Best Butternut Squash Soup

Best Butternut Squash Soup

from carlsbadcravings.com
45 min

This Butternut Squash Soup recipe is mega creamy (without any cream!), healthy, easy and bursting with flavor! I'ts SO luxuriously creamy, rich and velvety, you won’t believe it’s low fat! Most importantly, you won’t believe how delicious this healthy Butternut Squash Soup is. It’s loaded with layers of complex flavors from butternut squash, onions, garlic, Granny Smith apple, fennel, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and a splash of maple syrup that simmer together in a fragrant aromatic bath. After just 20 minutes, you blend the ingredients until intoxicatingly smooth then curl up with a big bowl of warm, creamy soup – without any guilt! This creamy Butternut Soup recipe is make ahead friendly, and freezer friendly for stress free dinners or lunches throughout the week.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium butternut squash (peeled, seeded cut into 1-inch pieces (5 cups))
  • 1 fennel bulb (trimmed, chopped)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 1 Granny Smith apple (peeled and chopped into 1” chunks)
  • 1/2 tsp EACH salt, pepper
  • 4-6 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp EACH ground ginger, ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp EACH turmeric, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
  • Pinch-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • Coconut milk or heavy cream
  • Toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds

Directions

  1. 1

    Melt 2 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven/soup pot over medium-low heat. Add squash, onions, fennel, and apple and season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often (we are sweating the vegetables- they will not turn golden).

  2. 2

    Add garlic, and all seasonings; sauté 1 minute or until fragrant. Add chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen up the browned bits. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender.

  3. 3

    Working in 2-3 batches, transfer soup to a high-powered blender to puree, taking care to let smoke escape or it will explode (I leave a corner open and cover with a paper towel). I find my blender gives a smoother, more desirable consistency than an immersion blender.

  4. 4

    Transfer pureed soup back to pot. Stir in maple syrup to taste. Season to taste with additional salt & pepper again if desired. Ladle into bowls and garnish with toasted and salted pepita seeds and drizzle with heavy cream or coconut milk (optional).