Butternut Squash Carrot Ginger Soup

ingredients

A full list of ingredients with amount required are listed on the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Butternut squash - look for a squash that's a consistent beige colour with no cuts or bruising. I used to roast butternut squash for soup, however I find that boiling it cuts down significantly on the prep times and still tastes amazing!

If you want to use roasted butternut squash in this recipe, you can do that and scoop it out!

Carrots -a couple of carrots adds a lot of flavour in this soup. For a change, you could substitute sweet potato for the carrots. Use regular or even baby carrots.

Onions - you can use cooking onions for this recipe or sweet onions such as Vidalia onions.

Butter - this recipe started out with a lot more butter and cream. I've paired it down and it tastes delicious with less. I would highly recommend butter although you could use margarine as well. When you're sautéing the vegetables, you can substitute olive oil for the butter.

Chicken stock - if you have homemade on hand, use that. If not, use any of the pre-packaged that you can buy in the grocery store in the soup section. There are many varieties out there. Vegetarian? Substitute vegetable broth!

Salt & black pepper - I've been using a sea salt grinder for awhile now and I love it, but you can use regular table salt. I always hesitate to say 'salt to taste' because then you cannot measure the sodium in a recipe. I've indicated ½ tsp. for this recipe but you can add more to suit your taste. The type of chicken broth, (or chicken stock) that you use will also add additional salt flavour to the recipe, so keep that in mind.

Ground ginger - the ginger gives this soup that nice little zip that Butternut Squash soup is known for. You can add more to taste here. Our family prefers ½ teaspoon of ground ginger. You can also use fresh ginger.

Dried thyme - if you're going to use fresh, I would recommend about 2 tsp. of fresh.

Fresh garlic cloves (optional) - Roasted garlic can add a depth of flavor in creamy soups.

If you really want heavy cream in this soup, I would recommend adding in ¼ cup of half and half or light cream :). I won't judge!!

Step by Step Instructions

This easy soup recipe comes together quickly and once you have it in your recipe list, you'll want to make it over and over. Homemade soup is easy to make! Let me show you how:

1. Peel and chop butternut squash into 1-2" cubes. Set aside. I find the easiest way to peel squash is with a vegetable peeler or large, sharp knife.

2. Peel and thinly slice carrots and set in bowl with butternut squash.

3. Peel and chop onions and place in bowl with squash and carrots.

4. In a large pot (I like to use a Dutch oven), melt butter. (You can also use coconut oil) 

5. Add in chopped vegetables, salt and pepper and saute for 10 minutes, stirring often. 

6. Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring occasionally. 

7. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25-30 minutes until squash is very tender. 

8. Using a blender, carefully pour in the mixture and process/blend for 1-2 minutes until soup is creamy. (you can also use an immersion blender or any regular blender or food processor).

9. Return soup to cooking pot and heat to almost boiling. Add additional chicken stock if a runnier soup is desired. (Start with ½ cup when adding stock into the soup)