Tomato Zucchini Soup with Garlicky Croutons
A Summer Produce Finale
A great dish for when you have more tomatoes and zucchini than you know what to do with, or are craving the flavors of end of summer veggies, this soup is sure to hit the spot! It looks and feels like a classic tomato soup, but has the extra earthiness of zucchini to round it out. By the end of each summer, I always look forward to a comfy bowl of soup and this one in particular is a perfect entryway into soup season. You can use up the rest of your summer produce and curl up with a warm bowl to enjoy!
This soup is great on its own, as it’s more filling than it looks, but would pair great with a grilled cheese or as a first course to the last grill-out of the season. It’s the perfect addition to any end of summer meal!
Tips For Making This Soup
If you plan on making this tomato zucchini soup, here are a few tips to make it extra delicious:
- Use caution when blending this soup so that you don’t accidentally burn yourself. Use a kitchen towel or hot pads when holding onto the blender, and leave a small opening at the lid to let steam escape as you run the blender.
- If you’re blending the soup in batches, use a large bowl to pour the first (and second) batch into while you blend the rest. Then once everything is blended, transfer back into the dutch oven to finish it up!
- This soup would also be great with some parmesan cheese, a bit of lemon zest, or any soft, fresh herb (like dill or chive) as a garnish as well! Feel free to get a bit creative to mix it up or to have your leftovers feel a bit different.
Recipe Details
This tomato zucchini soup has a pretty classic base of onions and garlic, sweated in a bit olive oil until they’re incredibly soft. The low and slow cooking of the onions brings out all of their delicious sweet flavors and will pair perfectly with the sweetness of the tomatoes and zucchini.
Into the onions and garlic, you’ll add oregano and tomato paste to create an even more flavorful base. Let the tomato paste cook and become darker and jammier. This will give the soup an even deeper tomato flavor. You’ll deglaze the pan in a bit of sherry vinegar, to lift up any tomato paste or herbs that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. The vinegar will cook down quickly and leave a tart flavor to the base of your soup.
To the base you’ll add the bulk of the soup ingredients, including a combination of fresh tomatoes, canned San Marzano tomatoes, zucchini, and veggie stock. After letting the soup simmer until the vegetables are fork-tender. At this point you’ll blend the soup, working in batches as necessary. Blending the soup until it’s very smooth gives this dish it’s beautiful, thick texture. Once blended, place the soup back on the stove over low heat and mix in a bit of heavy cream.
While the soup is simmering, you’ll fry up the croutons in a skillet in olive oil and a bit of garlic. Once prepared, set them aside to garnish the bowls of soup with!
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with garlicky croutons, a drizzle of olive oil, an extra drizzle of cream, and fresh basil.
This soup freezes great. Divide the soup in half and freeze the second half in a large, flat airtight container or in sealed plastic bags. Defrost in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it’s unfrozen and warmed through. I do not recommend freezing the croutons, however. Make them fresh or buy store bought to eat with your leftovers.
If you like the sound of this recipe, you should also check out these:
- Spicy Sausage and Tortellini Soup
- Spaghetti with No Cook Bruschetta Sauce
- Spicy Tomato Toast with Parmesan and Basil
Be sure to tag @laura.loves.to.cook on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook to let me know how your recipes turn out. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Garden tomatoes and zucchini create a fresh, hearty soup. Similar to a classic tomato soup, but thickened with blended zucchinis, this soup is sweet, tart, earthy, and creamy. A perfect bowl to enjoy as the summer temperatures drop.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 28 oz can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 large zucchini, roughly chopped
- 2 cup vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper
- Olive oil, extra cream, fresh cracked pepper, and fresh basil for serving
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 demi-baguette ciabatta, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed, high-sided pan over medium-low heat. Add the chopped yellow onion and a pinch of salt. Sweat for 8-10 minutes until very soft. Stirring every few minutes to stop any pieces of onion from browning.
Add the minced garlic, stirring into the onions. Cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir the oregano into onion mixture and then add the tomato paste. Stir to coat the onions in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the tomato has darkened to a deep red color.
Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of tomato paste on the bottom of the pan.
Add the peeled tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, fresh zucchini, and vegetable stock. Season liberally with salt and pepper and stir, breaking up the peeled tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the zucchini is fork tender.
Use a ladle to spoon the soup into a blender, filling the blender no more than ¾ of the way full. Blend on medium until smooth, working in batches if necessary. Return the soup to the dutch oven once complete.
Turn the burner onto the lowest setting to keep the soup warm. Add in the heavy cream, stir to combine, and taste. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
While the soup is simmering, preheat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, pieces of ciabatta, and cloves of garlic to the pan.
Stir or toss the bread to coat in the olive oil and let fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to toast all sides of the bread.
Set aside to cool until ready to serve.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle olive oil and heavy cream over the top.
Add a handful of croutons to the side of each bowl.
Garnish with fresh basil and cracked black pepper. Serve and enjoy!
