How to Make Crema de Chayote (Creamy Chayote Soup)
This delicious crema de chayote recipe is my Mexican spin on butternut squash soup. With its creamy blend of chayote squash and savory seasonings, it’s perfect as a side dish, a main course, or an appetizer.
Crema de chayote is a silky, creamy soup made from chayote squash, a mild-flavored, nutrient-packed vegetable popular in Mexican kitchens. Because its flavor is so mild, I cook it with butter, onion, and garlic to bring out its full flavor potential.
FUN FRUTA FACT: Chayote was a staple food in Aztec and Mayan diets. In Mexico’s trajineras de Xochimilco, vendors steam the chayote and serve it sliced with butter, mayonnaise, crumbled cheese, lime juice, and chile salt, similar to an elote or esquite.
I’ve always been intrigued by chayotes – the mysterious green fruits that my great Grandma Macky used to grow in her backyard. It’s technically a fruit, commonly used as a vegetable in Mexican kitchens. I’ve eaten it steamed, grilled, boiled, creamed, and even raw. Its subtle flavor reminds me of a mix between a green apple, potato, and zucchini.
FUN FRUTA FACT: Chayote is one of the vegetables highest in folate, often beating spinach per serving. Folate is essential for cell repair, metabolism, and pregnancy health. So next time you’re walking through the produce aisle (near the zucchini or fresh chile peppers), grab a few chayotes!
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
With simple ingredients and an easy-to-follow recipe, even a novice cook can make a delicious batch of sopa de chayote! All you need is: butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, chayote squash, potato (optional, but helps thicken the soup), chicken or vegetable broth, salt, and chili flakes (optional).
RECOMMENDED BY LOLA FOR THIS RECIPE
Large Cast-Iron Enameled Skillet with Lid
I like using my biggest stainless steel pan (it’s about 4-inches deep and 14-inches in diameter) or my large dutch oven for this recipe. VIEW PRODUCT
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
1. Sauté ingredients
- In a large skillet, sauté butter, olive oil, onion, and garlic on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add chayotes, potato, and optional chili flakes. Mix, cover and cook until chayote becomes tender (about 30 minutes).
2. Blend ingredients
- Working in batches, process ingredients in a blender on medium setting until smooth, about 30 to 60 seconds.
3. Continue to cook
- Return mixture to pot and stir in broth until it reaches desired consistency. Add salt (or powdered chicken bullion) and simmer on low heat for an additional 20 minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy
- Serve hot and garnish with freshly chopped chives and chili flakes or fresh pomegranate seeds and pine nuts.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT
To store chayote soup, let it cool and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, use a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 60-second intervals in the microwave. You can also reheat it in a small pot on the stove.
Be sure to check out my post on Thanksgiving side dishes with a Mexican twist!
LOOKING FOR MORE RICE, SOUPS, AND SIDES?
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- How to Make Frijoles de la Olla (Slow Cooker Recipe)
- How to Make Fideo Seco
- How to Make Classic Sopa de Fideo
- How to Make Green Pozole de Pollo
- How to Make Arroz Rojo (Red Mexican Rice)
- How to Make Arroz a la Primavera (Mexican White Rice)
- How to Make Arroz Blanco con Elote (Rice with Corn)
- How to Make Arroz Verde con Cilantro (Green Rice)
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Best Crema de Chayote (Mexican Chayote Soup)
Equipment
- Soup bowls
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter (or 8 tbsp total olive oil for dairy-free option)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves diced
- 5 chayote squash rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1 potato peeled and quartered (optional but helps to thicken the soup)
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes or other dry red pepper flakes, optional
- 8 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth) varies based on desired soup consistency
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt or to taste
OPTIONAL GARNISHES
- pomegranate arils
- pine nuts toasted
- chives chopped
- Aleppo pepper flakes or other dry red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Sauté ingredients. In a large skillet, sauté butter, olive oil, onion, and garlic on medium heat until onion becomes translucent. Next, add chayotes, potato, and chili flakes. Reduce heat to low, mix, cover and cook until chayote becomes tender and releases some of its juices (about 30-45 minutes). Let cool slightly.
- Blend ingredients. Working in batches, process ingredients in a blender until smooth. Chayotes contain a lot of water, therefore you should be able to puree this without liquids, but if necessary, add broth to get the blender going.
- Continue to cook. Return mixture to pot and stir in broth until it reaches desired consistency. Add salt and simmer on low flame for 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy. Serve hot and garnish with freshly chopped chives and chili flakes or fresh pomegranate seeds and pine nuts (or any of your favorite soup toppings!).
A Note from Lola
VARIATIONS ON THIS RECIPE
There are many variations of this chayote soup recipe that you can try.- Add other vegetables such as corn, carrots or celery.
- Experiment with different toppings such as toasted pine nuts or pomegranates, fried sage, chopped cilantro, or homemade croutons.
- Substitute chicken broth with evaporated milk, or half broth, half evaporated milk, or add 1/2 cup of heavy cream for a richer soup.
- Make it vegetarian / vegan by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and olive oil instead of butter.
Nutrition
Lola’s Cocina is a small business that earns various revenue streams. This includes sponsored posts and affiliate commissions from linked products, which I use and love. This commission is an agreement between Lola’s Cocina and retailers, with no extra cost to readers.
Originally published on January 28, 2014 // Photography (hero shots only): Cacey McReavy
Lola Wiarco Dweck
Lola is a Mexican-American recipe developer, writer, and cooking instructor who loves sharing her culture with the world. Growing up in California and spending summers in Mexico, Lola celebrates her family’s Mexican recipes and vibrant culture through Lola’s Cocina.
I’m making this soup for the third time now. It’s so tasty and freezes/reheats well.
Alice, this makes me so happy! It’s such a great way to use chayotes. I recently popped a chayote into the oven wrapped in foil and it’s delicious right out of the oven.
if you not peel is the prickly skin okay to eat
Hi,Lilian. I used to peel the chayote for this soup recipe but realized that peeling it is not necessary so now I leave it on because it gets soft when cooked and then it’s blended.
This was amazing. I added a couple bay leaves and doubled the onions, and it came out so delicious. Thank you!
Oh, great to hear about the bay leaves. I’ll have to try that. And I feel like you can never go wrong with more sautéed onion or garlic – especially in soup recipes. Thanks for sharing!
This is such a great chayote recipe! I never know what to do with them and this creamy soup comes out delicious. It’s a great side dish or sometimes I toast good sourdough bread and make it a meal!
It’s perfect for fall weather. Chayotes have such a subtle flavor that it’s perfect for a soup that doesn’t overpower.
This was absolutely amazing! I added Badia’s Everything Mushroom seasoning at the end. Total keeper!
So happy to hear that you liked it. And that mushroom seasoning sounds like it would add great flavor – thank you for sharing. I’ll try it next time.
Such a great idea for chayotes!
I was a little underwhelmed by this recipe at first, but then I decided to serve the leftovers as a cold “gazpacho” (chazpacho??) and topped it with loads of pico de gallo, avocado, and tortilla strips and it was *awesome*. The recipe also makes a ton, so I was happily eating it cold for days.
Wow that’s great to know, I would have never thought to eat it as a “chazpacho”!