This Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup is full of veggies and beans that make an excellent filling for a potpie. No, it’s not cream of chicken, it’s better. And the Pumpkin Seed Pot Pie Crust is a fun delicious bonus that attempts to bridge summer produce that keeps producing with fall vibes.
Vitamix sent me this product for free in exchange for an honest review but all my opinions are my own.
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I really wanted three things when creating this Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup recipe. I wanted to:
- Test all the different ways you can use the Vitamix E310 Explorian Series
- Get rid of all the zucchini that is STILL growing in my garden
- Create a cream of zucchini soup base that would taste and feel like a cream of chicken without the chicken and without any milk or cream
I think I’ve succeeded and this was a big hit with the family, and family knows best.
Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup
You can have this Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup three different ways:
- If you want to keep it simple, you can eat the cream of zucchini base by itself. It’s a thick and creamy soup made from zucchini and onion sautéed in sage and brown butter and then blended together with veggie broth in the Vitamix.
- Or you can add diced and sautéed onion, carrot, garlic, and zucchini along with some peas and white cannellini beans to bulk up the soup.
- You can take that veggie filled creamy soup, that’s strikingly similar to a chicken pot pie filling, and, you guessed it, make a potpie.
The Base: Cream of Zucchini
I considered making this a vegan soup but the allure of browned butter and sage was too strong. It builds a lot of flavor throughout the dish and helps with the fall vibes. 4 cups zucchini to 1-cup vegetable broth creates that “cream of chicken” type feel.
Raw onion and zucchini get a quick sauté in the browned butter before being tossed into the Vitamix E310 with some vegetable broth and blended on variable 10 for 2 minutes.
I’ve had a Vitamix 5200 Standard C-Series for about 5 years (it’s still as good as new by the way), and I use it to make soups the most. Needless to say, it’s the most important test for me.
When I got the E310 I was a little worried that the variable/high switch on the left was gone. Instead, there is a “pulse” switch. Every time I throw the switch to high on the 5200, there is a huge kick in power. With it gone, I was concerned that the E310 wouldn’t have as much power. But I was wrong.
It’s extremely powerful and blended this into a very thick and smooth hot soup in 2 minutes. For soups with raw ingredients and no stove work, you can get a hot soup in 6 minutes. There are no chunks of frozen fruit left over when I make smoothies either.
If you feel like a lighter meal or a smooth and creamy soup, feel free to stop here. But the next step, if desired, is to bulk it up.
The Bulk: Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup
Bulking up the soup is fast because a lot of the flavor is built in the base. Diced onion and carrot, and pressed garlic get a really quick sauté in some olive oil and sage. And then cubed zucchini, frozen peas, cannellini beans, and the cream of zucchini base are stirred in.
If you want a good vegetable soup, cook a little longer until the zucchini is tender and the peas are warmed through. But if you really want those comfort food fall vibes, then upgrade to the potpie version.
The Extras: Pumpkin Seed Pot Pie Crust
With all the summer produce still going strong, I’m having a hard time switching over to pumpkin mania. But I did want to give a nod in that direction by using pumpkin seeds.
Grinding pumpkin seeds into flour is super easy with the Vitamix E310. Place about a 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds into the container. Turn it on and pulse by switching the variables between 7 and 10 a couple of times until you have a flour-like consistency. Pour it into a bowl and do another 1/4 cup until you have enough pumpkin seed flour to measure 1 cup.
The dough is equal parts pumpkin seed flour and all-purpose flour with some Parmesan cheese, white pepper, diced sage, and salt. I prefer to mix pastry dough by hand or in a food processor. That is the one task that I haven’t been able to do very well with the Vitamix.
This dough is extremely fragile. I was able to roll out one ball without it breaking but the other one I had to piece and mold together inside the ramekin. But don’t worry, as long as you close up all the holes, it does just fine and you can’t tell the difference.
The dough requires some rest time and a blind bake but it’s so worth it. I’m going to start working on transforming it into a savory biscuit recipe.
Double the crust recipe if you want a true 100% covered potpie. Or if you want a lighter and colorful version, cover the top with slices of sweet potato brushed with some sage brown butter.
Putting it All Together
Despite all the steps, this is a fairly easy recipe and you can split it up on different days. I made the Cream of Zucchini and the Vegetable Soup on one day but decided to save the rest for another.
The crust is admittedly, the most time-intensive part. But some of the best things in life come with patience and a little extra work.
Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup + Pumpkin Seed Pot Pie Crust
Ingredients
Cream of Zucchini Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 sage leaves
- 1/2 cup onion, diced dice the rest of the onion and reserve for later
- 4 cups zucchini, roughly chopped
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 sage leaves
- 1 onion, diced use the rest of the onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed
- 2 cups zucchini, cubed into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 (15 ounce) can white cannellini beans
Pumpkin Seed Pot Pie Crust
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds green, shelled, and also known as pepitas
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sage, diced
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice cold water
Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup Pot Pie Assembly
- 1 sweet potato, sliced thinly I used the 1/8th-inch setting on my mandolin.
