On Sunday, E, Nathan and I were wandering the aisles of Costco when I saw chopped butternut squash in the refrigerator section. I decided it would be fun (and lets be honest, EASY) to make a butternut squash soup for dinner (it is fall after all) so I put a container in our cart. When we got home I wasn’t sure what I wanted to pair with the butternut squash. I had a few apples in the refrigerator, leftover from apple picking, so I decided to dice them up with an onion and a clove of garlic and add them to the pot. I thought apples would add a nice sweetness to the soup. I was right!
I sautéed onion, butternut squash, garlic, and apple together with a dash of pumpkin pie spice. After they had a chance to soften a bit and get a little color, I added an entire container of Trader Joe’s vegetable broth to the pot. I knew I wanted to add a little whole milk to the finished product so I kept the soup base vegetarian.
The soup came together so quickly! E and I really loved the depth of flavor that the pumpkin pie spice added and the sweetness from the apple. The whole milk added a beautiful richness to the soup. I topped each of the bowls with some pepitas, for crunch, and some roasted butternut squash and apples for some additional sweetness and texture. We each had a bowl for dinner and then took containers of it for lunch the next day. Even Nathan had a few spoonfuls and loved it!
If you are looking for an easy fall soup for dinner tonight, you MUST try this one!
Ingredients:
Butternut Squash, 1, large, diced
Apple, 1-2, large, diced
Onion, 1, large, diced
Garlic, 1 clove, finely chopped
Pumpkin Pie Spice, 1/4 teaspoon
Sea Salt, a pinch
Pepitas, for garnish
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (“EVOO”), 2 tablespoons + a drizzle
Trader Joe’s Vegetable Broth, one container
Whole Milk, just a drizzle
Roasted Butternut Squash and Apples, 1/2 cup (optional)
Directions:
- Heat a large pot on the stove top at medium heat with EVOO.
- Once the EVOO is glistening, add the onion to the pot. Sauté until the onion is slightly translucent.
- Once the onion is cooked down, add the diced butternut squash, apple and garlic to the pot. Sauté until they are slightly soft and/or have a little color. Sprinkle in the pumpkin pie spice and sea salt.
- Slowly add the vegetable broth to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer. Allow to cook partially uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the squash and apples are soft.
- Allow the soup to cool uncovered for 30 minutes. Then, using an immersion blender, blend the soup up and serve immediately. I topped ours with some pepitas, a drizzle of whole milk, EVOO and a few pieces of roasted butternut squash and apples.
