Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash & Sage Soup
Nothing says fall like a big bowl of hearty roasted butternut squash soup! This easy and delicious recipe can be made with cream, or with coconut milk for a vegan twist. The addition of apple and sage strikes the perfect balance between sweet and savory. Enjoy your butternut squash soup now, and save some for future quick-and-easy meals by freezing the leftovers!
Servings: 4 quarts
Ingredients
- 5 lbs butternut squash - 2 large or 3 small butternut squash - approximately 5 pounds
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples, diced
- 1 large yellow or white onion, diced
- 10-12 leaves fresh sage
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 cup coconut cream, OR 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg and/or clove
- olive oil, butter, or coconut oil - for sautéing
- pumpkin seeds and/or parmesan cheese, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the butternut squash in half, and scoop out the seedy guts with a spoon. Poke the fleshy parts of each squash with a fork in several places.
- On a baking sheet or roasting pan, roast the butternut squash in the oven on 425F until it is tender to the fork - about an hour.
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, add a dollop of your preferred cooking fat such as butter, coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil. Dice the onion, apples, and fresh sage leaves and add them to the pot, along with a little dash of salt and pepper. Do this after the butternut squash has finished roasting.
- Sauté and stir frequently until tender, about 7 to 10 mins.
- Allow the roasted butternut squash to cool slightly for safe handling. Scoop out the middle flesh to remove it from the thin skin portion.
- Add the roasted butternut squash to the pot of apples, onions, and sage. Add vegetable broth, water, 1.5 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg and/or clove.
- If you are going to use coconut cream for this recipe, go ahead and add a cup now. Alternately, wait to add dairy heavy cream until after the soup is blended and removed from heat.
- Stir to combine, bring the contents of the pot to boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Blend soup using an immersion blender, OR carefully transfer the soup into a standard blender to blend - in batches if needed. Blend until smooth, and remove from the heat.
- Add heavy cream now, if desired.
- Serve and enjoy! Use within one week in the refrigerator. Or, preserve and freeze the soup in freezer-safe containers. Use frozen soup within one year.