Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
This creamy roasted butternut squash soup is rich, warm, and comforting with notes of garam masala and sweetness from the addition of carrots, onions, and apple. With a few simple substitutions, this recipe is easily made vegan.
It’s finally soup season in NYC, and I, for one, could not be happier. Soup is one of my favorite foods to make and to consume, endlessly customizable and always comforting. Butternut squash soup is deeply rooted in my food memories—it’s one of my mom’s best fall and winter dishes. She was the first person I saw include an apple in the mire poix mix, and I’ve never made a pot of this fall classic without it. I’ve updated her take by including garam masala, an Indian blend that’s a well-known companion for savory dishes that welcome warm spices. I like using homemade chicken stock, but vegetable stock would make this dish easily vegetarian, and subbing milk for something non-dairy would make it vegan. I have instructions for how to make homemade cashew cream at the bottom of the recipe card below.
How to make Butternut Squash Soup
Though it takes a bit of prep, this soup is easy to make, and can be frozen for future meals. First, you’ll cut the top and bottom off of your butternut squash so that you have a flat base to stand it up on. Use your longest, sharpest knife for this task. Once it’s standing, slice down the center vertically so you have two squash halves. Scoop the seeds out and discard, then brush the squash halves with olive oil, turmeric, and cardamom. If you don’t have cardamom, cinnamon is a fine substitute. But if you’ve never tried cardamom, I do recommend seeking it out for its unique, nutty, spicy, and floral flavor.
While the squash is roasting, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients for the soup. Chop your carrots, onions, and apple into a small dice—you don’t have to go for perfect cubes here as it will all be blended—and sauté them until soft. Add the garam masala, sage leaves, and stock, and bring this to a simmer.
Once your squash is fully softened, allow it to cool so that you can handle it, then use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skin. Add the squash to the pot, then blend, add the cream or non-dairy milk, taste for seasoning and adjust according to your preference, and enjoy. An immersion blender makes quick work of the softened vegetables, but if you only have a food processor, food mill, or regular blender, those all work, too. Just remember to vent the steam on a regular blender to save yourself from a pressure-induced soup explosion.
What to serve with Butternut Squash Soup
This soup is delicious on its own, but to turn it into a show-stopping meal, I suggest three things:
A drizzle of good quality balsamic vinegar on top will add an acidic punch that really rounds out the dish.
Fresh parsley brightens it all up, but experiment with your favorite herbs!
Herb Seasoned Sourdough Breadcrumbs help complete the meal. Creamy soup with crunchy bread crumbs on top makes for a perfect fall fiesta in your mouth. Of course, I also serve it with a side of homemade sourdough bread…
A dollop of yogurt is also be a nice addition! Just add right before serving, as heating up the yogurt will make it curdle.
Get your stock pots ready friends, because it’s soup season, and I’ve got big plans for us all. Let’s start with the recipe below. Happy simmering!
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out this Smoky Lentil Cauliflower Soup and this Herby White Bean, Kale, and Sausage soup!
Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- To prepare the squash, first cut off the top and bottom with a very sharp knife, and stand up on the larger end. Carefully slice down the center of the squash to create two halves. Scoop the seeds out and discard them. Coat each cut side of the squash with olive oil, then sprinkle a pinch of salt, turmeric, and cardamom on the squash. Place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil and roast until tender, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool until easy to handle.
- While the squash is roasting and cooling, prepare the vegetables and apple for the soup. Chop onions, carrots, and apples into rough 1/4 inch pieces—perfection is not necessary here, it will all be blended, but smaller pieces allow for more even cooking.
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the apples and continue to cook until the carrots, onions, and apples are softened, about 5-10 minutes more. Add the sage leaves and garam masala, plus 3 cups stock, bring to a simmer, and keep on low while squash cools.
- When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skin and add to the pot with vegetables, taking care not to include any pieces of skin. Turn the heat off and blend with an immersion blender, food mill, food processor, or blender with the steam vent open until smooth. Return the soup to the pot if not using an immersion blender.
- Add the cream or non-dairy milk (see note). Stir until completely incorporated. If at this point the soup is too thick, add additional stock and simmer over low heat until it reaches the desired consistency. Season with any additional salt and pepper as desired.
- You can serve immediately, but this soup benefits from chilling overnight and tastes even better the next day, and can be made up to 2 days ahead. When ready to serve, reheat (if chilled) and top with balsamic vinegar (a thicker glaze is preferable), fresh parsley, and breadcrumbs. If garnishing with yogurt, add right before serving.
Notes:
I have made this soup without dairy many times. My favorite way to do this is by creating my own cashew cream, which provides the desired creaminess without adding an additional flavor such as coconut. To make cashew cream, I combine 1 cup of whole, raw, and unsalted cashews with as much boiling water needed to cover them. Cover this mixture and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Blend until completely smooth—this will be much thicker than traditional nut milk but provides very good texture and body for the soup.
Freeze leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
