Roasted zucchini poblano soup

A bowl of zucchini poblano soup next to a green zucchini and poblano peppers on a table.

5 from 2 votes

This roasted zucchini poblano soup is creamy, smoky and a little bit spicy. The creaminess comes from the zucchini instead of heavy cream.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings: 1.5 cup servings

Calories: 116kcal

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini about 2 pounds
4 poblano chiles
1 jalapeno
1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoky paprika black pepper as substitute
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

paprika tortilla strips
fresh lime juice
toasted pepitas
½ cup heavy cream very optional

Instructions

ROAST THE VEGETABLES

Preheat the oven to 400℉.
Cut poblano peppers and jalapeno in half. Cut zucchini into large 1-inch chunks. Quarter onion. Peel garlic cloves. Toss all vegetables with olive oil salt, and paprika. Place peppers cut side down on baking tray along with other vegetables.
Roast all of the vegetables for 15 minutes, or until soft. Poblanos might char on top and that is ok.
Cool & peel: Remove peppers from tray and set aside in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to make the peppers sweat. This will help separate the skin more easily. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skin from the poblano and jalapeno peppers. Chop peppers, set aside.
Taste a bit of the jalapeno: jalapeno peppers can vary dramatically in heat. Give it a taste. Cut back it it is too hot, and/or remove the seeds.

MAKE THE ZUCCHINI SOUP

Puree vegetables:
If using a countertop blender: add vegetables to the blender in batches, with a little bit of chicken broth. Process until smooth then add to a soup pot.
If using an immersion blender: add vegetables to the soup pot along with 1-2 cups of broth. Blend until smooth. (A countertop blender will produce a smoother soup).
Simmer: Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time and stir. Continue until desired consistency is reached. Serve once warmed all the way through.

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

To make paprika tortilla strips: brush olive oil (or use olive oil cooking spray) on both sides of 2 tortillas. Sprinkle with paprika and a pinch of salt. Bake in an oven at 350℉ for 5-10 minutes, until crispy. If they puff up, poke with a fork to deflate them. Cut into strips.
A splash of lime livens out the soup quite a bit, and I highly recommend it.
Stir in heavy cream at the end for an extra creamy, rich soup. I normally don't do this as I prefer dairy-free soups, but on the occasions I have, it's delicious.

Notes

Make-ahead: you can roast the vegetables a couple days ahead of time, then add them to the broth to heat up.

Freezing: freeze the soup without toppings, thaw overnight and reheat on the stove.

Heavy cream: not necessary and I photographed it without any. If you want a more decadent, creamy version, or if the soup ended up too spicy, stir some in.

Nutrition: This soup is healthy and very low in calories. The calories are calculated as a full 1.5 cup bowl (instead of the typical smaller 1-cup serving). They are also calculated without any optional toppings. If you add toppings:

Tortilla strips: use ½ of a tortilla per bowl ads 50 calories (including olive oil for toasting)
Heavy cream: adds 100 calories per bowl

Paprika pepper can be substituted with black pepper or even cayenne (reduce to ½ teaspoon unless you like it HOT!)

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Nutrition