This amazingly smooth butternut squash soup will become a winter favorite. With roasted garlic added, there is a deep flavor that will satisfy your craving for comfort food.
How healthy is butternut squash soup?
Butternut squash soup is low in calories, fat, and carbs. It’s a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber. No matter what diet you follow, this is a great choice.
How do you peel a butternut squash?
Because of its shape, butternut squash can be very awkward to peel. These tips will make it easier:
- Microwave the entire squash for two minutes first. This softens the otherwise very tough outer skin.
- Cut the squash in half so you have one half that is the neck and the other half is the round part with the seeds.
- Cut each of the halves in half so they have flat stable edges to rest on the cutting board.
- Use a vegetable peeler or serrated knife to remove the peel from the squash.
Another option is to roast the butternut squash halves before you peel them. They will take longer to roast, but when they cool, the skin will slip right off.
And keep the seeds! Just like its cousin the pumpkin, the seeds of a butternut squash can be roasted and eaten.
How do you roast garlic?
You can roast garlic right with the butternut squash for this soup. The roasted garlic adds a dimension to the flavor that you don’t want to miss.
Follow these steps for perfect roasted garlic:
- Peel the outer layer of papery skin from the entire bulb of garlic. Don’t separate the individual cloves yet.
- Cut the top off the bulb so that you can see the cloves
- Drizzle the bulb with olive oil so it drains down inside each of the cloves
- Place the entire bulb in a Dutch oven or cocotte. If you don’t have either of these, you can cover the garlic with foil.
- Let the garlic roast with the butternut squash. When it’s done, slide all of the cloves out of the paper.
What is a good garnish for butternut squash soup?
This soup may look rather plain in the bowl, but the flavour is amazing! Add some garnish to dress it up and add even more flavour. Ideas include
- Black pepper
- Oregano
- Sage
- Cayenne pepper
- Thyme
- Cilantro
- Sour cream
- Yogurt
- Creme fraiche
What to do with leftovers
Butternut squash soup will last in the refrigerator for four days. You can reheat a single bowl, or if you have a large portion to reheat, use a large pot on the stove top.
This is a great dish for meal prep. You can make it in advance for a quick weeknight meal. Or, divide it into single servings and be prepared with a healthy lunch for several days.
NOTE: The soup will thicken the longer it sits. For a thinner consistency, you can add a little water to the soup while reheating it.
This soup also freezes well. It will keep well in the freezer for three months.
Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash - (about 2.5 lbs/1200g)
- 1 bulb garlic
- olive oil
- 1 liter broth - (vegetable for vegan/vegetarian versions, beef for carnivore version)
- thyme
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F (200°C).
- Peel and deseed butternut squash and dice into 1" pieces.
- Put butternut squash on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pour about a tablespoon of olive oil on it and move around with your hands to make sure all dice are well coated with oil. Then spread out evenly into one layer.
- Peel off the paper-like outer layer of the garlic bulb, leaving intact the skins of the individual cloves and being careful to keep the bulb as a whole.
- Cut the top part of the garlic in order to expose the upper part of every clove (see video).
- Drizzle a few drops of olive oil onto each clove.
- Place garlic bulb in cocotte and cover.
- Put butternut squash and garlic in the oven for about 40 minutes or until soft and golden.
- Take out from the oven and transfer squash (whithout peel if you didn't peel) and peeled garlic into a pot, add broth, 1 teaspoon very finely chopped fresh Thyme and bring to the boil.
- Once hot, remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Add more broth or water if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with a little pepper and a string of thyme.
Kersten R Dryden says
Nice, simple recipe, thank you! A small time/work saving tip that takes a few minutes longer, is that you can pretty much toss the whole squash in the oven as is and roast it without any prep! Stab it a few times to let steam escape. I made this with 2 heads of garlic 😁
Lorena says
Thank you Kersten, and yes, I write about it in the blog post :)
kelsi says
I’ve made this twice since finding your recipe a few weeks ago. So wonderful and simple!
Lorena says
Hi Kelsi, I’m so happy you like it. Thank you so much for coming back, commenting and leaving a rating. I really appreciate it!!
Marie says
I put roasted garlic in my pumpkin soup recipe so know how great it is. This recipe looks great
Lorena says
Thank you Marie :) I hope you’ll love this one just as much.
Trang says
I’m a big fan of butternut squash and I love soup. I need to make this soon!
Lorena says
Yes Trang! Make it, you’ll love it!! :D
Adrienne says
Made this tonight. Oh, so amazing. Next time I will use less thyme. I had no idea how much to use, so I guessed. I probably added 3/4 tsp (and even used two butternut squashes), yet it was still too strong. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you
Lorena says
Did you use fresh thyme or dried thyme? I used 1 teaspoon fresh thyme and didn’t feel the taste was very dominant at all. If you used dry though it will probably have been pretty strong. 1/4-1/2 tsp dried thyme should be plenty :) I’m so glad you still liked the soup though. Super excited when people try my recipes :)
Becca says
This looks like a tasty recipe, but I assume you meant for the cook to peel the garlic after roasting? You may want to add this for the benefit of novice cooks.
