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Summer Crookneck Squash Soup

published on , modified on

vegan summer squash soup decorated to look like Pikachu

This yellow squash soup (a.k.a. pikachowder), made mostly with yellow crookneck summer squash, is perfect for summertime. When you sauté the summer squash, it gives a creamy buttery flavor to this healthy homemade soup. This organic vegan soup made from scratch is so quick and easy. Or if you have more time, decorate your crookneck soup to look like Pikachu.

This recipe makes 4 large entree-sized bowls of summer soup.

Table of Contents

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♫ Listening to ♫

Drag by Day Wave

I posted this Pikachu soup on instagram and called it Pikachu chowder. Someone eloquently coined the term pikachowder to describe it. Isn’t that adorable?

Organic summer crookneck squash is the main ingredient, and at farmer’s market, I can find it as inexpensive as 70¢/pound on a good week. I fill an entire produce bag with squash for this recipe. If you or a neighbor or family member are growing summer squash, then maybe you can even make this soup for practically free!

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Pikachu Summer Squash Soup Ingredients

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

Dollhouse Shortcut

If you aren't into cooking or don't have access to a stove, use packaged golden beet or butternut squash soup, and just decorate that.

  • 1-2 tablespoons (13-26g) olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions, diced finely (~600g)
  • 5 pounds (2.25kg) crookneck yellow squash
  • 1-2 cups (240-480g) vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Summer Squash Soup

prep time: 15 min | cook time: 15 min

Sauté the diced onion in olive oil, stirring frequently over low-medium heat until translucent. If you’re using an instant pot for this recipe, use the sauté button for this step.

Chop the washed squash (all except for 2-3 reserved for facial features if you’re making Pikachu faces on the bowls of soup).

Add the squash to the onions and continue to sauté.

Add veggie broth, salt, and pepper to the squash. If you’re cooking this soup on the stove, use 2 cups (480g) of vegetable broth. If you’re using an instant pot, you only need 1 cup (240g).

Press the soup button on the instant pot after locking the lid and sealing the vent (if your instant pot has that mode), and turn off the keep warm feature. If you’re using a large pot on the stove, use high heat until it starts to boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes on the stove or until the squash is cooked.

Cut your facial features while you wait. Skip to the decor section for those instructions.

Remove the soup from heat.

Blend the sautéed ingredients with an immersion blender (you can use a stand blender if you don’t have one).

Ladle into 4 bowls.

Serve or continue with the following set of directions to decorate.

Pikachu Soup Decorating Ingredients

  • 3 crookneck summer squash
  • 4 olives (I used organic kalamata olives)
  • 4 organic cherry tomatoes
  • 1 sheet nori

How to Decorate Pikachu Soup

Cut 2 of the squash lengthwise to create 8 ears (4 from each squash).

Shape the ears by trimming them to match the ones in my picture.

Cut 1 of the squash into as many thin circles as the squash will allow. You’ll need 2 evenly-sized circles for each Pikachu (for the eyes).

Cut the same size circles from nori (to place on the squash circles eventually).

Punch a hole into each nori circle using a paper hole punch.

Cut 4 mouths out of nori.

Cut some nori to go on the tip of each ear.

Cut the 4 cherry tomatoes and 4 olives in half.

Place all facial features on the bowl of soup.

Vegan Pikachu Soup

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I convert this recipe into a soup recipe for only 2 people?

This summer squash soup recipe makes 4 servings. If you don’t like leftovers, you can simply divide all the ingredient amounts by 2 to make a smaller batch.

Can I add white beans to this summer squash soup?

Adding white beans to summer squash soup is a great way to add protein. Cook navy beans, great white northern beans, or cannellini beans before adding them to the soup. This will ensure they become soft enough to blend into a creamy soup.

Can I add coconut milk to this crookneck squash soup recipe?

Coconut milk is vegan and can be added to this vegan squash soup. However, this recipe is super creamy without the addition of coconut milk. Therefore, I would only add coconut milk if you are trying to use it up or add fat into your diet.

Ingredient Substitutions

  • Olive Oil: I recommend using olive or avocado oil for sautéing the onions. However, you can use any other oil such as safflower oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil. If you avoid oil, use water or veggie broth.
  • Onions: I always use yellow onions because I prefer their sweet and mild flavor. You can replace the yellow onions with white onions if you’d like, but I wouldn’t use red because it will change the color of the soup. Even the white parts of leeks could be a good substitution.
  • Yellow Crookneck Squash: For the cheapest summer squash, go to farmers market or u-pick farms. In lieu of yellow crookneck squash, try another kind of yellow summer squash, such as pattypan squash. If it’s winter, you can use roasted spaghetti squash instead.
  • Veggie Broth: I usually make my veggie broth by adding bouillon to water. You can also use dried bouillon cubes or use homemade or store-bought veggie broth.

Pikachu Soup Decorating Video

Here’s a video showing the decor process.

Nutrition Facts

  • Servings: 4
  • Calories per serving: 199
  • Calcium per serving: 154mg
  • Cholesterol per serving: 0mg
  • Dietary Fiber per serving: 8g
  • Iron per serving: 3mg
  • Potassium per serving: 1482mg
  • Protein per serving: 8g
  • Total Carbohydrate per serving: 36g
  • Total Fat per serving: 5g
  • Total Sugars per serving: 23g
  • Sodium per serving: 181mg
  • Vitamin C: 120mg

Comments or Questions?

If you make this recipe, I would love it if you’d snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. It seriously makes my day/week/month!

Please message me (instagram or email) if you have any questions or feedback about the recipe.

Similar Recipes

Do you like cute soups with kawaii decorations? Check out my zucchini soup that’s decorated to look like the Pokemon Bulbasaur and my carrot soup that’s decorated to look like a red panda.

If you like Pokemon, I have quite a few recipes you might like, such as snorlax cake, and pokeball pizza waffles. Find them in my Pokemon recipes category. I also made Pokeball cupcakes which are chocolate cupcakes decorated to look like a pokeball. They were for a pokemon themed birthday party forever ago when I still had my ieatcupcakes blog before the Vegan Dollhouse was born.

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* I use mostly organic ingredients when I cook. I realize that not everyone has the disposable income to buy only organic ingredients. So, I only specify organic on the ingredients that matter: when buying the organic (or non-GMO) version is the only way to ensure that an item is vegan.

This post links to items I used when I made this recipe. If you click on the purple Buy Now button on a product page, you will go to a website (like Amazon) where you can buy the same product I used. Sometimes, the store you purchase from (Amazon, Etsy, etc.) will pay me for referring you. This costs you nothing extra, and I would never recommend a product that I don’t use. These affiliate programs help me buy the ingredients to create these recipes for you. Read more about this in my privacy policy.

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Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is so cute - I am not sure if we have crookneck squash but am sure even some large zucchini might do it for the decorations.
JohannaGGG -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