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Chilled Zucchini Soup With Lemon and Basil
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
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- Total Time
- 15 minutes, plus optional chilling
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 5 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2pounds zucchini, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 2cups basil leaves (about 2 ounces), plus more to serve
- 1cup roasted cashews (5 ounces), plus ¼ cup chopped roasted cashews to serve
- 6tablespoons lemon juice (from 2 lemons), plus more if needed
- 3garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2tablespoons white (shiro) miso
- 2cups vegetable stock
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Ice cubes (optional)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the zucchini, basil, cashews, lemon juice, garlic, miso, vegetable stock and 2 teaspoons salt in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth and silky. Taste and check seasonings, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed.
- Step 2
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or serve immediately, transferring the soup to a bowl and adding a few ice cubes if needed. Top with chopped cashews, a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper and a few basil leaves.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This soup is delicious! Great way of using summer, zucchini, and basil. Adding mint takes it to the next level. Note to Cooking editors: it would be most helpful if you indicated the yield in cups rather than four servings. Who is to say how much is in a serving? If I knew this yielded 6 cups, I would’ve used a food processor instead of a blender. Using a blender, I had to do the recipe in multiple batches. From start to finish it took me 45 minutes to prepare this soup. Worth it.
In order to guarantee a creamy soup, first place the cashews, lemon juice and just 1/2 cup of the stock in the blender or food processor. Blend to create a creamy liquid. Then add zucchini, basil, garlic, miso, remaining vegetable stock and 1-2 teaspoons salt in the blender or food processor.
David, I’d soak almonds for a few hours or overnight, remove the skins, and use the hydrated nuts in place of cashews. The soaking really softens and plumps the almonds.
This is a delicious soup and I actually liked the slight crunch of the toasted cashews..I did add crumbled feta cheese when serving to increase the protein. A worthy addition to the cold soup roster
Start with the toasted cashews and half of the broth to make a cashew cream, then add the rest of the ingredients if you want a creamy soup. Or just use your own home made cashew cream to taste.
This was delicious with my garden zucchini. I added in 1/2 avocado for some additional creaminess.
I started in the food processor, which took all ingredients in one batch, but couldn't get it creamy enough. Moved to the Vitamix (in 2 batches) and it has exactly the texture I wanted. More dirty dishes, but don't think I'd have gotten the ingredients to mix properly if I'd started in the blender. Had a sample bowl - think it'll be fabulous once chilled! (P.s. Mine isn't as green as the photo either, even though most of my zukes had very dark skins. Oh well - tastes great!)
There is no way this soup will become creamy or silky. Flavor was good but def not silky no matter how much i blended.
I'd suggest macadamia nuts or pistachios.
This was better than expected, actually quite delicious. I made it with half raw zucchini and half leftover zuke that had been grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Used plain water in place of veg broth, and three tablespoons pesto, which I had to use up, instead of fresh basil. Kept everything else the same and blended it all in a Vitamix. I wouldn’t say is was creamy, but it was smooth enough to be thoroughly enjoyable. Would def make it again when zucchini gets out of hand.
If you eat dairy, you could try something like a bit of sour cream or creme fraiche to add the creaminess I imagine. Silken tofu could be nice as well, and/or an avocado. If you don't mind the added step of having to cook, blending in some peeled boiled potatoes could be an option as well, though that defeats the purpose of it being basically no-cook.
I can eat pretty much any nuts other than cashews. I'd appreciate any suggestions as to what would be a substitute most in keeping with this dish. Thanks.
Thoughts on swapping cashews for soft tofu in this recipe? Thanks!
The flavor of this was good and I wanted to like it, but the texture is a far cry from creamy or smooth. Lengthy efforts to purée never quite rid it of its grittiness, a texture not unlike cream of wheat. I wonder if using raw instead of roasted cashews and peeling the zucchini would make a difference. I've been eating it with crumbled feta cheese and a little salsa macha.
Fantastic! Easy to make and wonderful on a hot night.
I’m still in awe over how simple and delicious this soup is!! I did as others advised and started by blending the cashew mixture to ensure a more uniform texture. Easy to work in batches, even in a blender! Love it as is, but it’s also fantastic slightly thinned out over chilled buckwheat soba noodles and edamame as a main course.
Used only 1 1/2 lb zucchini to fit in 1 1/2 qt blender. 1/2 cup cashews and 1/2 cup walnuts. Delicious! this one is a winner!
Do not add more garlic! We love garlic flavor so I added more than recipe called for and wow was our soup biting. Flavor was otherwise great and adding some plain Greek yogurt rounded out the garlic edges a bit. Nice refreshing veggie side dish alongside brats on a hot day at our house.
Don’t use a food processor as someone suggested. It doesn’t get as creamy or smooth as in a blender. Even better if you have a vitamix! I used almond butter since I had it on handy vs the cashews. It was delicious.
What a great way to use our over supply of garden zucchini. Excellent recipe. My only changes were to add one small jalapeno and a bit of fresh mint. My biggest recommendation is to make this a day ahead and refrigerate as that time really enhances the flavors.
Crowd pleaser, will makeagain. Followed the recipe (made a half batch). Only changes/specifics were Thai Basil, Meyer lemons, and chicken instead of veg broth. Used blender. Blending took a while but the soup came out creamy and smooth - served it immediately. My human test subjects liked it enough that they asked for the recipe. Given how quick and easy it is to make (hello minimal cleanup) and refreshing it is on a summer day I'll be making this again.
Delicious soup that is a perfect canvas for a variety of toppings! We loved radish sprouts, edamame & chopped cashews. Also, the soup begs for a bit of sriracha for a kick. Will repeat all summer long!
I started with the cashews, broth, and lemon juice in my Vitamix and had no problems with grittiness. Delicious!
This was delish. Used almond butter instead of cashews because it is not an allergen for me. Ran out of basil so used some mint to make up for it. Perfect summer meal.
Is there a non-nut substitute for the cashews for those with nut allergies?
No matter how long I ran the food processor the soup would not get smooth. The flavor is okay but i’ll probably not make this soup again
Wow, creamy deliciousness! (I made half the recipe and used raw cashews and chicken broth.) The funny thing was that for some reason, my refrigerator had gone wonky and froze the zucchini, so after I pureed the soup, it was already chilled and ready to serve!
Used mix of patty pan, summer squash & zucchini
are the roasted cashews salted or unsalted???
Yes! For the win! This was a big hit in our house. Tips from my fellow cooks were so helpful. I halved the recipe and used our Vitamix. Blended the cashews, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the stock first. Had no issues with creaminess.
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