What Is Butternut Squash Benefits
Butternut squash is rich in important vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants. This low-calorie, fiber-rich winter squash may help you lose weight and protect against conditions like cancer, heart disease, and mental decline. Plus, its versatile and easily added to both sweet and savory dishes.
Ingredients Youll Need To Make Butternut Squash Soup
You could pretty much just shop for everything youll need at the farmers market. And thats our favorite thing to do this time of year! Heres what youll need:
- Fresh produce: butternut squash, onions, apples, and fresh garlic.
- Herbs and spices: thyme, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper
- Olive oil & cream
- Pepitas for a little crunchy texture.
A kiss of heavy cream makes our butternut squash soup recipe silky and smooth, but you can easily swap it with some canned coconut milk to make it a vegan butternut squash soup. However, if its health youre worried about, a little heavy cream doesnt undo the fact that this is a veggie-loaded,healthy butternut squash soup!
Can I Make This Butternut Squash Soup In Advance
You can totally make this soup ahead of time and there are a few ways to do so.
- You can make the whole batch of soup and store it in the fridge and reheat later.
- You can also prep all of the veggies and store them in an airtight container in the fridge and then finish making the soup when you are ready.
- You can roast the veggies and freeze them to make the soup later.
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Favorite Sides And Garnishes
I garnish the same as I do for tomato soup, a handful of croutons, black pepper, a drizzle of cream, and some fresh herbs. It looks SO fancy even though its really easy to make! Try other herbs, crisp bacon, or even small bits of ham.
Butternut squash soup is great for dipping grilled cheese sandwiches, rolls, or crusty bread.
How To Make The Soup Thicker
This recipe already yields an ultra-creamy butternut squash soup, but if you want to take its consistency to the next level, take note of these tips.
- The most obvious choices are cream and milk. Use either to replace chicken stock and your soup will be extra rich and creamy. Coconut milk is great, too.
- Yogurt works like magic, as well! Its a cream alternative, especially if you dont mind the subtle tartness.
- Adding starch such as stale bread will also help thicken the soup. Slice the bread into small cubes and add them to the blender with the soup and puree away.
- You also cant go wrong with cornstarch, the most common thickening agent there is. Just a tablespoon works wonders.
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What Can I Add To Butternut Squash Soup
While I love this soup just the way it is you can add spice toppings including Chives, thyme, sage, and parsley.
You can add some sour cream or yogurt on top.
If you want to make a sweet butternut squash soup you can drizzle a small amount of maple syrup into the soup.
While there is bacon cooked into this soup, adding more bacon to the top of the soup is a great addition.
Butternut Squash Soup Variations
Another great thing about butternut squash soup is that there are tons of ways to modify it to suit your preference or diet. Here are fantastic ways to switch things up a little.
- No butternut squash on hand? No problem. Canned pumpkin works, too. Sure, fresh is best, but canned pumpkin puree is the next best thing. Its better than no soup at all! Plus, it eliminates the arduous step of peeling, seeding, and pureeing.
- If youre vegan or want to serve the soup to friends who are, just use vegetable stock instead of chicken.
- Give the soup more flavor by adding your favorite herbs, spices, and seasonings. Curry is one of my favorites because it complements really well with butternut squash. Garlic, cayenne powder, paprika, and nutmeg also make great flavor additions.
Heres another tip: toast the spices for a couple of minutes beforehand to enhance their flavor.
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More Great Soup Recipes
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Using a large, sharp knife, slice the butternut squash in half.
- Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the cut portions of the squash and place face down on a lined baking sheet .
- Bake squash for 50-60 minutes, or until squash is tender and easy to scoop out of the peel.
- While the squash is baking, sauté onion and apple in a small pan with the remaining olive oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn or brown. Set mixture aside.
- Remove the squash from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes. Scoop the flesh from the butternut squash.
- Add the squash, sautéed mixture spices, and 1 cup of the veggie broth to a blender or food processor.
- Puree soup until smooth, adding more veggie broth if it feels too thick. (You can work in batches if everything doesnt fit into your blender all at once.
- Once soup is blended, pour it into a large pot and heat over medium/low heat on the stove until warmed, about 10-12 minutes.
- Scoop butternut squash soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon, sour cream, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper if desired.
