Courgette Pea and Pesto Soup (Printable)

Vibrant spring soup with fresh courgette, sweet peas, and herby pesto swirl.

# What You 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 & Seasoning

07 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
08 - ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
09 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper

→ Pesto

10 - 4 tablespoons basil pesto

→ To Serve

11 - Fresh basil leaves for garnish
12 - Crusty bread

# How to Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, sautéing for 3 to 4 minutes until softened but not browned.
02 - Add diced potato and courgette to the saucepan, stir well, and cook for 3 minutes.
03 - Pour in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until potato is tender.
04 - Add peas to the saucepan and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
05 - Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. Alternatively, carefully transfer soup in batches to a countertop blender.
06 - Stir in 3 tablespoons of pesto and season with salt and pepper to taste.
07 - Ladle soup into bowls, swirl in remaining pesto, and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve hot with crusty bread.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in barely 40 minutes, which means you can have something restaurant-quality on the table before anyone gets too hungry.
  • The pesto swirl at the end feels like a small luxury, transforming something simple into something that looks like you've actually tried.
  • It's forgiving enough for a weeknight but elegant enough to serve when friends drop by unexpectedly.
02 -
  • If you blend the pesto directly into the hot soup while everything is still boiling, it turns dull and loses that fresh herby taste, so always stir it in after you've removed the pan from the heat.
  • The soup thickens as it cools, so if you're reheating leftovers, you might want to thin it with a splash of stock or water to get back to that silky consistency.
03 -
  • Dice everything roughly the same size so it cooks evenly and blends into a silky texture rather than creating lumps that won't break down.
  • Save the pesto swirl for the very end rather than stirring it all in at once, because that visual and fresh herby taste contrast between the swirl and the soup is what makes it feel special.
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