Butternut Squash Soup

So I've told you all before about my recipe search for "the one" in every culinary category. Well a semi-related aspiration of mine is to have a perfect, go-to recipe for every local produce when it it's in season. I know, kind of big and kind of vague. But you know when you walk into the grocery store and first thing in that produce section is a huge display of whatever is in peak season at that very moment? And they're beautiful, and on sale, and if you're lucky, local? And you sit there staring at it thinking, "hmmm I should buy some of these, but what will I make with them?" Well every time something is is season I get inundated with requests for recipes. "What do I do with all of this zucchini??" (Answer) "How do I use up lots of tomatoes?" (Answer A. Answer B. Answer C.) "Someone just gave me a crate of cherries--help!" (Can do.) So right now, you guessed it. Butternut squash. I've had so many people ask me for a soup recipe but I didn't have one! So I decided that would be the next thing to cross of my list and here we have one.

I have issues with a lot of squash soup recipes I've eaten. One is that they're often too sweet. People try to make them taste like dessert with pumpkin pie spice and sugar and all that jazz. Not my thing. I want something I can dip a sandwich in and pie flavored dessert soup just won't cut it. The other thing is the texture. Sometimes they're just downright slimy. I packed this one with vegetables and and added a potato to add smoothness and also some bulk so it will fill you up better. Well, ya know, as well as a pureed vegetable soup can. And lastly, a lot of recipes have heavy cream in them. While that tastes pretty good, if I'm going to spend calories on a soup, I'd like it to be one with a pound of cheese, not a bunch of vegetables! So we thought this version was a homerun at our house and I hope you like it too!

In case you're totally confused, this is a butternut squash. You could use a variety of other squashes for this recipe as well.


Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 T olive oil
1 T butter
1/2 C sliced carrots (abt 1 med carrot or 12 baby ones)
2 stalks celery, diced
1 C diced onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 medium butternut squash, (abt 4 cups peeled and diced)
1 medium potato, diced (about 2 C diced)
32 oz chicken broth (that's one box/carton)
1 T brown sugar
1 1/2 t kosher salt
3/4 t dried sage
1 pinch cayenne pepper or a douse of hot sauce

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and butter. When butter is melted add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic


Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add the squash.


Then add potato, sage, salt, red pepper, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 30-40 minutes or until everything is tender. Check a piece of squash and also a piece of celery and potato to make sure they area fork tender. Stir in 1 T brown sugar.

Use an immersion blender, or transfer soup to a regular blender and puree until smooth.

I topped mine with a little parsley so it didn't look so plain! A small drizzle of heavy cream or sour cream is also tasty.


This is a really light soup, so it works great as an appetizer, or along side a sandwich and/or salad. I love it with croutons on top and grilled ham and cheese on the side.

And hey, did you all check out Kate's pizza party? You could win $100!