5-Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup
It's a tough competition,
but this 5-ingredient butternut squash soup just might be my favorite soup…like ever! Which is really saying a lot, because omg, do I love soup!
Like a lot of my recipes, I stumbled upon this one quite by mistake. If I remember correctly, I think it went a little something like "What am I going to make for dinner when the only things in the fridge are ketchup, chocolate chips, and.... a butternut squash??!" I decided to concoct a butternut squash soup (because obviously going to the grocery store to get ingredients for anything else wouldn't have been more logical (*insert eye roll* ). Luckily, when God closes the door to an empty refrigerator, somewhere He opens a cabinet full of garlic and canned chicken broth. In other words, this saved our dinner from being some kind of weird chocolate-ketchup-squash mishmash (ummm gross!) and helped us discover possibly the easiest soup recipe, dare I say, ever?!
It's creamy, comforting and oh so flavorful, but also very nutritious at the same time. It’s great as a light lunch, or can be enjoyed as a heartier meal, served alongside a nice salad and some warm, crusty bread. The soup is also super flexible, with lots of substitutions and options to make it your own and make it work for your needs (be those health needs, or simply the need to make dinner with nothing but squash in your pantry). It’s also super simple to double or triple this recipe and it reheats easily, so you can make a big batch at the beginning of the week and it will last you through the weekend (or make a big batch for gatherings, like Thanksgiving).
As for us, come fall and winter, we’re making this soup at least once a week. And you better believe that, these days, no matter how empty the fridge gets, we’re never without a butternut squash (or two).
5-INGREDIENT BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
serves 2-4
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large (approximately 2 1/2-3 pound) butternut squash, cooked (see notes for directions), or about 3 1/2-4 cups of squash puree
1 cup of broth of your choice (I like to use chicken)
1 1/2 cups milk (I like to use 2%, skim, oat, almond or coconut)
Salt + fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Toppings (optional): toasted pumpkin seeds, toasted + chopped nuts (such as hazelnuts or walnuts), red pepper flakes, sriracha, crumbled bleu cheese or goat cheese, apple or pear cubes, dried cranberries, crispy shallots, crunchy bacon pieces, fresh sage or thyme, Greek yogurt or sour cream
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large soup pot, add the oil. Heat for a few minutes over medium heat, then add the garlic. Cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden brown.
Scoop the cooked butternut squash out of its skin and into the soup pot. Then add in the liquid ingredients. Turn the heat to low and, carefully, use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until it’s smooth. Alternatively, you can also transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor to puree it, then pour it back into the pan to continue cooking.
Once pureed, season to your taste preferences with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for a few minutes then serve plain, or with a mix of the optional toppings.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat for a few minutes before eating.
NOTES
To cook the butternut squash, simply cut it in half, place the halves flesh side down in a large baking dish, add in about 1/2 an inch of water, and cook at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until a knife can easily be inserted into the squash. Remove from the heat, scoop out the seeds, and then proceed to either scoop out the squash or peel off the skin.
This soup is vegetarian and gluten-free, but can be made vegan, when using a plant-based milk (coconut, oat, almond or cashew are my preferred choices) and use vegetable broth. You can also eliminate the milk completely and replace the amount (1 1/2 cups) with additional broth (for a total of 2 1/2 cups of broth).
Instead of garlic you can use 1/3 cup chopped leeks or shallots.
If you don’t have broth, you can use 1 bouillon cube (your choice of flavor) + 1 cup of water. No need to dissolve the cube in the water beforehand. Just stir it into the pot and the heat will do the work for you.
If the soup is too thick (especially when reheating leftovers), simply add in a little more broth or milk until you reach the desired consistency.
originally published 10/2/14; last updated on 11/18/20
