I tried this recipe for the first time last weekend, and I cannot believe how incredibly easy it is to make. Not to mention soups freeze beautifully so you can double the recipe and prepare this meal even more easily by pulling it out of your freezer on a busy weeknight. It goes well with whole-wheat biscuits, which can also be made and frozen in advance. I do want to give you a fair warning though that our children did not like this recipe for some reason…but the adults loved it so much that we thought we should share it anyway!
Peanut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (1/2")
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced (about 6 cloves)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin, ground
- ¼ teaspoon coriander, ground
- 3 cups chicken broth, (depending on how soupy you like it)
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- crushed red pepper, to taste
- ½ cup cilantro, fresh, chopped
Instructions
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Heat peanut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
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Add squash and next 5 ingredients (through coriander) to pan.
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Sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
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Add chicken broth, peanut butter, tomato paste, and crushed red pepper, stirring well to combine.
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Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender (about 10 minutes).
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Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Recipe Notes
* Sub vegetable stock to make this vegetarian.
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Maybe this is obvious, but should the squash be cooked before adding it to the soup?
No you actually use raw squash. I was surprised as well that it would cook so quickly…but it does!
Ha, I had the same question — is the squash raw, but cut in tiny cubes so it cooks so quickly?
Love your blog!
You are right…start with raw squash! And thanks for the comment! :)
yes…do you cook the squash? good question.
Would using another type of oil change the taste at all?
It is such a small amount I think it would hardly taste different (if at all). Go for it!
I made a version of this today. I didn’t have the peanut oil or any of the spices but I put it all (with the non cooked squash) in the crock-pot and let it cook for the afternoon. I ended up pureeing it after it was cooked. It wasn’t like the original recipe but was yummy!
Yes I would think if it cooked all afternoon the squash would be too soft to stay in cube form. I am glad it still turned out good for you!
This was delicious!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! And I am glad you enjoyed it :)
Adding chickpeas is also tasty and if served with a whole grain (whole-wheat biscuits, brown rice) would provide a complete protein. I’ve been making a variation for a few months that includes a can of coconut milk and Thai chilis and my 3.5 year old DEVOURS it, even when I throw in kale or brussel sprouts! Thanks for sharing, good recipe.
Sounds like an interesting combination…will have to try it!
This was real good! My husband was not a fan of the grainy-ness of the peanut butter, so next time I’ll use creamy rather than
crunchy peanut butter. Also I was in the kitchen and had a huge squash – so I pre cooked it in the microwave and then peeled it.
I used an immersion blender to ‘cream it all up’. Thanks for your blog – my daughter is an registered dietitian and supports and advocates REAL FOOD with her clients and in her classes. Check out her blog at healthnut-em.blogspot.com. I’ve been following your blog since your first 100 day adventure and really enjoy it! Thanks again!
Thanks so much for the recipe review! And I love to hear about others who are on board with eating real food…that is the way things should be!
How do you get tomato paste while avoiding cans?? This would help us immensely! Thanks!
I still use cans occasionally, but I think you can find tomato paste in a tube in some stores.
I took canned tomato paste and scooped out tablespoonsful into a ziploc. Made sure they were spread apart, not touching, and froze it. I LOVE that I can grab a tablespoon of tomato paste without having to waste an entire can! I find the tomato paste in a tube to cost a lot more.
I can’t do any canned tomatoes due to reacting to what they spray on the inside of the can before filling (or most of them anyway). So I use lots of sundried tomatoes. If a recipe calls for tomato paste I soak the dried tomatoes in water awhile and then blend smooth for the recipe. It has worked great for years now. I dry lots and lots of my own tomatoes each fall but purchase them at my food co-op and elsewhere when needed as well.
Hi! I am super excited to try this recipe! I have a very picky 19 month old and he LOVED the zucchini chips (all i had to do was say the word ‘chip’ and he was all ears… lol). I do have a question about this recipe though. Did you buy your peanut butter at a store similar to Whole Foods? Was it organic peanut butter? I just am curious as how to find peanut butter with 5 ingredients or less. Thanks for opening my eyes- after watching Food Inc, I literally emptied my freezer and am now elbow deep in overhauling my entire pantry!
