Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Smooth and warmly spiced with a luxurious texture, this roasted butternut squash soup is perfect for rainy fall days. Serve with your favorite thick sliced or crusty bread!
I adapted this soup from a previous recipe I always used. After making it again this year, Babe agreed with me. Time for an overhaul. The flavor could be better and we didn’t need to make so much!
I’d always been a little nervous about using too much fall spice in this soup, so I avoided it altogether, which was a huge mistake. Adding just a dash or two of cinnamon and nutmeg brings out all the wonderful flavor in squash and balances out the other flavors well. Additionally, I also added a bit of cayenne. Just barely enough to warm you up.
I kept the squash and carrot, decreasing both by half, and added a Granny Smith apple. It’s just the two of us eating this roasted butternut squash soup, so there was no reason to make a giant pot of it. This recipe makes a good 5 cups plus a bit more, making it perfect to use for leftovers and still NOT get sick of it!
Granny Smith apples are notoriously tart, but there’s no notes of tartness anywhere in this soup. Actually, it brightens the recipe up and keeps it from getting too heavy, as well as balancing out the squash’s natural sweetness.
Roasting before simmering
This makes a huge difference! After cubing up all the veggies and apple, toss them in some olive oil and the aromatics (sage, rosemary, garlic, etc.) and roast until tender. The flavor is so much better and more intense, trust me!
After the veggies are roasted, let them rest out of the oven while you brown some shallots. Allowing the shallots to get that brown edge allows for even more flavor. Once browned, add the roasted veggies and apples to the pot with the shallots as well as the chicken broth. (Bonus points for using turkey broth!)
Once everything is in the pot together, simmer for a half hour before blending into a smooth, creamy soup. I like using my immersion blender, but you can use a countertop blender if that’s what you have. Both will give you lovely soup!
Toppings
We love this soup with a sprinkle of salted pepitas and fresh thyme. Croutons or parmesan cheese would also work well, along with an added swirl of heavy cream for even more richness.
This roasted butternut squash soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days, and freezes for 3 months. When you reheat it from frozen, you may need to add some broth to loosen things up a bit.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour + 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Dinner, Meatless
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Smooth and warmly spiced, this savory fall soup is perfect for chilly days.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, skinned, seeded and chopped into 1 inch cubes (you need 1 1/2 lbs after prep. Try to purchase a 2 lb squash)
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped into 1 inch cubes (leave skin on)
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes/slices
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 TB fresh minced sage
- 1 TB fresh minced rosemary
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/16 tsp cayenne
- 2 medium shallots, chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- roasted & salted pepitas, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Add the cubed squash, apple and carrot to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with 2 TB of the olive oil. Add the garlic and ginger paste, sage, rosemary, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and cayenne. Use your hands to toss and combine well until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread the squash mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the carrots with a fork or cake tester. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 2 TB of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallots and cook for 4-5 minutes, just until you begin to see browning around the edges.
- Add the chicken broth and roasted vegetables/apples and stir to combine well. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pot and allow to simmer for 35 minutes.
- Uncover the pot and test the veggies with either a fork or cake tester. There should be very little to no resistance when you poke them through. If necessary, gently stir the soup and cover the pot again, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes to completely soften the veggies.
- Remove the pot from the heat and use an immersion blender to completely smooth out the soup. This will take some time! At first, use the immersion blender on a low-medium speed to break up and blend the large chunks, about 2 minutes.
- After the soup is mostly smooth, increase the speed to high and continue to blend for another 3 minutes until everything is silky smooth. There should be no large pieces of the herbs left. Stir in the heavy cream.
- Serve soup hot with roasted and salted pepitas and some fresh minced thyme.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 5 days and frozen for 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 11.8 g
- Sodium: 571.7 mg
- Fat: 12.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 74.5 g
- Fiber: 5.6 g
- Protein: 10.1 g
- Cholesterol: 14.9 mg
