Butternut Squash Soup w/ Roasted Garlic + Sage

So you have a butternut squash sitting on your counter just…staring at you. You thought it would be nice to buy because, well, fall but you’re not exactly sure what to do with it. This one’s for you.

Watch me make it here on Instagram!

Active time: ~20 minutes + 40 minutes for roasting

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients

⅓ cup raw cashews (optional)

1 large butternut squash, cut into bite-size pieces

1 medium spanish onion, cut into quarters

2 medium shallots, cut into quarters

1 head of garlic, halved

3 fresh sage leaves

3 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

2 tbs butter (or vegan butter)

4 cups (900 mL) vegetable broth

1/2 cup heavy cream (or coconut cream), plus more for garnish

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 

2. Place cashews in a small bowl and cover with water. Set aside. Skip this step if you don’t have cashews.

3. Grab a large, oven-safe pot or dutch oven. Add your squash, onions, shallots, sage leaves, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Toss to coat.

4. Coat the open side of your garlic in the remaining 1 tbs olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch more of salt. Make room in the pot and add garlic, open side down.

5. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, or until squash is fork tender. Mix halfway to ensure even roasting.

6. Remove from the oven and transfer roasted veggies, vegetable broth and cashews to a blender. Blend until smooth. Depending on the size of your blender, you might have to work in batches.

7. Transfer back to the pot and heat on medium. Add cream and butter and mix until even. 

8. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add apple cider vinegar and taste, adjust with more salt, pepper and vinegar until your taste buds are screaming! 

Playing Around

The cashews are optional but they’re a great thickening agent. I don’t know about you, but I like my soup to be an almost curry-like consistency — it makes it that much better for scooping and dipping whatever bread you have on hand. So go ahead and skip the cashews but if you’re at the store and you see them, this is the perfect opportunity to play with a new ingredient.

If you don’t have a butternut squash sitting on your counter but you do have a hubbard squash, delicata squash, buttercup squash, acorn squash, sugar pumpkin — or heck, some sweet potatoes and carrots chilling in the crisper, go ahead and substitute them. It’s also fun to mix and match, try the recipe with acorn squash, sweet potatoes AND carrots! I won’t judge.