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 sage leaves
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Cream of Zucchini (17 minutes)
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Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the sage leaves and reduce the heat to low and brown the butter for about 5 minutes, until it smells nutty and has turned a deep golden color.
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Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until they are soft and golden in color.
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Add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, getting a good coat of butter on the surface. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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Turn off the heat. Pour the vegetable broth into the Vitamix. Add the veggies and secure the lid. Turn on the Vitamix and slowly increase the speed to variable 10. Blend for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the soup is completely smooth and slightly steaming. Pour into a container, season with salt and pepper to taste, and either set aside to move on or enjoy the soup how it is.
Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup (10 minutes)
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Heat the olive oil and sage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the onion, carrot, and garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
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Stir in the zucchini, peas, and cannellini beans. Add the cream of zucchini. Give everything a stir. Turn off the heat and set aside. Or you can also cook it a little longer until the veggies are tender and serve as is.
Pumpkin Seed Pot Pie Crust (15 minutes active + 40 minutes rest time + 20 minutes bake)
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease and dust with flour two 6-inch ramekins that can hold 2 cups of fluid. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
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Place 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds into the Vitamix. Turn it on and pulse by switching the variables between 4 and 7 a couple of times until you have a flour-like consistency. Pour it into a bowl and do another 1/4 cup until you have enough pumpkin seed flour to measure 1 cup.
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Combine 1 cup pumpkin seed flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, parmesan cheese, salt, white pepper, and sage in a large bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and use a fork to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles fine cornmeal. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together but isn’t sticky and wet.
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Separate into two equal sized balls of dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
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On a lightly floured surface, roll out the balls of dough into 9-inch circles. Transfer the dough to the prepared ramekins and then put them in the freezer for 10 minutes.
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Take the baking sheet out of the freezer and top the ramekins with parchment paper, letting the ends extend beyond the edges. Fill with pie weights (I used dry beans).
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Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until edges are set. Carefully remove weights and then cook for 5 more minutes. Let cool completely.
Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup Pot Pie Assembly (10 minutes prep + 45 minutes bake)
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
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While the oven heats up, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the sage leaves and reduce the heat to low and brown the butter for about 5 to 7 minutes, until it smells nutty and has turned a deep golden color. Turn off the heat and set aside.
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Fill each ramekin with 2 cups of Cream of Zucchini Vegetable Soup and then split what’s left over evenly between the two.
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Dip or brush the sweet potato slices with the browned butter and arrange them over the top of the pot pies. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip some fresh sage leaves in the browned butter and arrange in the center. Take the crispy sage leaves that were browned in the butter and crumble them over the top of the two pot pies.
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Bake 40 to 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the sweet potato slices are tender and lightly browned.
Recipe Notes
I’ve separated out the times of each part for a better breakdown of time.
First of all, your photos are gorgeous. Really love your lighting. Secondly, I love using the Vitamix to make soups! It really does blend cooked soups to creamy perfection. Plus, when you’re short on time, it’s so convenient to be able to put everything into the blender without the stove, walk away, and return to steaming hot soup. The first time I did it, it felt like magic! 🙂 I’ll definitely be making this recipe this fall and will send a friend of mine over to check out this post who’s getting ready to buy at Vitamix! I think she’d love this series.
Thank you, Amanda 😊!!! And having a Vitamix around when you are really tired or busy is the best. Lol, the first time I made a soup in the Vitamix my family gathered around it in wonder as steam started rising. It was hilarious.
I LOVE that you used soup as a pot pie filling!!! And that pie crust sounds amazing. I want to try making pie dough in my Vitamix.. you’re supposed to be able to but I think it works better in the container for grains. This looks DELICIOUS!
I haven’t had any success with pie doughs yet, in either the regular container or the grains/dry container, but I’m always hoping someone will show me the way. Making doughs that don’t have a lot of butter, like pizza and bread, works just fine. I think with pie and pastry crusts, the high butter content doesn’t work well with the strength and speed of the blades.
This soup is so perfect for the fall. And you have turned it into something very interesting.
I too am in love with my VitaMix – for soups, sauces, dressings, and of course all manner of smoothie and blended umbrella drinks. This soup/pot-pie filling sounds absolutely mouthwatering. I love that it’s so healthy and so versatile. To me, it looks better than the typical pot pie filling with the roux, broth and cream — and your crust… HELLO!
Right? So much love for that machine. And yes! It was so nice not having the roux and cream there to make it really heavy, thanks, Lisa!
So creamy! I have been thinking of investing on a vitamix so this post is very useful 🙂
It’s a really great investment and it’s definitely one of those kitchen appliances that last a long time.
It would be nice if you included a vegan version of the recipes.
Hi! This recipe can easily be made vegan by replacing butter with vegan butter. Some people don’t think vegan butter browns as well as real but most vegan bloggers/recipes use that. As far as the Pumpkin Seed Pot Pie Crust goes you can use vegan parmesan cheese and use vegetable shortening in place of butter (make sure it’s very cold though).