Katie, look for peanut butter marked “natural.” That usually means there are just 1 or 2 ingredients, i.e. peanuts and maybe salt, but you have to read the ingredients list to be sure. All of the organic peanut butters I’ve seen have only peanuts and usually salt, but I think it’s best to check the ingredients list on those as well just to be on the safe side. Organic peanut butter is usually pretty pricey. If that’s a concern, Smucker’s Natural is one brand I’ve seen in conventional supermarkets both here in New England and in St. Louis where my sister lives so I think that one is likely to be widely available. Hope that helps.
I’m glad the zucchini chips were a hit! Also, the peanut butter we buy is only 1-ingredient…organic peanuts. We do get it at Earth Fare (which is similar to Whole Foods) and you can even grind it yourself at the store. I’ve seen other fairly decent peanut butters at mainstream grocery stores that might have 1 or 2 other ingredients like a little oil and salt as well. I hope that helps!
Oh! And since natural peanut butter is new to you, Katie, here’s a tip. While the jar is sitting on the store shelf, the naturally-occurring oil separates and rises to the top of the jar. When you bring it home, turn the jar upside down and let the oil rise to the top again (which will actually be the jar’s bottom if that makes sense). This process may take a couple of days. Then turn the jar right side up and remove the lid. Use a table knife to slooooooooowly stir the oil into the peanut butter. If you stir too quickly or vigorously, some of the oil may shoot out of the jar. Not only do you not want that mess on your hands, but you also don’t want to lose that gorgeous peanut oil. Without it, you’ll end up with a jar of very dry, stiff, and less nutritious peanut spackle ;o)
We are trying to highly limit our meat product intake — would it be suitable to sub vegetable broth instead of chicken broth?
That would definitely work!
The last time I peeled and cubed butternut squash, I ended up with a blister. It’s hard!
So this time, I’ll precook it (at least a bit) in a slow cooker, then peel and cube it. I’ll add it later in the cooking process if it’s soft, earlier if not.
(I pierce it several times with a long-tined carving fork, and add a little water. Works great for all squashes!)
Thank you for your recipes!! We’re on our third week of your given menus. Many of the recipes my kids RAVED over. This one, not so much. LOL! I see a lot of this soup in my future since I made a big batch. My mistake was that in trying to save time I put the squash in the crockpot and then had a pureed soup. Maybe if I had gone ahead and peeled and cut the squash they might have liked it better. Hmmm… oh, well!
this is a silly question, but…where is your bowl from? it is so pretty!
Not silly at all! I got it from Target…it was part of a set and it was a few years ago.
This was SO good! I’m sure this has been mentioned before, but I blended the soup just before serving to make it creamy and loved it! Thank you for the recipe and the advice to double it. Also…if you cut the squash in half and steam it for 10 minutes it’s much much easier to peel. Thanks again!
Can you use yellow squash as a substitute for butternut squash?
Hi Angela. I’m not sure I would substitute the yellow for the butternut squash. I believe the butternut squash is a bit sweeter and also a different texture. I know yellow squash will get mushy if cooked too long. Of course, you could always give it a try, I’m just guessing it would turn out differently for you. Let us know how it goes. Jill
Sounds great, and I plan to add some chick peas (garbanzo beans).
If you have no butternut squash, try it with sweet potatoes–it sounds similar to a sweet potato soup recipe I’ve made that includes peanut butter–sort of an African style.
Try serving it with whole wheat couscous, either in the soup or ladle it over the couscous. Might go good with quinoa too.
I usually nuke my squash to make it easier to peel and cube. Just rinse the outside, dry, poke deeply with a knife in 5-6 spots, and nuke for 5 min on a plate, flip it and nuke for 5 more min, and let cool for 10+ min so you can handle it. It won’t cook it completely, but much easier to peel and chop.
Will sunflower seed butter substitute OK? We can’t do any nuts in our house.
Hi Elizabeth. I have not tried it with sunflower seed butter, but, you could give it a shot. Jill
I absolutely love this recipe!! We have put it over a bed of rice and added sausage to my husbands portion and everyone loves it!! :)
Very good. I pureed the squash then added carrots and some heavy cream, family loved it!
