Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

This Roasted Butternut Squash Soup is absolutely amazing. It is sweet, creamy, tangy, and rich…all wrapped into one. Eating it is absolutely decadent. In fact, we had it as a main course, and it was almost too rich for a main course.  I would recommend serving this as a first course before a pasta or meat dish in a smaller serving with a larger meal. Perfect for holiday dinners.

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Simple Butternut Squash Soup

For this simple butternut squash soup, it’s the combination of flavors that really gives it a unique depth of taste. It amazes me how much flavor this soup has and there aren’t a ton of ingredients, making it simpler than most. Aside from the heavy cream, it is a pretty healthy soup. In fact, I even debated on putting the cream in at all.  Next time I won’t–it really doesn’t need it. The trick is cooking the apples and onions until the cooking process begins to draw out their sugars and they start to caramelize. That is where all the flavors come from.

Leftovers
For leftovers, I combine them with pasta, chicken and Parmesan cheese for an easy and tasty pasta dinner. I use the soup as a sauce for the pasta and then add whatever add-ins I have on hand.

Cooking Butternut Squash
You have a few options when cooking butternut squash: you can steam, boil, saute, or roast. I opted to roast mine. I did this for a couple of reasons.  Roasting a vegetable draws out the flavors, making it taste so much better.

To roast the butternut squash, cut them in half lengthwise as above, remove the seeds and place face up on a baking sheet lined with foil,  then bake in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes.

Be sure to check out my tips for how to puree soup in a blender HERE.

Butternut Squash Soup (Directions)

adapted from Williams-Sonoma

In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onion and apples.  Cook until softened and slightly caramelized (a little brown), about 10 minutes.

Stir in the butternut squash , about 24 oz of chicken stock (roughly 3 cans), bay leaf and salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. Stir in the cream and add more stock to reach the desired consistency (if it is too thick for you). Season with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup gently to serving temperature.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

*Cook’s Tip:  To make this a vegetarian dish, substitute vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.

Serving size: I get about 6-8 servings, depending on serving size. If you use this as an appetizer, you can get 8 servings from it. If you serve it as a meal, I would count on 4-5 servings.

Butternut Squash Soup

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 medium butternut squash, steamed, boiled or roasted
• 3 apples peeled, cored and sliced (Granny Smith work best)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 32 ounces chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• fresh ground pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onion and apples. Cook until softened and slightly caramelized (a little brown), about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the butternut squash, about 24 ounces of chicken stock (roughly 3 cans), bay leaf and salt.
3. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
4. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. Stir in the cream and add more stock to reach the desired consistency (if it is too thick for you).
5. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup gently to serving temperature.
6. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cup

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