The perfect butternut squash soup is fragrant, silky, and so delicious. This easy make ahead recipe is ideal for holiday entertaining.
Butternut squash soup strikes the perfect balance
This soup avoids all the pitfalls that pureed vegetable soups occasionally fall into. It’s not bland, it has good strong flavor, but the flavors don’t overpower the squash either. The Indian inspired spices are evident, but they stay in the background. It’s got a hint of sweetness from the apple, but it’s not so sweet that it tastes like dessert. There’s no cream in it, so it’s neither heavy nor a billion calories. It’s, well, perfect really.
This is my sister’s butternut squash soup recipe
She serves huge vats of it at her annual neighborhood Halloween open house and gets rave reviews. I fiddled just a tiny bit with her recipe, because, well, that’s what sisters do. She uses celery and nutmeg, I left them out. I add in curry powder. Nothing major. I’m sure you’ll make your own special tweaks as well. But as far as I’m concerned, I don’t ever need to look for another butternut squash soup recipe. This one goes from tailgating parties to the Thanksgiving table.
best way to cook squash for soup
My sister peels raw squash, cubes the flesh, and boils it until soft. I think it’s much easier and more efficient to simply roast the squash in the oven. You can scoop out the soft squash and pop it right in the blender. Roasting is not only easier, but I think it concentrates the beautiful butternut flavor, as well.
make this soup ahead of time
Butternut squash soup benefits from sitting in the refrigerator overnight, so it’s an ideal recipe for busy holiday entertaining. Blend it up and chill for up to 3 days. Simply reheat when ready to serve.
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The Perfect Butternut Squash Soup
4.73 from 11 votes
The Perfect Butternut Squash Soup ~ this fragrant, silky soup is the best I've found, and it's so easy to make. Fall doesn't officially begin until we've made a batch of this wonderful soup!
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Prep Time:15 minutes minutes
Cook Time:40 minutes minutes
Total Time:55 minutes minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 2 Tbsp butter, (use olive oil for paleo)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 shallot, peeled and minced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp each salt and fresh cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and stringy parts. Reserve the seeds to toast, if you like. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and roast until the tip of a sharp knife pierces the thickest part of the squash easily.
Meanwhile heat the butter and oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot. Sauté the onion, shallot, apple, ginger, curry, salt and pepper for a few minutes, stirring often until the onions and apples begin to soften.
Add the contents of the pot to a blender or food processor.
Scoop out the squash flesh and add to the blender, along with the stock. Blend until everything is silky smooth.
At this point you can refrigerate the soup for up to 2 days in advance, or you can return the soup to the pot and bring to a simmer. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve the soup hot, in small bowls or mugs, garnished with toasted butternut seeds*, a dollop of sour cream, or fresh herbs.
The soup will taste even better after a day in the fridge. I always make mine the day before.
Notes
- I think this would work well with any winter squash, try pumpkin, or kabocha.
- If you’d like to enrich this soup with a little cream, stir it in at the end and heat through.
*to toast butternut squash seeds, rinse and dry the seeds, removing any orange stringy bits. Toss with a little olive oil and salt, and spread out on a dry baking sheet. Toast at 375F for about 10 minutes, or until crisp.
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Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Author: Sue Moran
Keyword: butternut, soup, Thanksgiving, winter squash
Nutrition
Calories: 136 kcal · Carbohydrates: 19 g · Protein: 4 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 2 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 0.1 g · Cholesterol: 10 mg · Sodium: 156 mg · Potassium: 488 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 7 g · Vitamin A: 10071 IU · Vitamin C: 22 mg · Calcium: 56 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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