Fall has officially begun and it’s the prettiest season of all! Apart from the leaves that change color and fall, this season is also marked by ‘pumpkins pumpkins everywhere’! The supermarkets are overflowing with pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, colors and textures! In Canada, thanksgiving is in October, unlike in the US. So, poultry and meat sections are jam-packed with turkey and ham. Pumpkin patches are open and kids are excited to go get their jack-o-lanterns ready for Halloween! The weather is beginning to get a bit chilly and it’s the perfect time to have warm comforting soups for dinner!
One of our favorite soups is butternut squash soup. Butternut squash or butternut pumpkin is a winter squash that has a sweet and nutty taste like pumpkins. This roasted butternut squash soup has always been a hit at home. I even converted my sister who said “ugh” when she saw me preparing the ingredients for this soup (coz she thought this was going to be sweet, and she is not a fan of sweet things) to saying “mmmmmmm…” and going for a second serving! This soup is a tad sweet but there is sooo much deeper flavor to it than just sweetness. Roasted butternut squash is a great recipe to complement Thanksgiving dishes.
Why you’ll like this Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
- Simple and short list of ingredients: For the taste of the butternut squash to shine, we don’t use a whole lot of other ingredients. Whatever goes in is used in small quantities.
- No peeling or cutting of butternut squash: Just halve the butternut squash and pop it into the oven. There’s not a lot of prep involved either, so you’ll have extra time to prepare other dishes or just stretch your legs and rest for a while as the squash gets roasted. Once roasted and cooled, you can just scoop out the squash and add to the other ingredients in the soup pot. Blend using an immersion blender or in batches in a stand blender, and the soup is pretty much done.
- It’s a versatile recipe: You can have many different variations of this recipe with a few changes here and there. Be sure to check out the variations section below.
- You can make this soup ahead. I cook a big batch in the weekend and keep some for at least 1 more day in the week. If you are planning on having it later on in the week, I’d suggest adding cream just before you serve. If you are going to have it in 1 or 2 days of cooking, just mix in the cream and refrigerate. Warm it up before serving and it’s good, may even be better than on the day it was cooked!
- It’s a freezer-friendly recipe: Skip adding cream / coconut milk while cooking. After the soup has cooled, transfer to freezer-safe containers or packets, and freeze for up to 3 months. Before serving, defrost the soup. Reheat and add cream / coconut milk.
Honey or Maple Syrup?
Either is good. I use maple syrup more often after coming to Canada. But when I was in the tropics, I used honey. If using honey, I suggest you add it towards the end, after all the cooking is done. Maybe it’s the Indian in me – I don’t cook honey. I have grown up hearing cooking destroys the good parts of honey.
Variations of Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
- You can substitute butternut squash with any pumpkin. Also try adding roasted carrots with the butternut squash / pumpkin.
- Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg, add fresh grated / minced ginger when you cook the onions for a nice kick.
- You can add herbs like sage or thyme or rosemary. Just don’t overdo it so that you still get the taste of the squash.
- Choose to go with or without garnishes. Some great ideas for garnishes are pepitas, toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts, herbs or bacon bits. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some black pepper too, if you’d like! 🙂
Go on, and try this Roasted Butternut Squash soup!
You may also like: Mathanga Erisheri (Kerala Pumpkin curry)
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 no. Butternut Squash (weighing around 3 lbs)
- 5 tbsp Olive Oil (divided – 1 part for the butternut squash rub, 4 parts for sautéeing)
- ½ tsp Salt (adjust to taste)
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 no. Yellow Onion, chopped (refer to notes)
- 2 nos. Garlic Cloves, minced
- 4 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp Ground Nutmeg (optional)
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup or Honey
- ¼ cup Heavy Cream or Coconut Milk
To garnish (optional)
- Pepita / Toasted Pumpkin seeds / sunflower seeds / nuts
- A drizzle of olive oil
- Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Cut the butternut squash lengthwise into halves. Discard the seeds. Rub olive oil, salt and black pepper over the flesh of the butternut squash.
- Place the butternut squash halves, cut side down, on a sheet pan lined with parchment sheet. Roast in oven for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, set the heat to medium high on the stove, and heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and sauté till it turns translucent.
- Add garlic. Stir and sauté till the onion just starts turning light brown.
- Now, add broth and leave to boil. After it boils, switch the stove off. This will serve as our soup base.
- Once the butternut squash is roasted, remove from oven and leave to cool till safe to touch.
- Scoop out the flesh of butternut squash and discard the shell / skin. Add the roasted flesh to the pot with the soup base.
- Add ground cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup. If using honey, do not add it at this step. Add honey towards the end of the cooking.
- Blend till smooth using an immersion blender. Alternately, divide it into batches and blend using a stand blender. Be extremely cautious if the ingredients are still hot, they can splash onto you when blending.
- Keep the blended soup back onto the stove. Continue to heat on medium high till bubbles start to appear on the surface.
- Switch the stove off. Add heavy cream or coconut milk. Mix well. If using honey, you can add it to the soup now.
- Taste and add salt and/or pepper, if required.
- Serve warm, with or without garnishes.
Notes
- Onion: Yellow onion is recommended, but if not available, you can use any variety of onion.
- Make it vegan: Use vegetable broth, maple syrup and coconut milk instead of chicken broth, honey and heavy cream respectively.
- Make it dairy-free: Use coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
- Storage suggestions: Cool the soup at room temperature, transfer to a storage container and refrigerate for 4 days.
- Freezing instructions: Skip adding cream / coconut milk. After the soup has cooled, transfer to freezer-safe containers or packets, and freeze for up to 3 months. Before serving, defrost the soup. Reheat and add cream / coconut milk.
Yum! Such a great soup for Fall! I love the idea of using some maple syrup.
Oh yes! Fall would be so incomplete without a roasted butternut squash soup! Thank you Vanessa, I love maple syrup on roasted veggies 🙂
One of our favourite Fall soups is any kind of Butternut Squash soup! Love that you suggest you can use coconut milk in this soup – I’m going to try this for sure!
Thank you Wanda! I just tried it when I didn’t have heavy cream and it turned out great! 😀 Coconut milk is awesome
Lovely soup and the coconut milk must have added amazing flavors! We all love soup especially now with the weather getting cooler! Great to connect in this space:))
Absolutely! Soups are perfect for this weather! And you’re right, the coconut milk added a flavour that soo well complemented the butternut squash 🙂
Wonderful recipe! Great choices for the spices and keeping the sweetness of the squash balanced with other flavours. I have to say, I think that the coconut milk actually pairs particularly nicely with squash too! Cheers.
Thanks Sean! Butternut squash has such a wonderful flavour. As much as I LOVE spices, I didn’t want them to overpower in this case 🙂 Oh yes! Coconut milk is brilliant with squash. Glad to know you think so too! 🙂 Cheers
Such a Fall classic! Love your ingredients suggestions
Thank you so much Sonya! Glad you liked them! 🙂
Scrumptious soup. Roasting the squash for the first time. Thank you for sharing the recipe Vijitha.
So glad to know you tried this recipe and that you enjoyed the soup! 🙂 I love roasting most vegetables- adds a tonne of flavor and is so easy to do! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
This is such a wonderful recipe, Viji. I have been on the lookout for a good butternut squash soup for a very long time, my search ends here. I have made this soup atleast thrice and this is now a staple at my house. Like Vini, my husband is a new convert 😊
What a pleasant surprise to hear from you, Sumichechi! 🙂 Soo good to know that this soup is now a regular at your house & that there’s another convert too now, haha! Thanks for commenting. Feels good to hear from those who have tried my recipes 🙂