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
Bring on the winter squash and comforting soups because fall is here! You may be thinking, Winter squash? I thought fall just started! You are not wrong, but winter squash actually refers to squash that are harvested during the fall. Of the winter squash that you see in the store, butternut, kabocha, pumpkin, and acorn squash are the most popular.
Sometimes, you want to make a comforting soup that boasts incredible depth of flavor, but you dont have time to watch over it as it simmers for 4 hours on low heat. Thats why we love slow cookers! Your only responsibility is to add all of the ingredients into it and program the time and heat. Then you just let the slow cooking do the work. What youre left with is a rich, incredibly flavorful creation that is ready to eat as soon as you get home.
There is one thing to note about that above statement: you have to blend the ingredients in the slow cooker. You can do this by using an immersion blender, or you can add the ingredients to a high-speed blender in batches. Once you puree the ingredients and the texture is luxurious and creamy, you can ladle it into bowls and enjoy. A quick note before you make the recipe: dont forget to remove the bay leaves after cooking. Just be careful not to blend them with the rest of the ingredients.
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Add Sour Cream Or Thick Yogurt
You can also add dairy directly to thicken your soup without using a starch like flour or cornstarch as a thickening agent.
Simply stir in 3 tablespoons sour cream or yogurt per cup of liquid in your soup pot, then let it simmer for five minutes before tasting and adding more if necessary to reach your desired thickness.
You can also use heavy cream, but keep in mind that it will impart a rich flavor to your soup that might not be desirable depending on what youve made.
Tips And Frequently Asked Questions For Making Butternut Squash Soup
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How To Make This Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Step 1: Roast your vegetables
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
On a sheet tray baking sheets, add your cubed and peeled butternut squash, onion, garlic head or cloves garlic if you prefer, pinch of nutmeg, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix well and cook for about 30-40 minutes until all your vegetables are fork tender.
Step 2: Blend your soup
Transfer to a blender, and squeeze your roasted garlic out and discard the peels. Blend with coconut milk and broth until creamy and your desired consistency and texture. Do this in batches if you need to, depending on your blender size. Yes, you can definitely use a hand blender here if you prefer as well!
Step 3: Adjust seasoning and serve!
Adjust with salt, pepper and sugar as needed. Serve in your favorite bowl. Top/spoon over with a coconut drizzle , some fresh thyme and pepper. Serve!
There you have it: the perfect roasted butternut squash soup recipe.
Can Butternut Squash Turn You Orange
Several orange foods, Bowe explains, carry one particular compound that causes the orange hue. If you eat things like pumpkin, carrots, peppers, squash, it can actually lead to very high levels of something called beta carotene in the blood, Bowe explains. You can actually develop orange- or yellow-hued skin.
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Tips For The Best Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Take advantage of these tips when making easy butternut squash soup recipes!
- Save time with pre-chopped veggies and squash. Since were pureeing the soup, nobody will know the difference!
- No big blender? Use an immersion blender instead. Transfer contents to a separate pot, then blend.
- Only have a small blender? Work in batches. Divide the coconut milk between batches evenly.
- For safety, vent for steam when blending. Otherwise too much steam pressure can build in the blender cup. Use a kitchen towel to hold down the vented lid in your blender.
How To Bake Butternut Squash Halves
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Gather together 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded 4 teaspoons butter 4 teaspoons brown sugar and salt and pepper.
Place the butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet, flesh-side up. Then, season the cavities with salt and pepper, place 1 teaspoon of butter in the middle of each squash half, and sprinkle brown sugar or drizzle honey over it. Roast the squash for 25 minutes, or until the flesh is fork-tender.
HOW TO COOK BUTTERNUT SQUASHLaura B. WeissFood Network KitchensButternut Squash, Olive Oil, Brown Sugar, Honey, Salt, Pepper
Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
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How To Make Butternut Squash Soup:
Detailed instructions are included in the recipe below for how to make butternut squash soup in the Instant Pot, Crock-Pot or on the stovetop. But here is a brief overview:
Toppings For Butternut Squash Soup
If youre going the vegan route, this roasted butternut squash soup is good just like this. Maybe throw on a dash of crushed red pepper flakes if youre feeling crazy. But if you want to make this soup truly decadent , it’s easy to do. Adding a dollop of sour cream and crumbled bacon really pushes this soup into the category of ultimate comfort food. Pull out a chunk of crusty bread to go with it and youll be set to fall asleep watching Netflix on the couch about an hour after eating. Done and done.
