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This Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup is a delicious way to use up all of those fresh garden vegetables!
Our backyard garden is on the brink of starting to produce massive amounts of fresh zucchini and tomatoes, and I can’t wait! Especially because I know that Jack will be cooking up a batch of this fantastic Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup!
Now, I know that some of you may be thinking that a hot soup is the last thing you’d think about cooking in the middle of the summer – and I totally get that. But we make and eat soups all year long – especially when they are as delicious as this Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup.
In fact, we love the convenience of cooking up a big pot of this soup, then reheating leftovers in the microwave for a light, quick meal.
How do you make Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup?
Most of the prep in this Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup is chopping and dicing and grating – garden zucchini, tomatoes, onions, celery, red bell peppers, garlic, and carrots, plus fresh basil and oregano, and Parmesan cheese.
After browning some sweet Italian sausage and sautéing the onions, celery and bell pepper in a pot, you’ll add all of the other ingredients including vegetable stock to the pot. Then, a ten to fifteen minute simmer on the stove finishes off this flavorful Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup – just long enough so that the zucchini and other vegetables are tender and the flavors meld.
Can I add other vegetables in this soup?
Absolutely! We created this Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup to use up fresh zucchini, tomatoes and some of the fresh herbs from our garden – but you can also add other fresh vegetables and herbs if that is what you have growing in your garden.
You can also add pre-cooked pasta to this soup if you’d like. And, if you like things extra zesty, feel free to swap in hot Italian sausage instead of the sweet.
Can I make this Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup in the slow cooker?
From the questions we often get, I know that a lot of our readers like to use their slow cooker during the summer to avoid heating up the kitchen! (So, I’m anticipating being asked this question!) 🙂
We haven’t tried making this recipe in the slow cooker ourselves – mostly because it only takes about thirty minutes (or less) to cook this soup on the stove. While a slow cooker will sort of technically work, you’ll still want to brown the sausage before adding it to the slow cooker, which is half of the cooking time listed in this recipe. Additionally, the zucchini may end up over-cooked before the rest of the vegetables are tender. So, while it’s possible, we’d still recommend cooking this Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup recipe as written because it will take less time and the results will be better.
If you want to save some time when you are rushing to get dinner on the table, feel free to chop all of the vegetables ahead of time.
You may enjoy these other garden zucchini and tomato recipes:
- Scarpaccia (Zucchini Tart)
- Stewed Tomatoes
- Best Zucchini Bread Ever
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Italian Tomato Sauce
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup
This Zucchini Tomato Italian Sausage Soup is a delicious way to use up all of those fresh garden vegetables!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Italian sweet sausage, removed from casings
2 cups onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
2 cups red bell pepper, diced (about one large pepper)
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 fresh plum tomatoes, diced
2 pounds zucchini cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts good quality vegetable broth
1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
A few Parmesan cheese rinds (optional but recommended)
2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or large Dutch oven, place olive oil over medium high heat and once hot, add sausage meat. Break up meat while it cooks.
- Once the meat has browned, add onion, celery, carrots and bell pepper and sauté for four minutes.
- Move the vegetables to the sides and lower heat to medium. Add garlic, pepper flakes and tomato paste to center and cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, zucchini, salt, pepper, broth, Parmesan cheese and Parmesan rinds along with fresh basil and fresh oregano and stir to combine.
- Bring to a medium simmer and cook just long enough until the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Once the zucchini is added to the pot, try to avoid overcooking. The squash should be just tender.
- Remove from heat and remove and discard the Parmesan rinds.
- Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese on the side.
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A little labor intensive with the vegetable cutting but worth every minute!! I add 1/2 pound of lean beef and let it simmer longer than recipe. My new favorite soup! I’ve made it one a month this winter so far!
So glad you enjoy the soup Crystal!
Delicious! I used ground beef with the extra spices since I didn’t have sausage. I also added egg noodles. This is a great way to use zucchini!
Glad you enjoyed the soup!
Was able to use lots of veggies from my garden. Even added carrots. Wonderful flavors perfectly blended.
Thanks Regina!
Delicious! I only used half of the veggies and broth as there is only two of us and we like a lot of meat in our soup. We had plenty of soup stillbfor several meals.
Thanks Maga!
Can you can this in a pressure canner?
I’m not a canning expert DaRae but I’d worry that the zucchini would get mushy from the extended canning process.
This recipe takes way more than 30 minutes to cut stuff up. I have been now working on this for a good hour and a half.
It had better be worth it
Hi Mary Jean
I have been doing this for many many years so I tend to work fast. I’ll adjust the instructions and change prep to 45 minutes. You will not be disappointed with the results.
Thank you for your comments,
Jack
This recipe was so good! It is a vegetable soup with zucchini. I made it in 90 degree weather with a half sub.
So glad you enjoyed the soup Patty! (Even in this hot weather!)
Wondering if I could use smoked sausages chopped up – (the kind you have on a bun) instead of ground sausage?
Hi Opal – A smoked sausage such as kielbasa won’t give you the same crumbled texture – instead I’d cut it into small pieces. While not an exact swap for Italian sausage, I think the soup would still be delicious.
Awesome recipe!!!
Totally enjoyed the fresh vegetables!!!
Thanks Tanya!
This is outstanding!! If you don’t have fresh basil and oregano you can substitute dried. You can also adjust the heat according to your liking.
I made a double batch for a huge group–15 people– and EVERYONE loved it!
Thank you Faith! So glad to hear the soup was a hit!