My mom had some squash that needed to be eaten so she gave me some. I made this soup and my husband said this is a really good soup and said it was something he’d expect in a fine dining restaurant. I think the flavor was a bit richer than what I normally cook. My grandkids did not care for it and they usually gobble up grandma’s cooking. No matter, this recipe is a keeper for me
My husband and I loved this soup. Our toddler even ate it, which surprised us. I did not have peanut oil, so I used coconut oil. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. The blend of favors reminded us a little of Thai food. The soup is so rich though, we plan to serve it over rice next time. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You have many recipes with milk (whole milk for you), but I drink almond milk. Could I use almond milk in these recipes and still have them come out ok? Smiles…. Love your website!
Hi Serena. Many readers have had success substituting almond or coconut milk for dairy. I use both regularly in my cooking/baking because of a dairy sensitivity. ~Amy
Serena,
I, too, drink almond milk, and this recipe turned out great with it. I have also been using goat’s milk with some of the recipes and it works fine as well.
Oh. My. God. That’s all I can say! This soup is delicious! I just made this with your whole wheat biscuits. I didn’t need much, just a ladle-full and one biscuit! I’m glad to have leftovers :) Will definitely be making this again soon once my frozen batch runs out! Absolutely love your blog. Can’t wait for your cookbook to come out!
I rarely like soup, but I have to say this was really good! I made a few changes–I used my organic vegetable bullion cubes in place of the chicken stock, almond milk in place of regular, and I also added chicken because I had TONS leftover from another of your recipes. I will definitely make this again and do as another user said and put it over rice because it is so rich.
Hi, I made this soup last night. The only change I made to the recipe was that I used sesame oil to start, instead of peanut, which I did not have on hand.
Also, before serving, I used beaters and ground up the squash. I thought it might make the dish less foreign to my husband and son.
My husband gave the dish a thumbs up, and I loved it. We’ll definitely make it again.
Thanks!
My kids didn’t care for this either, more for me! Loved it with the cilantro, reminded me of Thai or Vietnamese food. Thanks!
Could I sub the peanut oil and peanut butter for something else? I am allergic to ALL nuts. Maybe sesame seed oil/sunflower seed butter?
Hi Michaela. That is not something we have tried but it may work. Please let us know if you try. ~Amy
Silly question: I keep reading about freezing soups. I’ve never tried it, so what do you freeze it in? Ziplock freezer bags? Tupperware? I don’t have enough containers to fill them and have them in my freezer a long time – I need them for leftovers! But I would think the bags would be hard to freeze??
Hi Leighanna. Lisa most frequently freezes soups in individual small mason/jelly jars, so they can be pulled out for kid lunches and such. But, you can freeze in larger wide mouth jars (leaving air at the top for expansion) airtight plastic containers, or freezer bags. Be sure freezer bags are tightly sealed and carefully placed in your freezer. ~Amy
Can this all be thrown in a crock pot and cooked that way? Anyone try it? If so how long? Thanks. I love this recipe. Have made this 4x since January~!
I highly recommend. I’ll note that I read the comments and only use 3 tbsp. of nut butter. You can use almond or one of the natural peanut ones. And – obviously- you can omit peppers but I prefer a bit of a kick.
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/butternut-and-nut-butter-soup-recipe
I was excited about this soup but I think it called for WAY too much pnut butter. It tasted like peanut butter soup. It did remind alot of a thai pnut sauce so I hope to use the leftovers as a sauce for pasta. I think maybe have the amount of pnut butter and more chicken stock or even milk to thin it out some.
*half the amount of pnut butter
Husband and I loved this. Kids not so much. But, ditto Laura, more for me!
This soup was perfect! I served it over brown rice. Oh so yummy!
I made this for the first time. 3 sets of thumbs up in my household. I used coconut oil (I didn’t have peanut oil on hand). I also used an immersion blender once it was cooked. It turned out very creamy. Served with wheat biscuits. Very nice dinner.
So yummy! We didn’t really measure and didn’t have butternut so used acorn squash- i also accidentally put too much crushed red pepper so countered with more tomato paste. It works!!!
As written I felt like the recipe was lacking something. So I started with doubling the amount of tomato paste. Then I took someone’s idea of it being more like a Thai sauce and added a few dashes of fish sauce and some soy sauce. I added garbanzo beans like someone suggested as well. Then it was yum!
Since I see this soup is not recommended for children, perhaps it should not have been on the meal plan menu
Perhaps you can simply sub with something your children would like. She didn’t say YOUR children would not like it, only that her’s did not. Mine did, however.
My kids love it, too! It just depends on your children’s preferences. I think it was a perfect recipe for the meal plan!