This soup should be a staple in your recipe book. It is simple to make and can be served as a light meal with some fresh bread or as an appetizer for your fall or winter menu. It is a favourite of mine and my family’s, and hopefully it will be yours too.
Summary
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1.5 hours, including roasting time
Servings: 6-8
Meal type: Lunch, Dinner
Grocery Cost: $4.50 ($0.56 -0.75/person)
Recipe Rating: 
Ingredients
- 1 medium Butternut Squash (about 2.5 lb) ~ $1.75
- 4 cloves Garlic ~ $0.15
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 medium Spanish Onion, roughly chopped ~ $0.85
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 4 cups of Chicken Broth ~ $0.50
- 2 sprigs Fresh Thyme (or 1 tbsp dried thyme)
- Half recipe of Torn Croutons for garnish
Instructions for Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and fibers with a spoon. Rub the flesh of both halves with olive oil. Smash the garlic cloves with the flat side of your knife and remove the skin.
3. Arrange the halves cut side down on the baking sheet, then slip the garlic cloves in the small cavity of each half.
4. Bake the squash for 40-45 minutes, or until very tender (i.e. a knife should insert through the squash very easily). Set aside to cool.
Note: This can be done several hours in advance while you run errands for the day.
5. Once the squash has cooled, flip the halves around and scoop out the flesh.
6. Cook onions and ground ginger over moderately low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the onions have softened and become translucent, stirring constantly. Add the roasted squash and garlic, and continue to stir for 3 minutes
7. Add 4 cups of broth and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
8. Puree with a hand blender until smooth and creamy.
Quick Notes
This soup is best made the day before you plan to serve it as the flavours are allowed to develop more. Once cool, the soup can be refrigerated. Reheat the soup before serving.
If you have leftovers, this soup also freezes very well. Just transfer to a plastic container and freeze for up to 1 month.
Result
I always love how this soup turns out. It’s reliable; you can never really fail with this one. Add curry powder or some other spices to it for an interesting variation. This is a great base recipe for you to experiment with. Try adding some apple or pear nectar to it and reduce some of your chicken stock and see how it tastes. The result will be sweeter and lighter, great for a springtime soup. Be creative!
See my previous post for my menu and other recipes.
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