Lorena says
Ohhhh, thanks for that tip Becca! I will do that!
Florence says
I am making it right now…nothing like a bowl of homemade soup! Thank you for the recipe.
Lorena says
Yaaaay!!! I’m so excited for you Florence. I hope you like it as much as I do :D
Pam says
Thank you for a lovely recipe. I used 2 med sized potatoes and added a red long pepper too plus a hint of chili paste… Great soup and so full of nourishment. Perfect for a windy dull day in UK!
Lorena says
Thank you for coming back and leaving a comment Pam. You have no idea how happy it makes me when people try my recipes and like them ?
Marenda says
Not sure how to leave a comment so I’ll just ask here can I add coconut milk to make it creamy
Lorena says
It is already pretty creamy but of course you could add coconut milk. I’m not sure how it would taste though. Coconut milk has a pretty strong flavor that overpowers all other flavors. The roasted garlic would be lost. You can always try and add a little of the soup into a small bowl and add a tablespoon of coconut milk to test how it would taste, before adding to the big pot :)
Juanita says
I wondering that roasted garlic butter squash soup can cook in slow cooker? Thanks hope hear from you soon!
Lorena says
Not really. Roasting vegetables changes their chemistry. Roasting garlic in the oven makes it turn sweet and nutty and the butternut squash turns sweet, too. You can of course cook it in a slow cooker but it will taste compleeetely different. If you decide to try, leave the garlic out. I doubt great amounts of unroasted garlic taste good in a soup.
Joan says
I had roasted a butternut squash last fall intending to make squash soup in the dead of winter. Did not happen until today. Thawed out the squash and let it drain to see how much liquid there was. Saved the liquid and ended up putting it in the soup, it was very thick. Soup was excellent and the recipe a keeper for sure. Did not have fresh thyme so used 1/2 teaspoon of ground.
Lorena says
Great Joan! I’m glad you were finally able to use that butternut squash. Hope you won’t ever freeze it for that long again now that you have a recipe you like ;)
Jessi Zegarelli says
Hi! I’d love to make this recipe a day (or even two) ahead. We have a vegetarian attending Thanksgiving and I want her to have a special yummy dinner too but with so much cooking I need to get this one done early. What are your thoughts?
Lorena says
Absolutely no problem. I had the soup’s leftovers reheated the next day. You can either cook it one day ahead, store in airtight container in refrigerator and then reheat over low heat stirring often, OR you can cook it right now and then freeze it. To defrost, take out of freezer the night before Thanksgiving dinner and let thaw in refrigerator. Then heat over low heat stirring often.
John says
This looks great and I am making it tonight! How much broth should be used? All I see is “1 broth” Thank you!
Lorena says
It’s 1 l = 1 liter (that’s 4 metric cups or 4 1/4 US cups). Will change the l for liter in order to avoid confusion. Thanks for pointing that out. I hope you like the soup. Let me know once you’ve tried it :)
John says
This recipe was great! I made it for a dinner party and then again when visiting my parents for the weekend. Compliments all around! Also, I added roasted pumpkin seeds right before serving. Thank you!
Lorena says
I just read this comment out loud to my husband because I HAD to share my excitement and happiness. Someone really made one of my recipes and on top of that liked it. Yippy Yeeeey! Thanks for coming back and letting me know. Roasted pumpkin seeds on top sounds delicious!!
Brooke says
Two years later, I’m sure you know more people have made your recipe(s). BUT I must tell you, I LOVE this soup!!! I’ve made it many times, even doubled it for freezing some for rainy days. It’s so delicious and SIMPLE!! Thanks for sharing it with us! ;)
Lorena says
You made my day Brooke!! Even after two years I still get jumping-on-the-sofa kind of excited when people tell me they’ve made my recipe and like it! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!!
Mariel says
Gorgeous photos! I just want to eat this soup right off the page! Looks perfect for the season.
Lorena says
Thank you Mariel :)
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
I would marry this soup! All of your photos are beautiful. I want to grab my spoon and dig right in. I love the mini Staub’s too. Good luck with your move!
Lorena says
Thank you Ashley!!! How very kind of you to say all this. I can’t believe my eyes whenever I read such kind words about my recipes and photographs. The mini Staubs I found used on a page like craigslist, I was so thrilled to find them there and I never thought they’d still be available because they were announced in JULY.
Kristina says
such a simple ingredient list for such a beautiful soup! sounds very flavorful!
Lorena says
Thank you Kristina! “Simple” is my favorite recipe description ;)