I’ve been tasked to host my first Thanksgiving dinner this year. This year should be the year my parents host our huge Thanksgiving dinner with 30+ relatives all in our house. But with COVID-19 and the looming doom of a second wave…we figured it wasn’t the smartest idea this year. So they decided I was going to cook and host them in Brooklyn instead. Which means…I have a lot of recipes to test and perfect, and I want to share them here with all of you. First up—a roasted butternut squash soup!
I know if you search for a butternut squash soup recipe, you’re going to get a lot of results. A lot of publications and bloggers have already covered a recipe like this. So what makes mine different? Unlike most butternut squash soup recipes, we’re going to roast all the vegetables. Not just the butternut squash.
As I was doing research and reading up about roasted butternut squash soup, I was shocked at how most cooks go about making this dish. Typically, butternut squash soup recipes tell you to roast the butternut squash and then cook the onions (or shallots) and the minced garlic separately in a pot. Then you combine the roasted squash and the cooked vegetables in a blender with the broth.
But why do the extra step when you can just make it easier for yourself and roast all the vegetables? My recipe has you roasting up the butternut squash, shallots, and garlic cloves in the oven. Then those cooked vegetables go straight to the blender with the broth—no extra step. Then it’s transferred to a pot (or crockpot) where it’s warmed with some cream to give it that creamy texture. And look at that—a creamy roasted butternut squash soup that was a lot easier to throw together than most!
This recipe makes 4 bowls or 8 cups. If you’re hosting a smaller Thanksgiving dinner (or simply looking for a soup to go with your grilled cheese for lunch), it’s the perfect little appetizer. Serve with a side arugula salad (you could make this lemon arugula salad sans chicken) and some crusty bread (like this sourdough focaccia or bread), top with pumpkin seeds, and it’s a filling course that will hold you over till dinner.
Now for this recipe, you’re going to want a blender. It’s used to blend up the roasted vegetables and the broth together before transferring to a pot and adding the cream.
I plan on making this recipe for Thanksgiving, but I’m actually going to prep the soup the day before. Then I’ll heat it up in a slow cooker! So if you plan on doing the same, you can prep the soup beforehand then heat it up onthe warm setting in the slow cooker. So you don’t have to do as much the day that you are hosting.
Lastly, you can use chicken or vegetable broth. Honestly, whichever one you have on hand. I personally love the taste of chicken broth, but vegetable broth will also taste great. So I’ll leave that up to you—and whatever you have in your fridge!
Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash (6" to 9") halved
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 shallots peeled & halved
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 cups broth chicken or vegetable
- Dash of fresh cracked pepper
- 1/2 cup half-in-half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out the seeds of the butternut squash halves.
- Brush the olive oil on the insides of the butternut squash. Place face down on the lined baking sheet.
- Roast for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the shallot halves and the garlic cloves to the baking sheet, both brushed with the remaining olive oil.
- Immediately place back in the oven and roast for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave the roasted vegetables until they are cool enough to tough—between 5 to 10 minutes should be fine.
- Scoop out the butternut squash flesh and place in a blender with the roasted shallot and the garlic cloves (press out of the peels). Discard the garlic peels and the squash skins.
- Add the chicken or vegetable broth to your blender. Sprinkle in a dash of black pepper.
- Blend until smooth—about 20 seconds.
- Pour the soup contents into a stockpot and turn the heat on medium-low.
- Add in the half-in-half, stir to combine.
- Let the soup fully heat through before serving! Top with pumpkin seeds, if desired.
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