This is the kind of fall recipe I love: warm, creamy, beautiful and remarkably hard to mess up. Roasting the vegetables first brings out their natural sweetness, so you don’t need sugar or a long list of ingredients. And despite the word creamy, you don’t need much cream at all. The puréed squash does most of that work for you. It will feed four people, easily.
That gorgeous orange color of this soup comes from the natural carotenoids (like beta-carotene), which the body converts to vitamin A. Butternut squash also provides potassium, vitamin C and fiber. The ginger provides anti-inflammatory gingerols, while olive oil supplies monounsaturated fat. So yes, there’s some nutritional substance behind this bowl of soup.
But mostly, I want you to make it because it’s delicious and easy.
Ingredients
6 cups (about 2 pounds) peeled and cubed butternut squash (buy it pre-cut!
1 medium yellow onion (cut into chunks)
2 TBSP olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 TEA fresh grated ginger (if you don’t have fresh, use 1/4 dried ground ginger)
½ teaspoon dried sage (or even better 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage)
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth (start with 3 cups, you can add more as needed) –>also, you can use low sodium broth
½ cup half-and-half (or for a dairy-free option use coconut milk or additional broth)
½ TEA salt, then more to taste
Optional: If you don’t have heartburn, and your reflux isn’t triggered, add 1/4 black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg, optional but highly recommended CLICK HERE to read the health benefits
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Place the butternut squash and onion on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss well to coat. Roast for 25 minutes, then add the whole garlic cloves to the pan and roast another 10 to 15 minutes, until the squash is very tender and has some golden-brown edges. If a fork doesn’t slide easily into the squash, give it another five minutes. Undercooked squash makes a less silky soup.
Transfer the roasted vegetables and garlic to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the ginger, sage, 3 cups of broth, salt and pepper.
Using an immersion blender, blend until completely smooth. You can also carefully blend the soup in batches in a regular blender or Vitamix.
After it’s blended, stir in ½ cup half-and-half depending on how creamy you want it. (If you want it lighter you can use milk, the half-and-half will make it richer though).
You used 3 cups of broth, so at this point, you can add a little more broth if the soup is too thick for your taste buds. Warm it up gently for a few minutes in the pot. Taste before adding any more salt. Broths vary enormously in sodium, so this is the easiest way to prevent an overly salty soup.
Do you want to make it pretty? Just add a little swirl of cream or coconut milk, a few toasted pumpkin seeds, fresh sage on top, or a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Or do absolutely nothing… put it in a pretty soup dish! It still tastes good.
Storage Tips: Refrigerate for up to 4 days. It may thicken overnight, so add a splash of broth or water when reheating. If you’re making this ahead of time for the holidays, and you want to freeze it (I’ve done this before…) just freeze it WITHOUT the half-and-half for up to 3 months. After you thaw it, you can reheat it and then add your dairy.
Suzy Cohen, RPh, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years, blending conventional medicine with natural approaches to help people feel better and live healthier. She is the founder of Script Essentials, a supplement company known for targeted, custom-formulated products, some with patented innovations.
With a special focus on thyroid health, functional medicine, and drug-induced nutrient depletion (what she calls “drug muggers”), Suzy is the author of several books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, and Diabetes Without Drugs. She also writes a nationally syndicated health column and shares practical, easy-to-understand guidance with readers around the world.
