Light Courgette Soup with Mint
Courgette soup turns creamy with no cream at all if you keep the skins on and blend it while hot. The skins carry pectin that gives the body, and blending hot emulsifies the oil into the liquid so the texture reads as rich.
- Prep
- 12 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 37 min
- Calories
- 110
Photo: Andy Li — CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Courgette soup is one of the lightest and lowest-calorie soups there is, and it can be completely creamy without any cream or flour. The secret lies in two things most people throw away.
Method
-
1
Cut with the skins on
Wash the courgettes well and cut them into rounds without peeling. The skins carry pectin that gives the soup a natural creamy body with no cream, and they give it its pale green colour.
⏱ 8 min -
2
Soften the onion
Cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent and sweet, then the garlic for only half a minute. Garlic burns fast and turns bitter.
⏱ 7 min -
3
Potato and courgette
Add the diced potato and the courgettes and stir for 5 minutes over high heat. This light searing concentrates the flavour before any liquid goes in.
⏱ 6 min -
4
Simmer
Pour in the vegetable stock with the salt and pepper and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the courgettes are completely tender and crush with a fork.
⏱ 17 min -
5
Blend while hot
Blend with a stick blender while it is hot until perfectly smooth. Hot blending emulsifies the olive oil into the liquid, which is what makes it feel rich.
⏱ 4 min -
6
Mint off the heat
Take it off the heat and add the chopped mint and lemon juice. Boiled mint blackens and loses its aroma completely.
⏱ 3 min
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Keep the skins on — they are the source of both the creamy body and the colour.
- One small potato replaces cream and adds density for very few calories.
- Mint always off the heat — boiling blackens it and drives off its aroma.
- Lemon juice at the end lifts every flavour — without it the soup tastes flat.
People also ask
Can I make it without cream?
Yes, and this is the better version. Keep the courgette skins, add one small potato, and blend while hot — those three together give a fully creamy texture with no cream at all.
Why is the colour dark?
Either you peeled the courgettes, or you boiled the mint with them. The skins give the pale green, and the mint must go in after the soup comes off the heat.
How many calories per bowl?
About 110 per bowl, which makes it one of the lightest filling soups there is. For less, cut the olive oil to one tablespoon and it drops to about 85.
Cook mode
Light Courgette Soup with Mint
-
1
Cut with the skins on
Wash the courgettes well and cut them into rounds without peeling. The skins carry pectin that gives the soup a natural creamy body with no cream, and they give it its pale green colour.
-
2
Soften the onion
Cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent and sweet, then the garlic for only half a minute. Garlic burns fast and turns bitter.
-
3
Potato and courgette
Add the diced potato and the courgettes and stir for 5 minutes over high heat. This light searing concentrates the flavour before any liquid goes in.
-
4
Simmer
Pour in the vegetable stock with the salt and pepper and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the courgettes are completely tender and crush with a fork.
-
5
Blend while hot
Blend with a stick blender while it is hot until perfectly smooth. Hot blending emulsifies the olive oil into the liquid, which is what makes it feel rich.
-
6
Mint off the heat
Take it off the heat and add the chopped mint and lemon juice. Boiled mint blackens and loses its aroma completely.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.