Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe with Various Toppings

Written by Becky
Butternut Squash Soup is one of my very favorite soups.  It’s perfectly creamy with a touch of sweetness and limitless options for topping.  If you know me, you know I love toppings.  If we are having oatmeal, I have a whole array of options for mix-ins to go along with it, from coconut to dried cherries.  For mexican meals, I love having and a tray full of toppings like sharp cheddar to cilantro.  And for this soup, I came up with some many different toppings that I couldn’t choose which one was the best compliment.  Indecisively, I chose them all, some savory and some sweet, allowing everyone to choose their own favorites to accompany their soup.

A friend asked me the other day what my ideal Valentines Day dinner would be.  After thinking about it I decided it would have to be a light flavorful meal like this Butternut Squash Soup with a rich and decadent dessert.  And of course, a good bottle of wine to go along with it.

Here is what I like to provide for toppings:

Hazelnut cream, a basic blend of light cream cheese, hazelnut oil, and chopped toasted halzelnuts, adding a creamy and rustic flavor to the soup

Sliced pears or nectarines, simply sauteed in butter and topped with a touch of honey to make for a sweet and fruity component to the squash. Or just serve raw as a sweet addition to the soup.

Prosciutto or Bacon, well I need not describe the bacon, besides saying, it added the perfect salty crunch that the soup needed.

Butternut Squash Seeds, toasted with a little bit of olive oil and salt on 400 degrees for about 5-10 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.  This would be a nice Vegetarian substitute for the crisp bacon.

Greek Yogurt with cumin, a blend of Greek yogurt with a few dashes of cumin adds a cool spice to the hot soup. 

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Butternut Squash Soup

A simple how to method for making butternut squash soup at home.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pear or nectarine sliced thin
  • 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced (optional for a more savory soup)
  • 4 cans of butternut squash puree, or 1 whole butternut squash, roasted with squash, roasted with seeds and skin removed
  • 4 cups chicken/vegetable broth, plus more if needed
  • 2 tsp fresh sage or thyme, shredded
  • 1/4 cup half and half, optional
  • pinch ground nutmeg, (optional)
  • pinch sugar, (optional)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add enough pear slices to form a single layer and cook, turning once, until caramelized on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
  • In the same pot over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 Tbs. butter. Add the celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the butternut squash puree, the 4 cups broth, thyme, half of the pears or nectarines, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Using a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the half-and-half. Add more broth if needed to reach the desired consistency. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the prosciutto/bacon, remaining pear slices, hazelnut cream, yogurt or seeds. Serve immediately.
  • Toppings: Set out the various toppings and let your guests choose which they would prefer. The pears and hazelnut cream make for a more sweet soup, while the bacon, cumin yogurt or roasted butternut squash seeds make for a more savory bite.

Comments (7)

  1. delicious!!!!!! i love butternut soup and these toppings are lovely (especially the cream!!). i think mushrooms would be so good too!

  2. This really has nothing to do with food or this recipe, but I thought you'd appreciate knowing that I call Rocky my little butternut squash, AND apparently baby Davis is the size of one right now! 🙂

  3. Your soup looks delicious! I am a topping girl too and I love your suggestions for oatmeal – I never thought of coconut:) I will have to try it! I think I'd have to go with the bacon for the soup – and just about everything else YUM!

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