Here's another delicious way to use fresh zucchini: Turn it into a spicy soup with mint, cilantro, and jalapeño. Serve it hot or cold!

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

If you have friends growing zucchini, right about now they are probably delighted, bordering on desperate, to give some of it away.

Especially problematic are those huge, baseball bat-sized monsters that appear out of the blue when you’ve neglected to check the garden for a few days.

This soup is made for such occasions.

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How to Make Spicy Zucchini Soup

The beauty of this soup is that it uses lots of zucchini, it cooks up quickly (perfect for a midweek meal), and it keeps for at least a week in the fridge.

You just chop up the zucchini, skin on (unless it’s thick or tough, then peel it), and cook it down with some jalapeño, onions, and garlic, and add some bright herbs such as mint and cilantro for balance. The soup gets pureed.

I like it just as well chilled as hot.

Gluten-Free? No Problem!

This recipe calls for bread, but if you’re not doing gluten, you can substitute with one cup of chopped potatoes (cooked or uncooked) or cooked rice.

Or you can add a little cream at the end of cooking to help thicken it—just don’t boil the soup. (Note that if you plan on freezing the soup, it will freeze better with the rice substitution than with potatoes or added cream.)

How to Store and Freeze

The soup will keep refrigerated for up to a week. Serve chilled from the fridge, or heat it up on the stovetop or in the microwave.

You can freeze this soup for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat gently on the stovetop to serve. If the soup looks separated after thawing, purée it in a blender or food processor again.

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