Courgette Pea and Pesto Soup (Printable)

Vibrant spring soup blending fresh courgettes, sweet peas, and basil pesto swirl.

# What You'll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 3 medium courgettes (zucchini), diced
05 - 1 2/3 cups frozen or fresh peas
06 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced (approximately 5.3 ounces)

→ Liquids

07 - 4 cups vegetable stock

→ Seasoning

08 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
09 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Garnish

10 - 4 tablespoons basil pesto, store-bought or homemade
11 - 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or Greek yogurt, optional
12 - Fresh basil leaves, optional

# How To Make:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened and translucent.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add diced courgettes and potato to the saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften.
04 - Pour in vegetable stock, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
05 - Add peas and continue simmering for 5 minutes until all vegetables are tender and fully cooked.
06 - Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, purée soup directly in the saucepan until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, carefully transfer to a blender in batches and blend until smooth, then return to saucepan.
07 - Season soup with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Gently reheat if necessary over low heat.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls. Swirl 1 tablespoon of pesto into each serving. Top with crème fraîche or Greek yogurt and fresh basil leaves if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like spring in a spoon, with that perfect balance of sweet peas and earthy courgettes that somehow feels both light and satisfying.
  • The whole thing comes together in 30 minutes, so it's ideal for weeknight dinners when you want something homemade without the fuss.
  • A swirl of pesto transforms something simple into something that feels a little fancy, like you've put real thought into your meal.
02 -
  • Don't skip blending the soup—the creaminess comes entirely from the potato's starches emulsifying into the broth, not from any actual cream, and it's genuinely transformative.
  • The pesto goes in at the end and stays separate rather than stirred through, which means every spoonful gets that concentrated basil flavor without it cooking away.
03 -
  • Make the pesto swirl your signature move—a deliberate spiral or two looks intentional and creates pockets of flavor throughout the bowl instead of all of it sinking to the bottom.
  • If you're making this ahead, blend the soup and store it separately from the pesto, because pesto oxidizes and loses its brilliant green color if it sits in the hot soup for too long.
Go Back