This vibrant pea and courgette soup is naturally creamy without using cream. Sweet peas and tender courgettes are blended into a smooth green soup that's packed with vegetables. It's ready in 30 minutes and perfect for freezing, and this easy, healthy soup is made with everyday ingredients.
I grow courgettes nearly every year, and as a result have done a lot of experimenting with courgette recipes over the years! This easy pea and courgette soup is a fresh, green vegetable soup which combines the creaminess of cooked courgettes with the sweetness of peas, and it's one of my favourites.
If you are looking for a soup recipe with just courgettes, try my creamy courgette soup (no cream)
At a glance
Recipe Summary: Pea and Courgette Soup
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 5
Key ingredients: Peas, courgettes, onions and stock
Nutritional highlights: A healthy green vegetable soup with the added protein and fibre of peas
Allergy info: Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan
Convenience: Easy to make, good for meal prep and freezing
Jump to:
Why make pea and zucchini soup?
- Courgettes (or zucchini) make a great soup base. They don't dominate the flavour, and they add a natural creamy texture without using cream. They are cheap, accessible and very quick to prepare
- This green vegetable soup has a delicious flavour. The peas add sweetness and go perfectly with courgette and basil. Even if your family aren't wild about courgettes, they'll love this soup
- Creamy pea soup is made on the stovetop in 30 minutes. It can be served hot or chilled, and it also freezes well
- Nutritious. Courgettes are high in vitamins and minerals and peas add extra fibre, and protein. Adding peas also makes the soup more filling
You might also like this broccoli and almond soup which has almonds for extra protein and creaminess.
Ingredients
A full list of ingredients along with metric and US measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Courgettes (zucchini). You'll need about 3 medium courgettes for this recipe. It doesn't matter if they are a bit overgrown.
Green peas. I use frozen peas to make this zucchini pea soup, as I always have a pack in the freezer. Frozen peas are often sweeter too as they are frozen soon after picking.
If you love frozen peas, you might also like this pea and mint dip.
You could use fresh garden green peas too (although if I were lucky enough to have some fresh peas I'd probably just eat them directly from the pods!!)
Onion. I use onion in most of my healthy soup recipes as it adds a good savoury flavour. I used a white onion. You could use red onion, but your pea and courgette soup won't have such a vibrant colour. Leeks also make a good substitute if you don't have an onion.
Garlic adds an extra dimension to the flavour, but omit it if you don't like garlic. You could also use roasted garlic which will enhance the flavour and sweetness further.
You'll also need a splash of olive oil so that you can brown the veggies. You could use another healthy oil. Pea and courgette soup is written as a vegan recipe, but you could use a knob of butter if you prefer.
Basil. A large handful of basil adds fantastic flavour to this pea and courgette soup. If you're not a fan of basil, try mint instead. It's best to tear up leafy herbs such as basil and mint, as they'll go black if you cut them with a knife.
Stock. I used a vegetable stock cube with water, but you could also use chicken stock if you prefer. There's plenty of flavour in the soup, so the flavour of the stock isn't critical. If you're using a shop bought stock you probably won't need extra seasoning, but you can taste the soup and decide when it's cooked.
How to make pea and courgette soup
I like to make this easy summer soup recipe in a large pan so there's plenty of room to blitz it in the pan rather than having to transfer it to another bowl and create more washing up.
Heat the pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Fry the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the onion to start to brown and caramelise slightly as it will add more flavour.
Add the garlic and courgette, and stir to mix. Add the stock to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. After this time the courgette will be cooked.
Add the peas and basil. Bring back up to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Don't overcook the peas, as you don't want to lose the lovely vibrant green colour.
Blitz the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can transfer it to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Recipe tips
If you want to make the recipe with marrow instead of courgette, that also works. You'll need to peel the marrow, as the skin is much tougher, and remove the central core of seeds.
Serving suggestions and storage
Pea and courgette soup is delicious served hot with flatbreads, seed bread or cheese scones. You could top with a little grated parmesan, sunflower seeds or crispy croutons. Or just add an extra sprig of basil, or some pea shoots.
For extra richness, add a swirl of olive oil.
On a hot day, I also like to serve the soup chilled. The creaminess of the courgettes is not dissimilar to that of a lighter vichyssoise.
You can store pea and courgette soup in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.
It's also freezer-friendly. Place it in a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
I love cooking with courgettes as they are so quick and easy to prepare. Just cut the courgette into dice about 1.5 cm square. In order to make the process even quicker, you can make a stack of 1.5 cm slices and cut them through together. Because courgettes are quite soft, the knife will go through a pile of slices easily:)
No, there's no need to peel the courgettes to make soup. The peel will soften down when cooking and you won't know it's there. It's better not to peel veggies unless you really need to as a lot of the vitamins and minerals are just under the skin.
Yes! Courgettes or zucchini are a good source of a wide range of minerals including potassium, magnesium and manganese. They also contain vitamins A and C and are a source of folate. Courgettes are rich in antioxidants and contain soluble and insoluble fibre.
Other healthy green soups you might like
A healthy green soup is such a great way to pack a few more vegetables into your diet, so why not try some of these other easy recipes?
Other healthy courgettes recipes
If you've got a glut of courgettes in the garden, there are a variety of recipes that you can use them in. You can bake them into muffins, transform them into pancakes, serve them as a veggie side dish, or turn them into a delicious creamy courgette dip.
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Recipe
Pea and Courgette Soup
Equipment
- large saucepan
- immersion blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 600 g courgettes diced, approx 1.5 cm cubes
- 600 ml vegetable stock or chicken if preferred
- 200 g frozen peas
- handful of basil torn into pieces
- salt and pepper if required
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and onion. Fry for 5 minutes until starting to brown, stirring occasionally.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion
- Add the garlic and courgettes and stir to mix. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 15 minutes.1 clove garlic, 600 g courgettes, 600 ml vegetable stock
- Add the peas and basil. Simmer for a couple more minutes, then remove from the heat.200 g frozen peas, handful of basil
- Blitz with a hand blender until smooth. You can also transfer the soup to a food processor for blending if you prefer.
- Check for seasoning, and adjust if necessary.salt and pepper if required
Notes
- Switch the basil for mint leaves if you prefer the flavour.
- If you want to make the recipe with marrow instead of courgette, that also works. You'll need to peel the marrow, as the skin is much tougher, and remove the central core of seeds.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is for guidance only
. says
Very good soup. Like most soups it's very easy to make.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, sorry you thought there were too many peas for you. Of course, you can adjust it to suit as per your suggestion, I hope you enjoy it more next time.
KCG says
200g peas too much. Tasted more like a pea soup, I will use 100g next time.