Zucchini Soup with Peas and Mint (Vegan, Creamy, and Ready in 30 Minutes)

The farmers market here in Portugal right now is an abundance of spring veg and herbs. Fresh fava beans, new potatoes still wearing their dirt, fennel, green peas still in the pod, courgettes (zucchini), and mint… so much bright green mint it’s practically growing in the stalls. I came home loaded with courgettes, a bunch of mint the size of my forearm, fennel, and some of the spring potatoes. All the inspiration for this spring soup… a vegan zucchini soup with peas and mint.

It’s light, a beautiful pale green, and silky smooth. You can totally eat a second bowl without guilt. No cream, no butter. Just vegetables, coconut milk, red lentils, and mint doing their thing highlighting the small, delicate spring courgettes. And so easy to make, ready in about 30 minutes from start to finish.

The Portugal Farmers Market and What Made Me Make This Soup

So, when you’ve got a farmers market 2 blocks from where you live, you cook totally differently than you do in the States. There most fruits and veggies are available year around since they are shipped in from around the world. In Portugal and most of Europe, they tend to eat what’s locally grown and in season. So, we don’t plan as much as we respond. You can go one weekend and get something that will be gone the next. So, you buy what’s beautiful and figure it out at home. That’s exactly how this zucchini pea mint soup came to be.

Every spring, mint and fava beans show up at exactly the same time, in the same stalls, and they’re always piled next to each other. Same with peas and mint. It’s not a coincidence — ingredients that are natural flavor pairings almost always grow in the same place at the same time. Mother Nature had this beautiful plan to put them together long before we did.

And normally I’m carrying home bags of favas, but not this weekend. It was the small spring courgettes, the fresh mint, the peas just shelled from the pod, and those new potatoes with damp soil still on them… that not only made the basket, but also they all ended up in the pot together.

Why Spring Courgettes Are Different

If you’ve only ever made zucchini soup in high summer, you’re in for a pleasant surprise with the spring version. Early-season courgettes are smaller, more delicate, and much less watery than the high heat season ones from July and August. They have a subtle, sweet flavor that doesn’t need to be masked or coaxed out. They just need to be gently cooked and blended.

And because the weather is much cooler, they grow slower so the smaller ones five to six inch long end up in the markets. Most of what I brought home was no longer than my hand. If you’re in the US, look for the smaller zucchini at the farmers market or grab the younger ones from the grocery store… they’ll give you the best flavor for a spring soup like this one.

Btw, if you’d like another of my favorite zucchini recipes, try this one for Corn, Zucchini and Pepper with Swiss Cheese Quesadillas. It’s freaking A-MAZ-ING.

Why This Vegan Zucchini Soup Works

This soup? It’s so damn good. Creamy without cream. Satisfying without meat or a heavy starch base. Bright and green and genuinely delicious. I admit I’m totally patting myself on the back for this one. It’s so worth a go.

So, here’s what’s doing the work:

The coconut milk.

I started substituting coconut milk for heavy cream a few years ago when the hubby had a digestive thing and needed to avoid dairy for a few months. I grabbed a can on a whim, and honestly? We never went back.

Not because milk isn’t delicious — I’m not about to give up my cheese or my goat milk chai lattes — but because coconut milk does something different. It’s lighter. It coats the mouth beautifully without the heaviness cream brings.

And no, it doesn’t taste like coconut. Not in a soup with this much garlic, fennel, and mint. It just adds that silky, rich texture you’re looking for.

The potato.

This is a trick I picked up in Portugal. The Portuguese add potato to soups to thicken them naturally, and it works brilliantly like in the Sopa de Feijão Verde (Portuguese Green Bean Soup). Another beautifully light soup that is yummy in the spring and summer.

One medium to large potato, cooked until completely soft and blended in, gives you all the body and creaminess you’d expect from a roux-thickened soup without any of the fuss. And without the starch. More importantly, it doesn’t change the flavor… it just deepens the texture.

The red lentils.

Nobody will know they’re there. They dissolve completely when blended, leaving behind a smooth, slightly thicker soup and a protein boost that makes this genuinely filling. I use red lentils as my secret ingredient in a lot of soups and stews for exactly this reason… invisible nutrition, no beany aftertaste. I updated the traditional Portuguese Caldo Verde Soup with some.

The mint and peas go in last.

This is non-negotiable. Both are delicate. Both are what give this soup its beautiful pale green color and fresh flavor.

If you add them at the beginning with everything else, you’ll cook out all that brightness and end up with a dull, khaki-colored soup that tastes like it’s been sitting on a steam table. Add them at the very end, after everything else is cooked — just long enough to warm the peas through — then blend immediately.

Why I Layer in the Ingredients in Soup Rather than Dumping Everything In at Once

I know it’s tempting to just dump everything in the pot and walk away. That’s how my mom and grandma made soups. I completely understand that impulse. It’s so easy. But… there’s a reason you don’t, and it’s not just chef habit.

When you build a soup by layering in ingredients and giving each one a minute or two in the hot oil before adding the next, you’re building flavor in a way that the dump-and-simmer method never achieves. Each vegetable releases its sugars and aromatics into the oil. Those become part of the flavor base that everything else builds on top of. So, much extra flavor.

When I’m building soups, I always start with the onion first into the pot. Then comes the tougher veggies like carrots, celery, fennel, and potatoes. Then the garlic.

Btw, the garlic goes in after the vegetables, not before like most recipes recommend. Unfortunately, when you put in the garlic at the same time as the onion, it ends up burnt. Instead, stir it into the oil for about 30 seconds to a minute, until you smell it waking up. Then it’s time for the more delicate veggies like the zucchini.

You also want to add the spices, seasonings and dried herbs to the hot oil before adding the liquids. Again, your cue that they are ready is you start smelling the fragrances of them releasing the oils.

