Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is so good. I love it as a sauce, in lasagna, roasted, and in soup. But have you ever experienced the tormenting chore of peeling a butternut squash? It's really difficult (or maybe it's just me?), especially with the dull knives I've had for 10+ years (I really should do something about that). To make things easier for me, I prefer to get my butternut squash from Costco in the refrigerated section. It comes in a package already cubed. The recipe below assumes you have cubed squash. But when I can't get cubed squash, I use one of two methods to cook or peel my squash. 

Method 1: Whole Roasting

The name is pretty self-explanatory. You cut the squash in half, deseed it, and slather the cut sides with olive oil and salt and pepper. Then roast in the oven with the cut sides facing down. When they're done roasting, you let them cool until you can handle them and scoop out the butternut squash and add it to the soup. 

Method 2: Microwave

With this method we use our trusty microwave to soften the peel of the squash. Take your squash and liberally pierce it all the way around with a fork or knife. Cut the top and bottom off the squash. Place on a microwave safe plate and cook it on high for 3-4 minutes. Let the squash cool and then use your vegetable peeler or sharp knife to peel the skin. It comes off much easier this way. Then you're free to deseed and chop it up. 

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Servings: 8

3.5 lbs butternut squash, cubed (~2 medium squashes)

1 Tb olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tb butter

2 small onions, diced

2 small granny smith apples, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

5-6 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature, cubed

salt and pepper to taste

• While prepping and chopping vegetables, preheat oven to 400F.
• In a large bowl, drizzle butternut squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix, making sure all the squash is covered. Place butternut squash on baking sheet and roast in oven for 30-40 minutes. When done, take out of the oven and set aside.
• In large soup pot, saute onions, apples, and celery in butter for 7-8 minutes or until onions and cooked through. 
• Add roasted butternut squash, 5 cups of vegetable stock, cinnamon, nutmeg, onion powder, and garlic powder to pot. 
• Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes 
• Stir in cream cheese to soup.
• Then using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.
• If soup is a little thick, add more vegetable stock, until it reaches a consistency you enjoy. 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Serve with warm bread and enjoy!