Creamy Zucchini Soup with Walnuts and Dill
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This flavor-packed zucchini soup is creamy without the cream—and it’s ready in just 30 minutes.
If you’re swimming in zucchini and tired of the usual zucchini bread and zucchini muffins, this zucchini soup is such a delicious change of pace. It’s fresh and bright from dill, lemon, and good olive oil, with toasted walnuts that add richness and a creamy texture—no dairy required. The best part? It takes just 30 minutes, and it’s just as good cold as it is warm. Whether you’re using up garden zucchini or just craving some comfort, this zucchini soup recipe hits the spot.
“Made this initially out of curiosity but it has instantly become a favorite! Wow—so good!rnrn”
What You’ll Need To Make Creamy Zucchini Soup
- Olive oil, yellow onion & garlic cloves: The flavor base of the soup; a little olive oil also gets stirred in at the end to add body and bring everything together.
- Zucchini: This versatile veggie cooks down to form a bright base and gives the soup its fresh flavor and pretty green color. (No need to peel it.)
- Chicken broth: The base of the soup. If you’d like to make the soup vegan, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. The soup’s already dairy-free, so this one swap makes it plant-based.
- Dill & lemon juice: Fresh dill gives a fresh herbal note (either fresh or dried will work), and a squeeze of lemon at the end brightens the whole bowl.
- Walnuts: Toasted to bring out their flavor and pureed into the soup, walnuts thicken things up and give the soup a creamy, texture without the need for dairy.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Sauté the aromatics. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the chopped onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
Step 2. Simmer the zucchini. Add the sliced zucchini, chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.
Step 3. Toast the walnuts. While the soup simmers, toast the walnuts in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until fragrant. (Keep a close eye on them as nuts can burn quickly.)
Step 4. Purée the soup. Add the toasted walnuts and chopped dill to the pot. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until completely smooth, or work in batches using a regular blender.
Pro Tip: If you’re using a blender, be sure to crack the lid slightly or remove the center knob and cover with a kitchen towel to allow steam to escape—hot soup expands fast and can be messy (and dangerous) in a sealed blender.
Step 5. Add lemon and oil. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining olive oil, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with more olive oil, and sprinkle with dill. Feel free to top it off with croutons as well. The soup will keep well for several days in the refrigerator; freeze for longer storage.
Hot or Chilled, These Summer Soups Deliver
Creamy Zucchini Soup with Walnuts and Dill
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, cut into quarters
- 4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dried), plus more for serving
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (165°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-low heat in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent. Do not brown.
- Add the zucchini, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.
- Meanwhile, place the walnuts on the prepared baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye on them as nuts can burn quickly.)
- Add the dill and walnuts to the soup. Using a stick blender, purée the soup until smooth. (Alternatively, purée the soup in batches in a blender. Be careful not to fill the jar more than halfway, and leave the hole in the lid open and loosely cover with a dish towel to allow the heat to escape.)
- Add the lemon juice and the remaining tablespoon of oil to the soup, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt). Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with more olive oil, sprinkle with dill, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I tried this soup and thought it was delicious! My blender isn’t very strong so after blending I ended up straining the soup so that it was smooth. Defínitely needs some more salt but other than the extra step it was a delicious summer soup.
Tried this soup last night for a dinner party. It was delicious and super healthy — with no cream! The nuttiness gets stronger as it sits. We served it warm….and because I am not a fan of dill we simply used one Tbsp vs two. We will make this again for sure!
This was a pleasantly tasty soup that is quick & easy to make as well as incredibly flexible. Lunches can be a pain due to the kinds of dinners that we eat in the summer, but this is great. Since one reviewer suggested that the flavors were a bit bland (which definitely CAN be an issue with zucchini), I added a few grates of fresh (organic) lemon rind during the final reheat (nod to my Grandmom!) which was just right.
Hi Jenn, could I use pecans instead of walnuts? Just found out that my husband and I are allergic to walnuts but pecans are ok.
Sure, Rose. Hope you enjoy!
Looking for a good cold soup, I gave this a try. Initially, I was disappointed with it, not thick enough, not as flavorful as I thought it would be. However, the next day, cold, it blew my mind…thick, delicious, I will be making it all summer. ..so easy…so good. Even hot the next day, it was better than when I first made it. Jenn, why DID IT REACT THIS WAY?
HI Carol, It’s not unusual for a soup to thicken up a bit when it sits in the fridge. Also, often times soups and stews are better the second day as the flavors have had more time to meld/blossom. Now you can plan to make this one a day in advance of serving it! 🙂
can I use a blender stick instead of processing in a blender…..would be a lot quicker and less clean-up…..getting lazy in my old age…always looking for simple..:))) Have made this soup many times with blender….it’s a winner!
Hi Elaine, Glad you like the soup! I prefer a blender over a hand-held immersion blender for this recipe because it’s more powerful and does a better job blending the nuts into the soup. Sorry!
I made this, it was great. Just make sure you use real dill, not the dried stuff. The fresh dill adds a lot of flavour. I love how creamy it is without actual cream. I’d make it again for a light lunch
Oh, so good!
Delicious vegan soup that the whole family enjoyed. Since I live in the land of the New Mexico green chile, I added 1/4 of a leftover green chile to the soup and it gave it that little bit of “kick” and flavor that we all love.
Love this recipe and make it often! Like to keep some in the freezer, too. Recently I’ve been using a mild homemade veggie broth and am liking that as much, if not more, than the chicken broth. And, when out of walnuts, I’ve used a cup of plain unsweetened almond milk – a lighter-than-cream way of achieving a creamy texture. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Hi Jenn!
Thanks so much for your amazing recipes-2018 seems so far away:-)
Was hoping to make this soup and wanted to know if I can substitute the fresh dill with ground dill? I have seeds I can grind but no access to fresh dill. Also: are the walnuts a complete must? Can I leave them out and not alter the recipe? Thanks!
Glad you like the recipes, Sarah! Yes, you can use dried dill here; you’ll just need 1 Tbsp. plus more for garnish. And if you’d prefer not to use the walnuts, you can thicken the soup with cream. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks Jenn. I did just that: talk about transforming zucchini!!! The Dill really does something to the soup. I’ll try and get my hands on walnuts the next time I’m able to: I can only imagine just how muxh more awesome the soup will be! A keeper 🙂