Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Let’s cozy up with a bowl of warm, butternut squash soup. Butternut squash and cool weather go together so perfectly. This soup is so cozy and the spices just warm you up even more.

My butternut squash soup is versatile. It can be ultra creamy or chunky depending on how you want the soup to be. Either way, it’s full of complex roasted butternut squash flavor.

This lovely butternut squash soup will round out your fall and winter meals. Serve it with sandwiches, salads, or just some freshly baked bread, throughout fall and winter. Keep the recipe for your holiday arsenal, too. I designed this soup to complement almost any savory meal you want to enjoy.

The Best Butternut Squash Soup

At least in my humble opinion

Delicious Ingredients

The Chinese Five Spice brings a wonderful flavor to the soup, add just a hint of warmness. The turmeric and lemon add a brightness that rounds out all the savory flavors of the broth and squash. And the bacon is just well… amazing. I mean, it’s bacon!

Just a Little Cream

I found that the cream adds a wonderful texture to the soup, but without overpowering the flavors. I don’t use it as the main liquid, just enough to give it that creaminess that you know of a squash soup.

Roasted Butternut Yields Major Flavor

Most of this soup’s flavor comes from the cooking method, which starts with roasting the butternut squash to bring out its caramelized best. I do peel and chop mine first, but you could just cut the squash in half, sprinkle the season on the top, and roast the squash. Then just simply scrap and drop. But that is totally up to you.

Serve It Now or Later

This easy butternut squash soup recipe is also a great make-ahead option. In fact, it tastes even better the next day. So, if you’re planning to make this soup for a group/get-together, you can make it the day before and reheat it in a pot on the stove. Thanksgiving table real estate is always limited, so you could serve this soup in matching mugs or tea cups to leave room for the salad plates.

Garnishes Are Optional

(but Highly Recommended)

If you’re using bacon fat, you’re cooking bacon, so put that beautiful topping right on there. you could also add shredded parmesan (like I did), and some toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) for extra visual appeal. Although, this soup really doesn’t need to be garnished.

Cook Butternut Squash

Making roasted butternut squash is easy! Here’s what you need to do:

Start by peeling the squash. Peeling winter squash can be intimidating, but don’t let it scare you. The skin is smooth and relatively thin, and it isn’t ridged. To peel it, use a good vegetable peeler, and work downwards from the stem, peeling off long strips. Use short strokes to trim off any remaining skin at the base of the squash. That’s it!

Next, cut the squash. Chop off the stem and the very bottom, then slice the squash in half vertically. Set the cut side of the halves facing up, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. If your squash is too hard to safely cut, pop it in the microwave or warm it in the oven for a few minutes until slightly softened.

Don’t throw out those seeds! You can roast them for a really delicious snack. Check out the entire process in my post on How to Roast Squash Seeds. Dice the remaining squash into 1-inch cubes. You might get some funky shapes around the base of the squash, where the seeds were scooped out. Just do the best you can to cut the pieces evenly – the closer they are in size, the more evenly they’ll cook.

Make the rub/spice blend.

Finally, it’s time to bake! Spread the cubed squash in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle it with olive oil, and toss it with generous pinches of salt and pepper (note: a sprinkle of fresh rosemary or thyme at this step would also be delicious). Make sure to leave a little space between each cube – this way, the squash will get nicely crisp and brown in the oven.

Transfer the baking sheet to a 400° oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the squash is tender and golden brown. Then, enjoy!

Let’s make the soup.

Something to note: I have a large family, so all of my photos show this recipe, double. So you will not need as large of a pot or as big of a sheet pan as I used.

Cook the bacon until crisp, then transfer just the bacon to a plate. Then you will cook the onion and garlic in the fat left in the pot. If you don’t want to use bacon, you can sub with 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil.

Next, we’re going to make the soup…

Options for Butternut Soup Texture

This recipe offers 3 options. So that you can yield results for the soup of your dreams.

1. Mashed in the pot: Add the butternut squash and lemon juice, then mash until it’s the texture you like (see images below for details on that process).
2. Immersion blender in the pot: Add the butternut squash, lemon juice, and stock into the pot. Insert your immersion blender and puree until it’s the consistency you want. You will likely have to move it a little as this is a very thick soup.
3. In a Stand Blender: Transfer scoops of roasted butternut squash and sautéed onion and garlic to the blender. Then, pour in the broth. Blend it until it’s ultra-creamy.

No matter what option you pick, put it back into the pot and finish off with heavy cream.

Toppings of Choice

• Bacon (Of course, after all, we didn’t go through all that to not include it)
• freshly grated parmesan cheese
• parsley (mostly for color but the sort of grassy flavor is also nice).

ENJOY and Share!

Let me know what you thought! Your star ratings with your comments are tremendously helpful! I love seeing friends and family come together over food, so take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook using @alwaysjennsmith or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 4 people 1x

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Description

Learn how to roast butternut squash perfectly every time! Then turn that beautifully roast squash into a warm, hearty, and creamy soup perfect for any time!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lbs butternut squash (halved and roasted (details in cooking instructions below))
• 24 oz Vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (these can be replaced with extra of stock)
• 3 slices bacon chopped
• 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat (see notes 1 for other options)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 red onion (chopped)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed )
• 1/4 cup Olive oil (for drizzling)
• Butternut squash “rub” (Ingredients below)

Optional Toppings

• Parmesean cheese
• Pepitas

Butternut squash “rub”

• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more, if you need it)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or silicone mat 
2. Mix together the salt, nutmeg, turmeric, garlic & onion powder & pepper set aside.
3. Peel then cut the butternut squash into 1-inch cubes and place them on the baking sheet. Top with olive oil and toss until coated. Then spread the “rub” on, toss more, and bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Once that’s done, You can enjoy it as is or… You can start the soup!

1. In a Cast Iron Dutch Oven, on Medium heat, render the chopped bacon until crisps. Remove the bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons of fat.
2. Toss in the onion, stirring until the onion is translucent. Next add the chopped garlic clove and continue until fragrant. Remove from heat. (choose your technique)
3. Mashed in the pot: Add the butternut squash and lemon juice, then mash until it's the texture you like. Once done. Place it back on the burner at medium-high and add the stock and stir until completely incorporated and heated through.
4. Immersion blender in the pot: Add the butternut squash and lemon juice and stock into the pot. Insert your immersion blender and puree until it's the consistency you want. You will likely have to move it little as this is a very thick soup. Once done. Place it back on the burner at medium-high until completely heated through.
5. In a Stand Blender: Transfer scoops of roasted butternut squash and sautéed onion and garlic to the blender. Then, pour in the broth. Blend it until it’s ultra-creamy. Once done. Place it back into the Dutch oven, place it on the burner at medium-high until completely heated through.
6. Lastly, no matter which of the above you chose… Turn off the burner and add the heavy cream, string until incorporated.
7. Serve with optional toppings

Notes

1 you can use Butter or Olive oil to replace the bacon fat. simply use a 1-to-1 ratio replacement.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Sides, Soup
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Calories: 316
• Sugar: 8
• Sodium: 1237
• Fat: 21
• Saturated Fat: 9
• Carbohydrates: 32
• Fiber: 5
• Protein: 5
• Cholesterol: 34

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©Photo, Prop Styling, and Food Styling by Jenn Smith

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