Creamy Parmesan Zucchini Soup
All you’ll need is 30 minutes to create this simple parmesan zucchini soup that is flavorful and super creamy! This cozy soup is made with no cream or milk and has a touch of white beans for protein.
One of my favorite things about soups is they can be made unique with almost any vegetable! I recently made a creamy cauliflower soup and a broccoli cheddar soup and loved them so much I decided to do a similar soup made with zucchini.
This soup is made with simple ingredients but is so so tasty! Since zucchini doesn’t have a ton of distinct flavor, I used a few key ingredients ingredients like garlic, onion, thyme, and savory parmesan cheese to draw out the most flavor.
You’ll need 30 minutes to make this soup as well as one pot and a hand-blender or regular blender to cream. Simple and so quick!
Shall we? 😉
Ingredients Needed
Only simple pantry ingredients are needed to make this soup as well as a few fresh vegetables. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- zucchini: We like using green zucchini.
- yellow onion: onions give great flavor to all soups!
- garlic cloves: fresh garlic is best for deep flavor.
- vegetable broth: I like using low sodium broth and adjusting the salt to taste as I need it.
- thyme sprigs: This herb is perfect for developing flavor into your soup while it cooks. You’ll remove the sprigs before blending the soup.
- white beans: I love using white beans to replace dairy in recipes and also add extra plant-protein!
- parmesan cheese: if you don’t need this recipe to be dairy-free, add fresh parmesan at the end for extra flavor!
- oil: to sauté your veggies in.
- salt & pepper: the simplest ingredients but they are the most important. Salt and pepper your soup to taste until the flavor is just right! Not enough of this seasoning will lead to a bland flavor (and who wants that?!).
How to Make Zucchini Soup
- First, saute onions and garlic with oil until soft.
- Then add rest of soup ingredients to pot. Cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove thyme sprigs and either use a hand-blender or place soup ingredients into a high-powered blender. Blend on high for 20 seconds.
- Season soup with salt & pepper to taste then stir in freshly grated parmesan cheese until melted.
Lock-in Extra Flavor
If you are an avid user of “Everything But the Bagel Seasoning” by Trader Joe’s or you have “Everything” seasoning already in your pantry – this is a fantastic recipe to utilize it in.
The garlic and onion flavor brings tremendous flavor to simple soups like this one! I recommend 1 teaspoon of this seasoning stirred in with the parmesan cheese.
Extra Helpful Soup Tips
Salt is your friend: When it comes to soups, salt enhances flavor – so don’t be afraid of it. My motto is: salt, stir, taste – repeat! Once you find that balanced taste along with a good dash of black pepper your dish will be well seasoned and ready to serve.
Cheese: Use freshly grated parmesan cheese for this soup since pre-shredded parmesan most likely will not melt the same. You can also swap for cheddar cheese and add a pinch more salt if preferred.
Tips for storing & freezing soup: chill any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. To freeze, place in an airtight container or freezer friendly ziplock bag and freeze without parmesan cheese for up to 2 months – then thaw, reheat, and add parmesan cheese.
Blender options: I recommend a high-powered blender (here’s what I use) to cream your soup or keep everything in the pot and use a hand-immersion blender.
This soup can be enjoyed year round. It’s warm & cozy for cold winter days but still light enough to be enjoyed as a summery soup. And this recipe can especially come in handy when the summer squash is abundant and needs to be used up!
I hope you love this satisfying and delicious meal! Enjoy it with your favorite crusty french bread or a simple grilled cheese for dipping. Yum!
More Zucchini Recipes
More Delicious Soups to Try
- Healthy Tomato Basil Soup
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup (vegan)
- Roasted Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- 30-Minute Leek and Potato Soup
- Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Panera Autumn Squash Soup
If you tried this Creamy Parmesan Zucchini Soup recipe or any other recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, and FACEBOOK for more crave-worthy content.
Creamy Parmesan Zucchini Soup
All you'll need is 30 minutes to create this simple parmesan zucchini soup that is flavorful and super creamy! This cozy soup is made with no cream or milk and has a touch of white beans for protein.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 3 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 cup cannellini beans
- 3-5 thyme sprigs
- 32 oz. chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated (see notes)
- salt & black pepper
- 1 teaspoon "Everything" seasoning *optional
Instructions
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In a pot or dutch oven, saute onions and chopped garlic in oil for 3 minutes until soft. Then add chopped zucchini, white beans, thyme sprigs, broth, and generous pinch of salt & black pepper. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes – stir occasionally.
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Use a fork or tongs to remove thyme sprigs. Use a hand-immersion blender or high-powered blender and blend soup until consistency is creamy and smooth.
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Stir in fresh parmesan cheese and everything seasoning (optional) – season with salt & black pepper until desired taste. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Share your photos and tag @asimplepalate #asimplepalate.
Made this today for lunch with a friend. Easy and delicious, plus healthy.
Love this recipe – I make it often!
So happy to hear it! Thank you, Jenny 🙂
Made this today and it was easy and delicious. I love soup and am happy to add this to my collection. I made it exactly as written and it was tasty as is minus the optional Everything seasoning as I did not have that but was inspired to try other herb blends (salted and salt free) I had on hand. Ran them through a spice grinder first to get to powder then added them to different bowls of the soup rather than the whole batch just to see how they’d work. They were all delicious.
Love it! Glad you could try out different herbs to add more flavor. It’s a great soup to try that out with! Thanks for sharing, Gina. So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Very good! I used half yellow squash, half zucchini because it’s what I had on hand.
So glad to hear it! Thank you, Jenny!
Quick and easy and it was excellent! Nutritious as well. Highly recommend.
Love to hear it! Thank you, Andrea 🙂
Can you use frozen zucchini?
We are looking forward to making this over Christmas