of the soup.

Step 4: Add the shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper to the puréed broccoli and zucchini soup. Mix until the cheese has melted.

Step 5: Stir the heavy cream into the broccoli and zucchini mixture and add extra salt and black pepper to taste, if desired. Since the amount of sodium in vegetable broth can vary from brand to brand, it's best to add just enough salt to your liking.

Step 6: Serve while warm and enjoy! Zucchini broccoli soup is a tasty light lunch, an easy dinner starter, or a vegetable side dish. It's a great recipe to make ahead of time and keep in the fridge to eat during the week!

Variations and substitutions

• Vegetable broth: You can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth, stock, or water. However, if you use plain water, you'll most likely need to adjust the seasonings, as water is obviously lacking in flavor.
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream can be substituted for whole milk or half and half. The texture and creaminess will change, but they both work in a pinch!
• Toppings: To add variety to your broccoli and zucchini soup, top it with extra crispy bacon pieces, freshly grated parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, a dollop of sour cream, or some crunchy homemade croutons. A pinch of red pepper flakes would add some spicy heat!

How to store, freeze, and reheat

• How to store: Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• How to freeze: Soups with cream, milk, half-and-half, or any cheeses usually do not freeze and reheat well. During the thawing process, the cream will separate and turn grainy, resulting in a pretty gross taste and texture! The best way to freeze this creamy broccoli zucchini soup is to freeze the soup before adding any dairy products. Then, add your heavy cream and shredded cheddar cheese during reheating.
• How to reheat: Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring between each 1-minute increment.

What to serve with broccoli zucchini soup

To make for a more substantial meal, consider serving zucchini broccoli soup with a crusty piece of bread, rolls, a leafy green salad, protein-rich meats, or even a slice of this broccoli and bacon quiche. Here are some of my favorite easy side dish recipes for soup:

• Dutch Oven Bread
• 3-Ingredient Drop Biscuits
• Marinated Vegetable Salad
• Chimichurri Chicken Thighs
• Grilled Shrimp and Chicken Kabobs

FAQs

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