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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!
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Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (or other winter squash)
- 3 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 2 leeks (white part only cleaned thoroughly and chopped (you could substitute one onion for the leeks if you prefer))
- 4 teaspoons ginger (fresh peeled and minced)
- 5 cups chicken broth (homemade stock is easy and highly recommended)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt (if using salted store-bought chicken broth then taste the soup before adding any salt)
- pistachios (chopped, and/or fresh sage (for garnish))
Instructions
- 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 (I recommend homemade). 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.
Notes
- * Omit optional pistachios to make nut-free.
- We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
This was okay, though a bit heavy on the leek flavor. We’ve tried other butternut soup recipes that we like more, so won’t use this one again.
That’s so cool and yummy!
Cooking is my hobby and I am going to try this out this in the weekend.
Thank you!
Max
Just made my winter even better. Thanks for sharing :)
Love this soup!! So easy and so good!
Hi! I was wondering if it’s possible to make this with coconut milk instead of heavy cream? Just looking for some alternate options (I keep hearing so many differing opinions about if dairy is o.k. for certain diets).
Hello. While we have not used coconut milk in this recipe, it should work. I’ve made a curried version of a very similar recipe with coconut milk.
Looks good. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Just perfect for chill winter night, I m trying it soon.
My very picky 3 1/2 year old wasn’t a huge fan, but my husband and I really enjoyed it.
The biggest fan was my 20 month old though. By the end she was licking the bowl! We’ll definitely make it again, and hope to convert the picky eater soon too.
I had never tried butternut squash soup before. No one in my family cared for it, but I am not sure it is the recipes fault.
Hi, I am making this soup for the first time, and I know that I will freeze some of it. My question is whether I can add the heavy cream before freezing? I know milk products usually don’t freeze well. TIA
Hi. You can or you can reserve it. Sometimes the cream will curdle when reheating from freezer but you can reconstitute it easily with a immersion blender.
This is YUMMY. I don’t follow it exactly, but close enough. Made it twice in the last two weeks.
Just made this soup. I love it. Will definitely be a staple of ours. Thanks
I found a whole raw squash very hard to cut open, but then I found a cookbook with the following: put a 1/4 cup of water in the bottom of the crockpot and add the whole squash. Cover tightly and cook on low for 7-9 hours, until a skewer goes in easily. Let it cool, cut it in half and do your scooping. Worked like a charm and I continued on with your recipe instead of theirs that wanted me to add brown sugar.
I made this yesterday for the first time, and it is FANTASTIC! My husband liked it too. I’m always surprised at how easy “real food” can be if I just plan! Love this recipe!!
Hi there. Butternut squash is by nature sweet. You could try to add some heat or chipotle seasoning to add some complexity.
I tried this yesterday and it came out pretty good except that my family found the soup to be a little too sweet. Any suggestions for how I can change the recipe so that its not so sweet?
I have to try this recipe. My Family is a soups lovers!
I made this for the first time last night and the family loved it! Even my 3 year old ate a whole bowl then proceeded to say, “Let’s make it for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…” :-)
Let me first say I loved the taste of this soup! It is so simple and such little ingredients its taste is surprising because you don’t realize how little you need to get so much. I actually didn’t have a butternut squash and changed it up quite a bit cuz I used spaghetti squash instead. I skipped the puréed step and left it with the spaghetti squash noodle like. It is still sooo good! I will be making it again… And probably again after that :-)
Loved this! My whole family loved it, even the picky 5 year old. I will try it with coconut milk next time, just to mix it up a bit :-) I put a little fresh parsley in before serving. Again, this was really good. Thank you for the recipe.
Is this gluten free?
Yep. There are no gluten ingredients in this recipe. ~Amy
Bet this would also be good if you replaced the cream with coconut milk!
Brilliant idea :). Looking forward to making this very soon.
Hi Lisa,
My family and I love this soup. I froze butternut squash in advance for less time in the kitchen. I didn’t use leeks, but I did add beans. Any cup of beans works whatever your preference. I love the immersion blender,real glad that I got one.
I just made this with two frozen bags of organic (one ingredient) pre cut squash, it turned out great. It was a bit thinner than I thought, maybe I didn’t use enough squash? I actually don’t think it even needs the cream at all.
What would you serve with this soup.it sounds great.
Hi Steve. I would go with a favorite sandwich or quesadilla or a really crunchy salad. ~Amy
I am planning to use onions instead of leeks. How many should I use?
Never mind. I re-read the recipe.
Made this soup twice now. Used the onion instead of the leek both times because its what I had on hand and it was phenomenal. The second batch of this I made I added in an apple for a sweeter version and came out delicious
Have you ever tried this in the crockpot? Would love to convert to the crockpot and wondering if I should skip browning the leeks in butter part? Sounds so good!
Hi Chrissy. We haven’t but let us know if you do. I would still briefly cook the leeks and ginger just for the enhanced flavor. Lisa does specify to not brown. ~Amy
Is chicken stock and chicken broth the same thing? If not, how are they different? Thanks! :)
Hi Christy. The words are often used interchangeably. Technically, however, stock is meant to be a neutral base for soups and such while broth contains seasoning and more body. Broth is just seasoned stalk. ~Amy
When you freeze what do you freeze in? Glass? Plastic containers? Haven’t done much freezing yet. Thanks
Hi Jessica. Yes, we freeze…a lot…and not just leftovers! :) Lisa uses a combination of containers from zipper bags and plastic air tight containers, to freezer safe glass canning jars of all sizes. Here are a couple examples of how she freezes: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/08/14/real-food-tips-10-recipes-to-freeze-for-school-lunches-which-makes-packing-a-breeze/https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/01/preserving-seasonal-foods-berries/. Your freezer can help make food waste a thing of the past and planning ahead much easier. ~Amy
Just made this last night and it was DELICIOUS!!! YUM!! My entire family loved it! THANK YOU!
So good!
Yum! Just made this and it is great! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this soup for the first time, and it was so, so good. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Thanks for the recipe. It was delicious. We topped ours with Parmesan & black pepper. Yum :-)
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.
This is my recipe for vegan butternut squash soup. Even omnivores love this soup! http://theheartfulvegan.blogspot.com/2011/09/butternut-squash-soup.html
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.
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!!! :)
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 :)