I know what you’re thinking. You’re looking at the title of this recipe and thinking, “how can a soup be both creamy and vegan?” I’m happy to enlighten you: the secret is raw cashews that are soaked overnight. After a whirl in a high-speed blender or food processor, the cashews turn silky and creamy and are the perfect way to make this soup creamy while keeping it healthy and giving you lots of healthy fats.
Not only that, this soup is packed with veggies. 10 0z. of spinach plus a whole lot of zucchini make up the bulk of this soup. The result is something that is creamy but healthy and won’t weigh you down. Maybe you think it’s too hot for soup, but I encourage you to make this while zucchini is in season and readily available. Because this soup uses cashews instead of dairy, which doesn’t always freeze well, this soup is incredibly easy to make ahead and freezer friendly.
In fact, I plan to make a big batch of this soup to freeze so I have easy lunches after baby #3 arrives in October. The healthy fats will keep me full and the spinach and zucchini will give me lots of essential vitamins while I’m nursing. This soup is incredibly filling without feeling heavy and is delicious hot or cold, making it perfect for summer while zucchini is in season.
When I made this soup, I enjoyed it with the sweet potato cornmeal muffins I shared last week and it was the perfect combination! Being 30 weeks pregnant, I frequently find myself hungry throughout the day, but this soup paired with those muffins kept me full until dinner. Just writing this post is making me crave it again!
- 1½ cups raw cashews
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large zucchini, chopped
- 10 oz. fresh spinach
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. dried ground thyme
- Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight. Drain and rinse the following day when you're ready to make the soup.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add zucchini and saute until tender. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
- In a high-speed blender, puree cashews with 1 cup of the vegetable broth.
- Add the zucchini/spinach mixture and puree again. You can also use an immersion blender, and depending on the size of your blender, you may need to puree the soup in batches.
- Return the soup to the pot with the remaining vegetable broth. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Taste and add more salt and pepper as desired.
- Soup is delicious enjoyed warm or cold and freezes well!
Great soup! I added some lemon juice before serving.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Can I substitute with coconut milk? I usually make homemade coconut milk and don’t want to wait to soak cashews overnight.
Yes you can! It will obviously have more of a coconut flavor but it would be still so delicious!