Silky-Smooth Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
A creamy-textured roasted butternut squash soup with the perfect consistency! Learn the best way to roast squash in the oven until tender, then blend it with a mixture of broth, cream, Parmesan, and a touch of spices.
Ingredients
- 1 3-4 pound (1.5-1.7 kg) butternut squash
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped (1 cup)
- 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
- 3 whole garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 1 cinnamon stick or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2½-3 cups (590 ml) chicken broth or vegetable stock
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley rosemary or sage (or a mixture)
Instructions
Roast the butternut squash
- Preheat oven to 400 (200C) degrees. Line a baking sheet or baking pan with parchment paper.
- Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a large spoon. Drizzle the flesh side of the squash with olive oil and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Place the squash halves cut-side down on the baking sheet. Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake until the squash is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 35-40 minutes depending on the size of the squash. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Scrape the flesh from the butternut squash halves with a spoon. You should have 4-5 cups of squash. At this point, you can refrigerate it in a covered container until you're ready to make the soup (up to 3 days in advance).
Make the soup
- While the squash is roasting, pour the cream into a small saucepan and add the garlic and cinnamon stick. Bring just to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat and allow the flavors to steep 15-25 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until it's softened and translucent, 3-5 minutes. Pour the cream through a mesh strainer set over the soup pot (or just fish out the garlic cloves and cinnamon stick with a spoon).
- Add the cooked squash to the pot. Stir in 2½ cups of the broth, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, 1½ teaspoons salt and the red pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Puree the soup directly in the pot using an immersion blender until very smooth (or blend in batches in a blender). Stir in more broth as needed if you prefer a thinner consistency.
- Serve the soup in bowls, sprinkled with some parsley, chili and Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- Roast the squash up to 3 days in advance: Scoop out the flesh and store in a container or ziptop bag, or freeze up to one month. When you’re ready make the soup, heat and infuse the cream according to the recipe, then simmer the soup as directed.
- To add more warm spicy flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger or 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to the cream infusion.
- For convenience, some readers choose to skip the extra step of infusing the cream. If you prefer, cook 1 or 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves with the onion, along with a dash of ground cinnamon and other spices, then add the cream straight to the pot.
- Butternut squash soup keeps in the refrigerator 3-5 days, and in the freezer for 1 month.
- If you use a blender to puree the soup, be careful to only fill the blender jar about halfway. Hot soup expands quickly under pressure, making a mess if it explodes out of the lid.
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 6gFat: 23gSodium: 886mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4g
