Courgette, Pea and Pesto Soup (Printable)

Vibrant spring soup with courgette, sweet peas, and basil pesto. Vegetarian and naturally gluten-free.

# What You'll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 medium courgettes (zucchini), diced
02 - 1 medium onion, chopped
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 1⅓ cups frozen or fresh peas
05 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

→ Liquids

06 - 4 cups vegetable stock

→ Herbs and Seasoning

07 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
08 - ½ teaspoon salt
09 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper

→ Pesto

10 - 4 tablespoons basil pesto

→ Optional Garnish and Serving

11 - Fresh basil leaves
12 - Crusty bread

# How To Make:

01 - Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until softened but not browned.
02 - Add diced potato and courgette, stir well, and cook for additional 3 minutes.
03 - Pour in vegetable stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until potato is tender.
04 - Add peas and simmer for additional 5 minutes.
05 - Remove from heat. Use immersion blender to blend soup until smooth, or transfer in batches to countertop blender.
06 - Stir in 3 tablespoons pesto and season with salt and pepper to taste.
07 - Ladle into bowls, swirl in remaining pesto, and garnish with fresh basil. Serve hot with crusty bread if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like spring arrived in your bowl, but takes less time than scrolling through your phone.
  • You can make it with frozen peas on a Tuesday and feel like you planned something special.
  • One pot, one blender, and suddenly your kitchen smells like an Italian garden.
02 -
  • Don't blend the soup straight after taking it off the heat—let it cool for just a minute so it won't splatter hot liquid everywhere, a lesson I learned in the most dramatic way possible.
  • The pesto is the star here, so taste your soup before adding it and let that dictate how much you actually need—some pesto brands are more assertive than others.
03 -
  • Use an immersion blender rather than a countertop blender if you have one—it's faster, less messy, and you taste the soup at every stage of blending so you can stop when it reaches exactly the consistency you want.
  • Make the pesto swirl on top look intentional by letting it sit on the soup for a moment before gently stirring it in with the back of a spoon—it becomes a small, beautiful gesture that makes the bowl feel cared for.
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