I tasted this soup when my 11yo had a school event and my wife and I volunteered to help out with the cooking. We ended up in a commercial kitchen and halved and cleaned more than two dozen butternut squashes. At that point I was really curious how the final dish would turn out and it was delicious. I finally got around to trying out this soup. Having never cooked butternut squash soup, the family declared this as a keeper. Even my 9yo who has a thing against squash served himself three helpings!

Butternut Squash Soup

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

The only caveat with this recipe is the long prep time. In my oven, the butternut squash took over an hour to cook completely at 400°F. The recipe itself is pretty straight forward.

• 2 butternut squash (medium size)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 to 5 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ½ can of Organic Black Soybeans
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• A dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the butternut squash into halves and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Place the squash halves on a baking sheet and roast until they are soft enough to pierce easily with a fork and starting to slightly brown. This process takes a good 50 to 60 minutes, maybe more depending on your oven. Let the squash cool enough to handle.

Butternut Squash Soup

While the squash is roasting, cook the onion, celery and garlic with 2 tsp of olive oil in a large soup pot. Cook under medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes until they are soft. Add 2 cups of the vegetable stock and let simmer for another 10 minutes. As soon as the squash is cooled enough to handle, scoop out the flesh (not the skin) and add it to the soup pot along with the cumin and the remaining 2 cups of vegetable stock. Stir frequently and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Use a blender (I use Vitamix®) to blend this mixture into a puree and return it to the soup pot. Add additional water for the desired consistency. While the soup simmers add in the black soybeans and the red bell peppers. After 10 minutes when the bell peppers are no longer raw, add in generous amounts of cilantro and salt to taste. Serve warm with Corn Bread or sliced Ciabatta.

Have you made butternut squash soup? Let me know what recipe you use!