Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
My Vegan Butternut Squash Soup is creamy from the squash, rich in flavor from all the spices and has a nice tang from the citrus. This soup is good any time of year, and is even good served cold!
Butternut Squash
It’s vegetables like butternut squash that make it easy to get people excited about vegetables. They are relatively easy to peel, have a sweet and hearty flavor, and are big and meaty enough to feed a group. My vegan butternut squash soup is my favorite way to use them, and the “vegan-ness” of this recipe is unintentional—it is that good!
Butternut squash is a type of winter squash, along with acorn, delicata and spaghetti squash. They are actually grown in late Summer in most parts of the world—yes, a confusing name! They are called winter squash because farmers/processors will cure them, meaning slightly dry them out so the skin thickens and they will become a storage crop like carrots and apples and be available to eat all Winter long!
Cooking Butternut Squash
There are two main ways to prepare my Vegan Butternut Squash Soup—the method listed in the directions is delicious and simple, and the quickest. The second option involves pre-roasting the squash, then adding it to the rest of the ingredients. There are pros and cons to both options, and it mostly comes down to your precious time, and how much you care about flavor development.
Pre-Roast the Squash
This method is more time consuming, but yes leads to a more nuanced and deeply flavored Vegan Butternut Squash Soup! Instead of peeling the squash, you just cut the squash in half from stem to butt. Then, scoop out the seeds—save them!—and roast cut side down.
This laborious extra step, is all done in the name of enhancing that butternut squash flavor we all love. The roasting process slightly chars the squash, which tells us that the sugars are being caramelized leading to deep and delicious flavor! After allowing the squash to cool, scoop out the meat and add it to the soup pot with the other ingredients already simmering.
Peel and Add to One Pot
The method I highlight in the directions is straightforward and will allow you to enjoy the Vegan Butternut Squash Soup in the shortest amount of time—win! It does require you to peel the squash if you don’t buy it pre-cut, which can be tricky and requires you to be careful and aware of your knife.
First, cut the squash where the neck meets the bulb. The bulbous bottom is where the seeds are held and has considerably less meat. Next, scoop out the seeds—we are still saving them!—and place the cut end on the cutting board to avoid it rolling around. Then, carefully with a sharp knife work your way around the squash peeling it.
The neck of squash is where most of the edible squash is located. Cut off the stem of the squash and place the other end on the cutting board. Carefully work your way around the squash cutting off all of the skin. Then, cut the squash into chunks, the smaller you cut the pieces, the quicker it will cook. Since everything will be blended into my Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, precision is not important.
Save the Seeds
As enthusiastically noted above, I encourage you to save the seeds from the butternut squash! They are delicious toasted and enjoyed as a snack or garnish on top of my Vegan Butternut Squash Soup. To prepare, place in a colander and rinse off the squash goop and let air dry or do your best with a paper towel.
Next, mix the seeds with olive oil, salt, pepper and other seasoning if you fancy, such as paprika, cumin and cayenne powder. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 375° F for about 10-15 minutes, stirring half way through. It’s definitely extra work, but a yummy way to reduce food waste and make a topping for my Vegan Butternut Squash Soup.
Nutrition 1,2
The bright orange flesh of this winter squash gets its color from beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in our body. A one cup serving has about 450% of the daily recommend value of vitamin A and 50% of the daily value of vitamin C! Vitamin A is essential for cell growth, eye and bone health and maintaining a strong immune system.
Both vitamin A and C are powerful antioxidants that protect our bodies from cell damage. Making this a great immune boosting soup to enjoy all year long. Butternut squash is also a great source of fiber, it has 7 grams of fiber in one cup.
Soup Time!
My simple recipe for Vegan Butternut Squash Soup is bursting with flavor! The blend of spices, acid and sweetness from the lemon and orange combine to give it a complex taste. If you do not have shallots, yellow onions are a fine substitute. If you have an immersion blender, feel free to use instead of a transferring to a blender. If you want to turn this light soup into something heartier feel free to add a can of coconut milk. Enjoy!
Similar Pages
Looking for more soups? Try my Creamy Vegetable Soup, Broccoli Ginger Soup or my Vegan Lentil Soup.
References
- Tang G. Bioconversion of dietary provitamin A carotenoids to vitamin A in humans12345. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91(5):1468S-1473S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.28674G
- FoodData Central. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ndb/
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots diced
- 4 carrots diced
- 1 butternut squash ~1 pound, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, add oil. Add shallots, carrots, squash, and salt and saute 5 minutes.
- Add cumin, coriander, pepper, and ginger and saute for 1 minute.
- Add ½ cup broth and deglaze the pot, stirring up any bits. Add remaining broth and bring to a boil. Cover and lower to a simmer for approximately 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
- In a blender, carefully puree soup in batches until smooth. Or puree in the pot using an immersion blender.
- Add lemon juice and orange juice and mix well.
Video
Notes
DOWNLOAD A FREE EXCERPT
Two Healthy Diets — One Delicious Cookbook
I’ve combined DASH diet and Mediterranean diet recipes into something even better… Presenting The Mediterranean DASH Diet Cookbook.
