This roasted butternut squash soup is a velvety, rich, creamy soup perfect for those fall and winter days. Pair it with a fresh slice of sourdough bread and a beautiful salad for a nourishing lunch or dinner. This is also an excellent food for babies who are just beginning to try their new foods!
When the days become shorter and the evenings begin to chill, I begin thinking of fall recipes I will make! Butternut squash soup is always at the top of the list because it contains so many memories for our family. This soup is one of the first foods I fed to our daughter as a baby when introducing new foods. Roasted butternut squash adds a depth to this soup and is balanced out with a sweetness from the apples. The cream adds a velvety texture while balancing out the robustness of the rosemary. This recipe is chalked full of vegetables, fruit, bone broth, and a little cream, making this a wholesome soup.
Why Roast Butternut Squash?
Some people like to peel and chop the butternut squash and simmer it with the rest of the vegetables. Roasting it instead adds such a depth of flavor to this butternut squash soup. For some reason, I hate peeling and chopping squash. Slicing it in half, scooping out the seeds, and placing it in the oven is easier than peeling and chopping.
Vegetables that Store Well
I love cooking from scratch, but it isn’t always easy. When you have food to be made day after day and meal after meal there will inevitably be some hurdles. Between milking cows, processing milk, homeschooling, housework, and other farm work, my life resembles the game of Jenga. Just how high can that pile go before it crumbles to the floor? I test this every single day, which is why I love stocking our pantry with canned foods from the garden. Generally, most of the canned foods you will find in my pantry are limited to just a handful ingredients: diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, squash, applesauce, pear sauce, and broth. Other produce from the garden is frozen or cured and stored in the pantry. This makes putting a meal together quick and easy.
Simplifying the Food we Buy
There isn’t time to run out to the grocery store at a moment’s notice. Stocking the refrigerator with both foods we need and foods that won’t quickly spoil is essential to homemade meals. Foods that store well include celery, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and squash. This makes it easier to purchase these foods in bulk, often making the purchase of quality, organic ingredients more affordable. Plus, purchasing basic foods that store well in bulk will save trips to the grocery store and simplify meals. Places I typically purchase my food include Costco and Azure Standard.
Simplifying the foods we purchase does not translate to a lack of variety. While there are some meals I make more often than others, we typically do not repeat meals throughout the month. During the winter months, fresh produce is not something I can go pull out of the garden. There are so many things we can do with simple ingredients that store well, and this roasted butternut squash soup is just one of the many recipes I fall back on during this wonderful season!
Can this Butternut Squash Recipe be Frozen?
The short answer is yes. Because this recipe contains cream, I would recommend roasting the butternut squash and simmering the vegetables in broth. Allow time for the vegetables to cool slightly before adding it to a blender or a food processor. Once the vegetables have been fully pureed the soup can be stored in an airtight container and placed into the freezer. Do not add cream to the soup until you are ready to consume it as the texture will not be as smooth.
Can this Butternut Squash Recipe be Canned?
While squash can absolutely be pressure canned along with apples, onions, and the rest of the vegetables, purees cannot be safely canned. In order to safely can squash it must be peeled and cubed before it is pressure canned. This is because purees are too thick to evenly distribute the heat throughout the pressure canning process. If I am in a rush, I have used a quart of home-canned butternut squash to make this recipe. All of this to say, no, this soup is not recommended for canning.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F
- Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds
- Place squash face down in a roasting pan with ¼ inch of water in the pan
- Roast 30 – 45 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork
- Heat butter and coconut oil in a large pot. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, and chopped garlic, and sauté for about five minutes.
- While the vegetables are sautéing, peel and roughly chop the apple.
- Add the chopped apple, rosemary, and broth to the soup pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer until all of the vegetables are tender, about 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Once the squash is done roasting, allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. Then, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, placing it into the soup pot.
- Add the soup mixture to a blender or a food processor and puree until smooth.
- Return the soup to the soup pot over medium low heat. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cream.
- Adjust seasonings (and cream) to taste.
- Ladle into a bowl and add garnishes of your choice.
Notes
If you try this recipe, please comment and let me know how you like it!
