This recipe has been a favorite of ours for over a decade. Both of our kids love it too,
which is always a bonus, and fall is of course the perfect time of year to cook with winter squash since it’s currently so fresh and readily available (at least here in North Carolina). I am personally trying to get better at using foods when they are in season and preserving them for later in the year, and this soup freezes beautifully so it is worth it to double or triple the recipe.
This dish would also be a great starter for all those upcoming holiday dinners. One year my husband and I outdid ourselves by serving this soup in a scooped out acorn squash “bowl.” That was long before kids (and food blogs) when we had a little more time on our hands, but it sure was fun to “wow” our guests back in our adventurous days in the kitchen. No matter what you decide to do with this dish though I assure you that you can’t go wrong because it is delish!
- 1 medium to large butternut or other winter squash (between 3 and 4 pounds)
- 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 2 large leeks, white part only cleaned thoroughly and chopped (you could substitute one onion for the leeks if you prefer)
- 4 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 5 cups chicken stock or broth (homemade stock is easy and highly recommended – here’s a recipe for making it in a pot and here’s a recipe for making it in a slow cooker)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt (if using salted store-bought chicken broth then taste the soup before adding any salt)
- Optional: Chopped pistachio nuts and/or fresh sage leaves for garnish
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Slice the squash in half long ways and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet. If you line the baking sheet with foil or parchment paper the clean up will be easier.
- Bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until the thick part of the squash can easily be pierced with a fork. Let cool then scoop out the pulp and discard the skin.
- Note: This step can be done in advance.
- In a large soup pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the chopped leeks and ginger. Cook for 5 – 8 minutes until tender, but not browned.
- Add the squash pulp to the pot along with the 5 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and breaking up the squash with the back of your spoon, for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Puree the soup either with a hand immersion blender or in a counter top blender. I highly recommend a hand immersion blender if you like to make soups because you’ll end up with a lot fewer dirty dishes.
- After the soup has been pureed, stir in the cream and salt (to taste).
- Ladle into soup bowls and serve warm topped with chopped sage and pistachios.
Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.
Just got done making this recipe and it tastes great. (My kids won’t touch it, but they are picky little skinny boys anyway…) But I have a hard time with cooked veggies– I love them at first bite, but about 10 or so bites into it, the taste gets “old” and I can’t finish it. Then I’m hungry again about an hour later. Any suggestions?
Hmmm…that is strange. Is that with all veggies?
Hey! Somehow I just noticed that your recipes are printable now! Awesome! Thanks.
We sub coconut milk in for milk all the time and we all love it!
I made this soup for my hubby because I don’t like squash or ginger… but we both LOVED it! It has a bit of an exotic taste and I couldn’t stop eating it. I really appreciate that have never tried a bad recipe from your site. It makes me willing to try crazy things that I know I hate, then surprises me with liking them
Thank you!
[...] enchiladas, an attempt at homemade ranch dip that missed the mark from the kids perspective, and a butternut squash soup that I didn’t care for. Mac & Cheese [...]
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING! I have never made butternut squash soup and searched the internet to find a recipe because I had butternut squash from our CSA that I needed to use. I made the soup just as the recipe stated except I added a bit of garlic and celery with the leeks and ginger. I also used half cream, half coconut milk and added a bit of cumin and nutmeg at the end.
I made this soup over the weekend and it was delicious and easy. I used local New Zealand buttercup squash, coconut milk instead of cream and olive oil in place of the butter. Yummy!
Hi Lisa, huge fan of your site and real food. I have a great soup that my kids actually eat. Check it out if you have time. I call it Autumn Soup but it is basically hamburger (totally budget friendly), carrots, potatoes, a can of crushed tomatoes, and beef broth… I add green beans and squash from my garden when available to add in more veggies but that is optional.
Simply but tasty and perfect for the change in temperature. Here is the recipe:
http://www.11magnolialane.com/2012/02/02/in-the-kitchen-at-magnolia-lane-meal-plan-and-weekly-shopping-list/
[...] http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/10/03/recipe-butternut-squash-soup/ Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged #realfood. Bookmark the permalink. ← Kombucha and Honey Vinaigrette [...]
I made this today on our first weekend of cool weather here in Austin, TX! It was delish! At the very end I added a container of crab claw meat I had in my freezer I bought from a fisherman at our local farmers market .. Soooo good
I just spent all day working on this recipe (I had to make chicken stock first). First of all, I loved working around the house knowing that on a chilly fall day I would have a wonderful, homemade soup for dinner! It is FANTASTIC! I poured the leftovers into pint sized mason jars for an easy lunch. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Hey! We just made a variation of this and it was delicious. We subbed parsnips for leeks and added an apple and curry paste. It had a delicious earthy taste to it. Super Duper. Thanks!
Lydia and Justin Kitts
[...] 2 stewing hens and used half of the broth for butternut squash soup. I used a variation of this recipe, blending the squash first and leaving the onions in pieces and adding in different spices. I [...]
Hey Lisa,
About how many cups of cooked butternut squash do you need for this? I have some leftover that we roasted this week and I thought this would be the perfect thing to do with it…but I’m not sure if I should half the recipe or not…
Thanks!
Hi Crystal. I had read that a 1 lb. squash yields about 2 cups of cubed squash, so, for this recipe, that would equate to 6-8 cups of squash. Jill
We made it with our leftovers … I’m not sure how many cups of squash we had, but I weighed it and it was close to a pound of cooked squash. Whether or not that was correct – it turned out delish!! Thanks
Wow! I just made this recipe and it is absolutely amazing!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Just tried this for the first time last night, and it was amazing! I had never made anything like this before (and had never cooked with ginger or leeks before), so I was super happy it turned out well. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I once had a homemade butternut squash that was slightly sweet. It was so delicious. Do you think there is something I could add to this recipe to make it a little sweet?
Hi Grace. You could try a bit of honey or maple syrup. ~Amy
i used the leftover juice from the whole chicken in a crock pot as part of my “broth” portion and it made the BEST BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP I EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH! Thanks for both recipes
Made this soup last night and it was de-licious!!! :). No one here has ever had squash type soup and it was yummy and really quite simple. The kiddos were so-so about it but they tried it and that is our big rule in this house, everything new has to at least be tried before deciding. But, I will make it again b/c the more consistent you are the more likely kids taste will change and come to like it!!
hubby was a little skeptical but after the first bite he was hooked!! The only change i made was using half the amount of ginger b/c i love it but the others are a little sensitive to it and dont like a strong ginger taste. Thanks so much for all you do to bring us such yummy healthy recipes!!! 
Thanks for reposting, Lisa! I don’t think I’ve tried this one. I need some new recipes … tried and true good ol’ fashioned chili won’t work anymore due to my poor little guy’s legume allergy.
This is my recipe for vegan butternut squash soup. Even omnivores love this soup! http://theheartfulvegan.blogspot.com/2011/09/butternut-squash-soup.html
Followed the recipe exactly except used ground ginger and was super disappointed:( it had no flavor after all steps I went back and added more ginger then nutmeg and cloves then finally pepper. Just didn’t do anything for me:( I love soups of all kinds so I was so excited to try this. Oh well, another soup another day.
Thanks for the recipe. It was delicious. We topped ours with Parmesan & black pepper. Yum
Made this soup for the first time, and it was so, so good. Thanks for all the great recipes!