Butternut squash soup is definitely a winter favourite in my house. The apple adds to the sweetness while the sage balances out the sweet with it’s earthy peppery flavour. Butternut squash themselves have such a unique flavour that is sweet and nutty with a texture that is quite dense and creamy making it perfect for soup.
I grow my own butternut squash I find it such an easy plant to grow. Although be warned it becomes a pretty large vine. So be prepared for it to take over. It may also be slow to take off but once it starts growing it can be hard to keep up with it. The squash themselves once picked will store for a long time which is another reason I love them, as there isn’t a rush to use them.
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Ingredients for butternut squash soup
- Butternut squash. You will need a medium to large sized squash the nice thing with this soup is that you don’t need to be super accurate when it comes to the weight and size of your squash as long as it isn’t too small then I would suggest using two. Just use your own judgement here. The skin of the squash may be edible but for this soup recipe it will need to be removed along with the seeds
- Apple. Most eating apples will work well I suggest using a basic gala, pink lady or spartan apple. Green apples don’t tend to be as sweet and we want that added sweetness for the soup.
- Sage. You can use fresh or dried whatever is easiest for you to find but if you can get fresh that would be ideal. Roasted sage leaves are amazing and worth a try
- Onion and celery. The classic combo for any soup base.
- Chicken broth/stock. You can also use vegetable if you would prefer it to be vegetarian. I always use a bouillon it is what I grew up using and I always have some to hand, but it you like carton broth then that works just as well.
- Whipping cream. This soup is already quite creamy so you can omit adding addition cream to it. I love adding a little to round out all the flavours.
- Pantry staple ingredients also include Olive oil, butter, salt and pepper to taste.
How to make the butternut squash soup
prep
Preheat your oven to 400F, 200C, gas mark 6, Use the convection roast if your oven has this setting.
Peel, deseed and cut your butternut squash in to cubes. This doesn’t need to be precise around one to two inches in size is a good gauge to go by.
Peel, core and cut you apple into cubes as well again around one inch in size.
Roast
Place the butternut squash and apple into a roasting pan along with the sage leaves fresh if you have it if not then dried sage will be fine. Drizzle over some olive oil and lightly season with some salt and pepper. I invested in a stone roasting dish and it has been a game changer I love how things taste when roasted in the stone its hard to explain but it makes a difference.
Place into the preheated oven and roast for around 45 minutes or until the squash is thoroughly cooked and is nice and soft.
While the squash and apples are cooking we are going to cook the onions and celery they could be roasted along with the other ingredients but I have found that they tend to char more when they are roasted and this really affects the flavour. By softening them in butter on the stovetop they maintain their sweetness.
Saute
So over a medium heat melt some butter in a heavy bottomed pot and add in roughly chopped onion and celery. We want them to sweat, what this means is to cook them over a medium low heat until the start to look translucent and shiny.
Pour in the broth/stock whichever you have decided to use. Bring to the boil then reduce the temperature to a low simmer. Cover with a lid and leave to cook while the other ingredients roast in the oven.
Blend
Once the squash is cooked we now want to combine the roasted ingredients with the onions and broth. Because we want a smooth soup we will be blending the ingredients either with a counter top blender or and immersion blender.
I prefer the immersion blender so I just add the roasted squash, apple and sage to the onions and broth. Blend until the butternut squash soup is nice and smooth.
Add in the whipping cream if you have chosen to use it. Taste the soup and see if it needs more salt and pepper.
Serve
Serve with a hot crusty bread roll slathered with butter.
Enjoy.
Butternut squash soup with apple and sage
A beautiful creamy sweet and nutty butternut squash soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium to large butternut squash
- 1 Apple, gala, pink lady or something similar
- 8 sage leaves or 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 medium cooking onion
- 1 stick of celery
- 4 Cups chicken broth/stock
- 1/4 Cup whipping cream
- knob of butter
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400F, 200C, gas mark 6, Use the convection roast if your oven has this setting.
- Peel, deseed and cut your butternut squash in to cubes about 1-2 inches in size
- Peel, core and cut you apple into cubes as well again around one inch in size.
- Place the butternut squash and apple into a roasting pan along with the sage leaves fresh if you have it if not then dried sage will be fine. Drizzle over some olive oil and lightly season with some salt and pepper.
- Place into the preheated oven and roast for around 35 minutes or until the squash is thoroughly cooked and is nice and soft.
- While the squash and apples are cooking we are going to cook the onions and celery they could be roasted along with the other ingredients but by softening them in butter on the stovetop they maintain their sweetness.
- Over a medium heat melt some butter in a heavy bottomed pot and add in roughly chopped onion and celery. We want them to sweat, what this means is to cook them over a medium low heat until the start to look translucent and shiny.
- Pour in the broth/stock whichever you have decided to use. Bring to the boil then reduce the temperature to a low simmer. Cover with a lid and leave to cook while the other ingredients roast in the oven.
- Once the squash is cooked we now want to combine the roasted ingredients with the onions and broth. Because we want a smooth soup we will be blending the ingredients either with a counter top blender or and immersion blender.
- I prefer the immersion blender so I just add the roasted squash, apple and sage to the onions and broth. Blend until the butternut squash soup is nice and smooth.
- Add in the whipping cream if you have chosen to use it. Taste the soup and see if it needs more salt and pepper.
Serve with a hot crusty bread roll slathered with butter.
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