Finish with veggies and herb that are fully edible eaten raw, like the peas and mint. Added the last few minutes of cooking.

Btw, if you’re not a mint fan or just don’t have any, you can substitute fresh basil or thyme and of course, more tarragon.

How the Hubby Reacted (From a Distance)

So, this one does not have the hubby’s tasting notes since he’s back in the States visiting his father. But hey was on live video feed while I was finishing it off and tasting it. As I described it, he said ‘well that sounds healthy’ in that way that means, ‘good-for-you-but-probably-not-that-exciting for eating’ kind of tone.

I laughed a bit at the tone. He’s not wrong that it’s healthy. But this is one of those kinds of soups you want to eat because genuinely good — smooth, bright, a little creamy, deeply savory — not because someone told you to eat more vegetables. I had a second bowl. And I’m looking forward to the leftovers. I mean does anyone ever make a small amount of soup?

The lentils add enough protein to make this a satisfying light lunch on its own. It also works beautifully as a starter before a bigger meal, or alongside a good sandwich or salad. This absolutely delicious zucchini soup with peas and mint earns its place on the table in multiple situations.

It’s even good cold.

How We Serve It

Warm: Ladle into bowls and top with fresh mint leaves — sliced or torn, whatever you have — and a drizzle of good olive oil. Crusty bread alongside is non-negotiable in this house. The soup is so smooth it practically asks to be swiped up with bread.

Chilled: This one actually holds up beautifully served cold, which makes it a genuinely useful summer recipe too. Cool the soup completely, refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight is better), and serve in chilled bowls. The mint comes forward more when it’s cold, and the whole thing tastes remarkably refreshing on a warm day.

As a starter: The creaminess and bright color make it an elegant first course if you’re having people over. Pour it into smaller bowls, add the garnish, and let the mint do the visual work.

Make Ahead and Storage

This soup is a batch cook dream. Make a big pot on Sunday and you have lunches ready for half the week.

It keeps well in the fridge for 3–4 days. For freezing, cool it completely and portion into containers… it’ll keep for up to 3 months. I’d add the lemon juice after reheating rather than before freezing, since citrus can sometimes turn slightly bitter once frozen and thawed. Everything else freezes perfectly.

Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water or stock if it’s thickened up in the fridge. Taste and adjust seasoning… cold mutes salt, so it usually needs a little more once reheated.

Do you decide what’s going to end up in your soups based on whatever you came home from the market with or is in the fridge? I’d love to know what ended up in yours… drop it in the comments. And if you try this one warm vs. cold, tell me which wins. Plus, leave any questions you have there.

Recommended Ingredients & Tools for Zucchini Soup

Here’s what makes the process smooth and the results consistently good:

Ingredients

• Full-Fat Coconut Milk — Full-fat is essential here. Light coconut milk won’t give you the richness or the silky texture you’re after. Shake the can well before opening to mix the coconut cream back in.
• Red Lentils — The secret protein booster that disappears completely into the blended soup. No soaking required and they cook in 20 minutes. Buy a big bag — they keep for months and are endlessly useful for adding body and nutrition to soups.
• Quality Olive Oil — Used for building the base and for finishing the bowl. A good Portuguese or Italian extra virgin olive oil makes a noticeable difference, especially in the drizzle at the end where the flavor isn’t cooked off.
• Better than Bouillon Vegetable Stock — My favorite bouillons for stocks when I don’t have time to make my own stock. These are delicious and give you control over the final seasoning.

Tools

• Immersion (Stick) Blender — The tool for this soup, full stop. No transferring hot liquid to a standing blender, no burning yourself, no mess. Stick it in the pot and blend. A good immersion blender is one of the most useful things in a soup-making kitchen.
• Heavy-Bottomed Stock Pot with Lid — You want a pot that distributes heat evenly so the vegetables soften without scorching. A 6-quart pot is the right size for this recipe with room for the liquid.
• Soup Ladle — Obvious but worth noting — a good deep ladle makes serving a smooth pureed soup much less messy. The kind with a hook so it can rest on the pot edge is worth it.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Zucchini Soup

• Can I serve this zucchini soup cold? Absolutely, and it’s genuinely lovely cold. Let the soup cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving in chilled bowls. The mint flavor comes forward more when it’s cold. It’s a great option for warm spring and summer days when you want something light and refreshing.
• Does the coconut milk make it taste like coconut? No — not with this ingredient list. The garlic, fennel, tarragon, and mint all have strong enough flavors that the coconut undertone completely disappears. What you’re left with is just richness and that silky texture. If you’re skeptical, taste it before and after adding the coconut milk and you’ll see what I mean.
• Why do the peas and mint go in at the very end? Both are delicate and cook much faster than the other vegetables. If you add them early, they lose their bright green color and fresh flavor — you’ll end up with a duller, khaki-colored soup that tastes flat. Adding them at the end and blending immediately is what gives this soup its beautiful pale green color and bright, fresh taste.
• Can I use frozen peas instead of fresh? Yes, frozen peas work perfectly here — they’re what most of us will use. No need to thaw them first; just stir them in frozen right before blending. Fresh peas are lovely if you have them, but don’t let not having them stop you.
• Is this soup filling enough for a main course? It can be, yes. The red lentils add a solid protein boost and the potato and coconut milk make it genuinely satisfying. For a light lunch, a generous bowl with crusty bread is enough. For a more substantial meal, pair it with a salad or a sandwich. It also works beautifully as a starter before a bigger meal — the portion size is flexible.
• Can I freeze this soup? Yes — it freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Cool completely, portion into airtight containers, and freeze. Add the lemon juice after reheating rather than before freezing for the freshest flavor. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock if it’s thickened up.