Is it just me or did winter come early this year? This morning, when we left the house to walk Sugar, both Mr. EN and I were tightly bundled up in winter coats, hats and gloves – and it’s only November. Hopefully the weather this morning was not a harbinger of things to come for the rest of the month. I’ve still got a garage to clean, dahlias to dig, and a couple of bike to put away. Thank goodness we’ve got this Roasted Butternut Squash Soup to warm us up!
This Roasted Butternut Squash Soup is…
- Velvety smooth
- Naturally sweet with just the right amount of spice
- Uber-nutritious – 1 cup of cooked butternut squash has 457% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin A (hooray for the orange vegetables!) plus it’s a good source of fiber, potassium, and magnesium. And like most vegetables, it’s fat-, cholesterol-, and sodium-free.
- Easy to make
- Filling and satisfying
Prep Tips
- If you want a smaller batch, enough for just two servings, reduce the recipe by one half. I make the full recipe and bring it to work for lunch or freeze it for another day.
- Cutting the squash – Here’s the trick. Poke several holes in it and microwave it whole, about a minute per pound BEFORE YOU CUT IT. If you do it this way, you’ll never have to fret about cutting a rock hard butternut (or any other) squash in half again. See how easy it cuts? squash cutting video. This method works beautifully. Once cut, pat yourself on the back (you did it!) and proceed to Step 1 below.
- Onions or shallots? All the professional chefs will tell you to use shallots instead of onion. The problem is, I’m a home cook and I always forget to buy them. So I used a sweet yellow onion instead this time. It worked. Use what you have.
- Garlic or garlic powder? I’ve seen lots of recipes that use garlic powder instead of real garlic but I think, if you’ve got fresh garlic on hand use it. It really is superior in flavor. That said, if garlic powder is all you have go ahead and use it (¼ teaspoon per clove).
- Don’t boil the soup. Heat it on medium low until it simmers, stirring occasionally. If you boil the soup it will break apart.
- Make it quicker. If you really want to make it quick use ¾-1 teaspoon garlic powder and ¾ teaspoon onion powder instead of the fresh onion/shallot and garlic. It will taste different but will still be decent. I recommend using fresh if you’ve got the time.
What kind of soup is your favorite? Is soup “on” at your house this week? Send me an email and share your favorite soup recipe. I believe you can never have enough good soup.
Peace, love and good eats, from our Empty Nest to yours.
Trending in the Empty Nest Kitchen: Trader Joes orange-flavored dried cranberries
Mr. ENs take on this recipe: “This was really good. I didn’t think I would like the pumpkin seeds or cranberries but the texture they added really made the soup. Still not sure about the coconut milk but I couldn’t really taste it.” 😉
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Yield 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked butternut squash (see step 1 below)
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more for coating the squash
- 1 medium onion, diced or 3 shallots, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Optional – 1-2 tablespoons full fat coconut milk or softened butter
- Toppings of choice: toasted pepitas, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, dried cranberries, chopped parsley
Instructions
- Slice a 3-4 pound butternut squash in half, lengthwise. (See video for how to do this easily, in Prep Tips above.) Scoop out the seeds. Rub each side of the squash with olive oil (about a teaspoon total) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the squash face down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast in a 425 degree oven for 40-50 minutes, or until squash is fork tender. It’s OK if it starts to brown, that adds to the flavor. Let cool 10 minutes.
- While the squash is roasting, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions or shallots until lightly brown then add the garlic and cook until soft. Remove from heat.
- Place 4 cups of roasted squash, onion/garlic mixture and 1 cup broth in an 8 cup food processor or high speed blender. Process until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the cooked squash to a pot and stir in the remaining ½ cup broth, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Whisk and heat over medium low heat until hot. Once, hot, stir in the coconut milk or softened butter if using. Whisk until combined. Remove from heat, garnish with toppings of choice (some suggestions are above) and enjoy.
- Soup will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Soup will also freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Spice this soup any way you like it. Instead of nutmeg try using cumin and a dash of ancho chili powder.
- Make it vegan. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Sounds yummy!