This creamy and delicious butternut squash soup is one of my favorite healthy cold weather comfort foods. The squash is the primary ingredient, with a few supporting players: onion, apple, stock and some spices. It has a rich and creamy texture without having cream or butter in it.
Butternut squash soup will round out your fall and winter meals. Serve with a warm winter salad or sandwich for a healthy and satisfying meal.
This easy soup recipe is also great for a make ahead option. In fact, I think it tastes better the next day.
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What do you need
- Butternut Squash- you can either use one medium sized fresh butternut squash (seen notes about how to peel and chop below) or pre-cut raw butternut squash from the store. Use roughly 4 cups of the vegetable for this recipe.
- Onions – I can’t think of many soups that don’t include onions and this butternut squash soup is no exception.
- Apples- any a variety of apple works in this recipe, but I tend to choose Granny Smith apples for this recipe for a hint of tartness along with the sweet.
- Chicken or Vegetable stock- either will work fine in this recipe. Use whatever you have on hand, we tend to have chicken stock around more frequently than vegetable stock. If you’re making homemade stock, you might want to add a little bit more salt to the recipe because store-bought stocks tend to have more sodium in them than homemade.
- Rosemary and Sage- The combination of these two herbs help create the rich and cozy flavors that work so well with the butternut squash. You’ll be roasting the squash with the rosemary and adding the sage after it’s blended.
- Dried Thai Chili Peppers- The dry Thai chili peppers give the soup a little warmth rather than making it particularly spicy. If you’re looking to make a spicy butternut squash soup, add a half tablespoon of red pepper flakes and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
How to peel, seed and chop butternut squash
The hardest part about this recipe is preparing the butternut squash. One of the reasons squash has such a long shelf life is because of their tough outer skin. Here are a few tricks to make preparing the squash a little easier:
- Cut the squash in half separating the longer skinnier and from the rounder bottom. Then slice off the tips of both ends of the squash. This will give you a flat edge to rest the squash on when it comes time to cut it into small chunks.
- Use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove the skin top to bottom.
- Once both ends are peeled, cut each piece in half and scoop out the seeds.
- Chop the butternut squash into 1 inch chunks.
How to make butternut squash soup
Start by preheating the oven to 400°.
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Place the chopped butternut squash, onion and apple on the parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until the squash is soft and has slightly caramelized edges. Flip the vegetables over halfway through the cooking process.
Meanwhile, warm your stock in a large pot on the stove top.
When the vegetables are done roasting, add them to the stock on the stove top. Using an immersion blender, blend the roasted butternut squash, onions, apple and stock.
The soup will be on the thinner side at this point but will thicken up during the next part of the process.
Add the Thai chili peppers and sage to the soup along with the remaining salt. Allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes to fully develop all of the flavors.
Optional garnish ideas: this soup is delicious on its own but if you’re looking for some added color or texture, try toasted pepitas, chopped parsley, or some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Tips and FAQ:
I love the flavor of roasted vegetables, but when I have been short on time I have skipped it. If you’re skipping the roasting process, sauté finely chopped onions in the pot before adding the stock and remaining ingredients. Bring the contents to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Remove the Thai chilies and sage and use the immersion blender to fully blend the soup.
Yes, you can make the soup ahead of time. In fact, I think it might even get better the second day.
Yes, freeze for up to three months in an airtight container. Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite afternoon snacks in the winter. Warm and creamy it’s so satisfying after a cold, dark, winter day. Just for that reason I like to freeze mine in smaller containers so that when I get home from work I can have a satisfying snack before the mayham of the evening happens.
More great soup recipes:
- Mushroom and Turkey Soup (Thanksgiving Leftovers)
- Black Bean Soup
- Chickpea Curry Soup with Roasted Cashews
- Chicken & Roasted Tomato Stew
- Moroccan Chicken Thighs Braised with Preserved Lemons, Olives, and Chickpeas
- Lentil Quinoa Jalapeño and Preserved Lemon Soup
Recipe
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash peeled and chopped in to 1 inch cubes
- 1 Onion peeled and quartered
- 1 Apple peeled cored, and quartered
- 4 C chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 dried Thai chillies
- 2-3 fresh Sage leaves
- 2-3 sprig of fresh Rosemary
- 1 t Salt
- ½ t fresh ground Pepper
Instructions
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Place the chopped butternut squash, onion and apple on the parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until the squash is soft and has slightly caramelized edges. Flip the vegetables over halfway through the cooking process.
- Meanwhile, warm your stock in a large pot on the stove top.
- When the vegetables are done roasting, add them to the stock on the stove top.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the roasted butternut squash, onions, apple and stock.
- Add the Thai chili peppers and sage to the soup along with the remaining salt. Allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes to fully develop all of the flavors.
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