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How To Serve Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
There are some great ways that butternut squash goes with a meal. It makes a great main dish for a chilly fall or winter dinner.
You can serve as a starter for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner or any night of the week.
You can serve this soup as a side dish that pairs well with many different main dish recipes.
The Two Methods To Roast Butternut Squash
How do I peel the skin off butternut squash?
If youre going to cube a raw butternut squash. Gently, cut off the ends of the squash, take a peeler and peel the outside/firm side of the squash. Cut down the middle, vertically and scoop out the seeds. Wash/rinse and save your seeds to roast for an option for topping!
Next, youre going to place the squash with the flesh side down and gently cut in cubes. From there, its all prepped and ready to roast in the oven.
How do you cut and bake butternut squash?
If you dont want to peel and cube your squash. This may be an easier way to roast your squash since the raw squash is really firm, you may have a hard time cutting into it and this is a tad more seamless.
First, youre going to start to trim the ends ten cut vertically and scoop out your seeds. Then season with olive oil, salt and pepper, place flesh side down, skin side up and roast. Then when youre ready to blend, youll just scoop out the flesh, and not use the tougher skins.
Alternatively, you can also buy store bought cubed butternut squash, or even frozen and thaw out to roast or on the stove top.
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What To Serve With Butternut Squash Soup
As yummy as butternut squash soup is, youll want to serve it with something else for a complete, satisfying meal. The good thing is this soup pairs well with a variety of dishes.
Have a hearty meal with butternut squash soup and bread. Soft, buttery dinner rolls are best, but you also cant go wrong with a crusty baguette.
Sink the bread into the soup for the perfect bite.
Speaking of bread, soup and sandwich is also a classic pair. Nothing beats dunking a rich grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of sweet butternut squash soup!
Its a cozy, comforting combo perfect for winter.
If you want to keep things light, pair your soup with salad. Any leafy salad will do, but since the soup is already pretty rich, opt for a tangy vinaigrette dressing.
Together, they make a filling meal thats not only tasty but healthy as well.
While butternut squash soup makes a fantastic weeknight dish, it has such wonderful flavors that make it holiday-worthy.
Holiday dinners wouldnt be the same without a bowl of creamy butternut squash soup.
You can also pair the soup with fried chicken, pork chops, or turkey.
Conversely, if youre a veggie-lover, how about some roasted Brussels sprouts?
Simply drizzle the sprouts with olive oil, pop them in the oven, and roast for 20-40 minutes. Its simple but yields creamy, nutty, crisp, and tender sprouts.
Not a fan of Brussels sprouts? Thats okay, you can roast other veggies instead.
Add Some Cheese Parmesan Is Best But Cheddar Will Do In A Pinch
Adding cheese is probably the most common hack for thickening soups.
When you add cheese and heat it, it forms a roux, which will thicken your soup nicely.
The technique works well for soups that include a lot of milk or cream: tomato, potato, cream of mushroom.
Pro-tip: Add the cheese in small batches, mixing well after each addition to ensure an even consistency throughout the entire pot of soup.
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Ingredients For This Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
Butternut squash: Were using peeled and cubed butternut squash. But you can alternatively slice in half, seed out and roast with the peel on, then scoop out the flesh to blend for the soup. Totally up to you! More details on how to roast butternut squash in different ways below!
Onions and garlic: are the perfect base for any soup! Were using them here to roast on a sheet tray with the cubed squash. Were using a head of garlic and roasting it, and then squeezing when placing in the blender. I like the deep flavors of the roasted garlic this way. But, you can use peeled garlic cloves if you prefer.
Nutmeg: Were using fresh nutmeg here, but you can sub for dried!), a pinch of cinnamon works here as well. I like the subtle, yet powerful notes the nutmeg adds! If you are using fresh nutmeg, a little goes a lot way, and it can easily become super overpowering, so be sure youre just grating a little!
Fresh herbs: were using fresh thyme here!
Olive oil: The perfect base and finish for any soup!
Coconut milk: Coconut milk as the creamy base for this adds to the depth of the butternut squash, and really brings out the flavor . If you dont mind the dairy, heavy cream, or even some creme fraiche would be wonderful here.
Vegetable Broth: Or chicken broth/chicken stock if you dont want to keep this vegan. I like to keep leftover scraps and peels and save in the freezer to make my own vegetable broth, but store bought works absolutely wonderful as well.
Salt, sugar, and pepper!
