Perfect Roasted Butternut Squash Soup: A Fall Classic

So this is my all-time favorite soup – it’s a fall classic! I LOVE butternut squash, especially when it’s roasted. And this is the perfect butternut squash soup recipe! If you like this soup more on the savory side, rather than sweet, then this is the recipe for you! It’s the perfect fall soup – I mean you can’t not indulge on butternut during the fall. It’s like Thanksgiving without Turkey. Right?  
I love this soup for a few reasons; it’s so easy to make, tastes perfectly fall, and is nearly guilt-free. Not all butternut squash soups are created equally. It’s just a fact. I may get some side eye for what I’m about to say…I’m not a fan of Panera’s Butternut Squash Soup. It’s too sweet. I like savory soup and that’s just how I made this one. There is a slight hint of sweetness (more tart) from the apples I added, but it goes so nicely with the fresh herbs, onions, and garlic. 

This week I served this soup with the best sandwich ever! The meal was basically a grownup version of grilled cheese and tomato soup! Oh. My. God. It was good! These two things were meant to be together. I’m telling you! I added the recipe for the sandwich below, too. It’s a Caramelized Onion and Three Cheese Panini – need I say more? The soup is nearly guilt-free, so I had to spoil it with this sandwich. So worth it and so not sorry! 

Okay back to the soup! Ahhhh – it’s so yum! I gave this version of soup some extra love with creme fraiche! It really helped give it a descendant element. If you don’t have creme fraiche or can’t find it, just substitute sour cream or Greek yogurt. I buy creme fraiche at Trader Joe’s. It’s so much cheaper there!

This soup is so easy to make – the hardest part about it, is waiting for the squash to roast. Once the squash is done everything else comes together pretty quickly. This soup is great to make ahead, too. It tastes better on the second day. It also freezes well. So if you have a lot leftover I recommend freezing right away.
I garnished the soup with store-bought pepitas which adds a nice crunch. In the past, I’ve garnished this soup with bacon, panchetta, or homemade croutons. Croutons are great with this soup, if you’re not serving it with a sandwich. You could also serve this soup with a simple salad. It would make a great light meal for a brunch party or girls get-together. I think I’m going to serve this at a book club meeting – when I join a book club 🙂 

Ingredients:

• 8-10 cups of cubed butternut squash
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 small apples
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 cups chicken stock (check out my homemade stock)
• 2 tbsp  Crème Fraîche 
• 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream (optional)
• 7-8 springs of fresh herbs (mix of thyme, rosemary and sage)
• 1 tsp curry powder (optional)
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
• 1 can of light coconut milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Pepitas for garnish

Directions:

Start by roasting the butternut squash, apples, and onions on a cookie sheet. You can use cube the squash yourself or buy precut squash in the grocery store. I use two cookie sheets to properly allow the butternut squash to roast. If you overcrowd the pan, you’ll steam it rather than roast it.  Drizzle the squash, apples and onions with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the fresh herbs. 

Cut the small end of the garlic off and place on a sheet of tinfoil. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and wrap tightly. Place the garlic on the cookie sheet, as well.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the squash is soft. 

As everything is roasting, prepare the Crème Fraîche topping. Simply blend the Crème Fraîche and heavy whipping cream together using an electric hand mixer. Set the mixture aside. 

When the butternut squash is done roasting, add everything to a stock pan. Add the cocnut milk and about a 1/2 cup to full cup or chicken stock. I only added one cup of chicken stock because I like this soup a little thicker. However, if you’d like it thinner, add more stock. It’s always good to start with less stock, because you can always add more at the end to thin it out. Take an immersion blender to the soup and mix everything until you get a smooth consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer the soup to a food processor (you’ll have to do it batches and slowly so you don’t burn yourself). Once everything is blended well, let the soup simmer on low for about 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish the soup with the Crème Fraîche mixture and pepitas.

[/Recipe]

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, thinly sliced and caramelized
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 4 tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 large slices of good sourdough bread
• 2 cups of freshly grated cheese (I use a mixture of fontina, Gruyere and smoked gouda) I think this is the best mixture for this sandwich!

Directions:

Start by caramelizing the onions in a pan over medium heat – Add the butter, onions, and thyme to the pan and continue stirring until the onions are nice and caramelized. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper as the onions are caramelizing. Once the onions are done, remove them from the pan to a plate and set to the side.

Now assemble the sandwich and cook in the same pan. Brush each side the bread with a generous amount of butter. Add the shredded cheese to every slice of bread, as it will help keep the onions in place. Add about 1/2 cup of the caramelized onions to the sandwich, on top of the cheese. Place the sandwich in the pan over low-medium heat and with the back of a spatula keep pressure on the sandwich as it’s cooking to help make the panini. Only do one sandwich at a time as you don’t want to burn them. The ingredients above makes two large sandwiches but I cut them in half to serve 4 people. [/Recipe]