Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Traditionally, I don’t love fall. The weather starts to get colder, and I immediately start dreading winter. Mostly because, in Michelle Obama’s words, “In the Midwest… winter is an exercise in waiting — for relief, for a bird to sing, for the first purple crocus to push up through the snow.” I honestly couldn’t agree with her more. Winter in the Midwest is too long for my summer-loving self. 

My solution to the fall blues is to cook warm and comforting things, and this butternut squash soup is exactly that! 

Butternut squash is a perfect fall food and it is LOADED with nutrients, so you can even feel good about eating it! In one cup, it has:

• More potassium than a banana
• More than the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A
• A third of daily recommended Vitamin C

Not to mention, it contains vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, and manganese. 

So many healthy reasons to eat butternut squash! 

“But butternut squash is SO annoying to prepare!”

Believe me, friend, I used to think this too. Who wants to peel and cube a large, slightly rounded squash? Not me, that’s for sure. So to get around that time-consuming adventure, I simply cut the squash in half and roasted it. 

Hello, time-saving technique! 

This recipe looks like it takes a long time, but it’s mostly downtime while the squash is cooking. The great thing about this is that you literally have over an hour to do other things while you wait for it to cook and cool (for instance, it’s the perfect time to make other meals you may be meal prepping for the week!). 

You’ll just need to:

1. Cut the squash in half, then scoop out all the seeds. 

2. Place the halves on a cookie sheet, brush them with oil, and sprinkle them with salt.

3. Pop the cookie sheet in the oven for 50-60 minutes!

Time-saving tip: you can also roast the squash ahead of time and make the soup 1-2 days later. Then it doesn’t feel like it takes such a long time! 

About the Recipe

For this butternut squash soup, I included fresh sage, rosemary, onion, and garlic in this recipe because in my opinion, these flavors meld together so well. You could also substitute: 

• 2 medium shallots for the onion 
• Dried herbs for the fresh herbs (although I have not tried this, so I cannot guarantee results, and you would definitely need to look up what the dried equivalent is to fresh)
• Water for vegetable broth (water is just less tasty)
• Almond milk for the oat milk 

I generally prefer oat milk in my recipes because it’s more sustainable than other plant-based milks and it’s more bland, giving you the milk consistency without the added flavor of other plant-based milks. But if you prefer a different plant-based milk, by all means, try it—and then leave a comment letting us know how it goes! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as fall begins in the United States. If you try it, please rate and review at the bottom of this page! 

Happy Fall, Y’all, 
Elana

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is perfect for chilly fally evenings, paired with toasted whole wheat bread and a sprinkle of pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 4 bowls

Equipment

• blender

Ingredients

  

• 1 butternut squash
• 1-2 teaspoons coconut oil
• dash of salt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4-6 leaves fresh sage
• 1-2 stalks fresh rosemary
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup oat milk
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Optional toppings:

• Roasted pepitas
• Canned coconut milk
• Additional herbs/spices

Instructions

 

Roasted Butternut Squash:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• While oven is preheating, cut butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds with a spoon (see pictures).
• Place squash on a sheet pan. Brush inside with coconut oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
• Place in preheated oven and cook for 50-60 minutes, until squash is fork-tender.
• Set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Once cool enough to handle, scoop out squash and discard the skin.
• Place in a blender.

The Rest:

• Dice yellow onion (1), mince garlic (4 cloves), cut sage (4-6 leaves) into small pieces, and separate rosemary (1-2 stalks) leaves from the stem.
• Heat oil (2 Tblsps) in large soup pot on medium heat. Once hot, add diced onion and minced garlic. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until slightly browned.
• Add sage and rosemary to cooked onions/garlic and cook for additional 2-3 minutes to bring out the flavor.
• Add cooked onion, garlic, sage, and rosemary to blender with roasted butternut squash.
• Add vegetable stock (2.5 c) and plant-based milk (1 c) and blend until smooth and creamy.
• Pour back into large soup pot and add maple syrup (2Tblsp), salt (1tsp), crushed red pepper flakes (1/4 tsp), cinnamon (1/4tsp), and nutmeg (1/8tsp). Stir until well mixed.
• Let simmer on low heat for 10-20 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
• Serve hot with optional additional toppings listed above and toasted whole-wheat bread.
• Keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in a sealed container or in the freezer up to one month.

Notes

*If all of the ingredients do not fit in your blender, you can split them approximately in half and blend in two batches. 

Keyword comfort food, gluten-free, healthy, vegan, vegetarian