Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
This Butternut Squash Soup recipe is a culinary masterpiece, seamlessly blending the natural sweetness of butternut squash and apples with a tantalizing array of spices. Every spoonful offers a symphony of flavors, balancing comfort and excitement in one delightful dish. Topped with crispy bacon and a swirl of creamy heavy cream, it’s a soup that promises to warm your soul and tantalize your taste buds on any chilly evening.
Bacon: Adds a rich, savory flavor and a delightful crunch. If you prefer a vegetarian option, you can omit it or use smoked paprika for a similar smoky flavor. Onion and Garlic: These are the aromatic base of the soup, providing depth and a foundational flavor. Shallots can be a good substitute for onions if preferred. Spices (Curry Powder, Turmeric, Cardamom, Cumin, Coriander): This blend of spices gives the soup its unique and warming flavor profile. You can adjust the types and amounts based on your taste preferences or availability. Salt and Pepper: Essential for seasoning and enhancing all the other flavors in the soup. Chicken Broth: Serves as the liquid base of the soup, contributing to its richness and depth of flavor. You can also use vegetable broth. Butternut Squash: The star ingredient, it provides the soup’s creamy texture and sweet taste. Pumpkin or sweet potato can be used as alternatives. Apple: Adds a hint of sweetness and complements the squash. Pears are a good substitute if apples aren’t available. Heavy Cream: Brings richness and a velvety texture to the soup. For a lighter version, milk or a dairy-free alternative like coconut milk can be used. Fresh Oregano: Adds a touch of herbaceous freshness. Dried oregano or other herbs like thyme or sage can be used if fresh oregano isn’t available. Optional Goat Cheese: Offers a tangy contrast and creamy addition. Feta cheese or a dollop of sour cream could work as substitutes. Optional Maple Syrup: Can enhance the soup’s natural sweetness. Honey or brown sugar are suitable alternatives if maple syrup isn’t on hand.
To whip up this scrumptious Butternut Squash Soup, start by frying bacon in a large pot until it’s crispy, then set it aside. In the remaining bacon fat, cook chopped onion until translucent, then add minced garlic and a blend of spices like curry, turmeric, and cardamom for a fragrant kick. Next, pour in chicken broth, add cubed butternut squash and apple, and let it simmer until everything is tender. Once the squash is soft, blend the mixture until it’s smooth and creamy, either using an immersion blender right in the pot or by transferring to a regular blender. Finally, stir in heavy cream for richness, adjust seasoning to taste, and serve the soup garnished with fresh oregano, crispy bacon, and optionally, some crumbled goat cheese for an extra layer of flavor. This soup is a delightful mix of sweet and savory, with a luxurious texture that makes it a perfect comfort dish.
Storage
The soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat it on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s hot throughout. If it’s too thick, you can thin it with a bit of broth or water.
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title: “Butternut Squash Soup” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-24” author: “Latanya Anderson”
Why You’ll Love It
It’s delicious. All butternut soup recipes are not created equal. This one is lightly sweet, but with a mildly spicy kick, and the velvety texture makes it irresistible. It’s hard to stop taste-testing it as you go! It’s allergy friendly. This soup is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, and it’s made without nuts. If you need to bring a dish for a holiday meal, it would make a great starter course or side dish that you can keep warm in a slow cooker. It’s flexible. You can make this recipe even easier by starting with store-bought bags of frozen squash, which come peeled and cubed for you already. It’s nourishing. This recipe is a great way to sneak more nutrient-dense veggies into your life! When it’s blended to silky perfection, it tastes like something you’d buy at a restaurant, but it’s made with simple pantry ingredients that you probably already have on hand. It’s easy. Instead of roasting the butternut squash for this soup, you can skip the oven and cook it all in one pot on the stove top. When you use an immersion blender, you won’t have extra dishes to do later, either.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in butternut squash soup?
Butternut squashYellow onionGarlicAppleCinnamonCayenne pepper (optional, but recommended!)Milk of choice
I used almond milk in this recipe, but you can also use oat milk, or coconut milk if you prefer a little more creaminess. The butternut squash creates a velvety texture on its own, so you don’t need much milk to create a “creamy” texture. This recipe doesn’t call for vegetable broth, because water is a) easier and b) it doesn’t add any unwanted flavor to this delicate soup. Feel free to swap it out if you prefer using chicken stock or veggie broth, but be sure to cut-back on the salt in that case, since there will be extra sodium in the added broth. Tip: If you do cut your own fresh butternut squash for this recipe (rather than using frozen or pre-cut butternut squash) be sure to save the seeds! Roasted squash seeds make an excellent soup topping or snack.
How to Make The Best Butternut Squash Soup
- Sauté. Pour the olive oil into a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and chopped apple until they start to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic cloves, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and stir for 1 more minute.
- Simmer. To the pot, add the water, cubed butternut squash, salt, and black pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then cover the pot and lower the heat. Cook at a gentle simmer until the squash is fork tender (meaning a fork can easily pierce the pieces), about 25 minutes.
- Blend. When the soup is done cooking, use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it’s smooth. Or, you can carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Be sure to remove the vent cover in your blender’s lid, then cover it with a thin dish towel, so that steam can safely escape without splattering any hot liquid as it blends. You may need to blend this in batches, depending on the size of your blender. Return the soup to the pot, and stir in the milk and maple syrup, for extra natural sweetness. Adjust any seasoning to taste, adding more salt, if needed. (I usually add an extra 1/2 teaspoon.) Ladle the warm soup into bowls, and garnish it with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg. For an extra-pretty look, you can also drizzle on a little heavy cream or coconut milk, and swirl it through the soup. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze soup for up to 3 months! It’s easily reheated on the stove top when you’re ready to serve again. Add a splash of water, if needed, to help thin it out again. What’s the best way to cut the squash? Use a sturdy vegetable peeler (like this one) to remove the outer squash peel. You may need to go over the squash more than once, to remove any green veins you see. Once the squash is peeled, use a sharp knife to cut it into 1-inch cubes. Try to keep the size of the squash uniform, so they will finish cooking at the same time. Can I change the seasoning? If you prefer a spicier soup, try my Curried Butternut Squash Soup, which calls for curry powder, instead. You can also add a 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme to this recipe, for extra Fall flavor, or any other fresh herbs you like. If you love fresh ginger, try adding up to 1 tablespoon when you saute the garlic and other spices. Is this soup vegan? When you use a dairy-free milk, this recipe is vegan as written. Keep in mind that if you use chicken broth as the liquid, or add a dollop of sour cream as a garnish, it will no longer be vegan friendly. Can I use the Instant Pot? Yes! Similar to my Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup recipe, you can cook this soup at high pressure for 15 minutes, and then let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes after that. Since there is no evaporation with pressure cooking, you may want to start with only 3 cups water, and add more at the end, if you’d like to thin out the soup. If you try this butternut squash soup recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
