I’m serving up a bowl of silky, spicy, golden deliciousness. No, not the apple, I’m talking about Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup!
Butternut squash has become a staple in my kitchen, even though I had never had it until a few year ago when I made this soup, followed by this pasta dish. They were both delicious, but peeling and cubing butternut squash is what I would consider hard work, so I kinda forgot about that particular squash until a year or so ago.
I saw a recipe (I don’t remember where, Food Network, a blog, a magazine clearly I spend way too much time looking at food…) where they simply cut the squash in half, roasted it, and scooped the flesh out. So simple, so easy, and I couldn’t even think of it on my own… Anyway, after this realization I started making big batches of butternut squash soup and playing around with different flavor combinations. No surprise, the Mexican-ish version is my favorite!
This soup is so, so easy to make (roast, scoop, simmer, puree), is packed full of spicy, smokey flavor (chipotle peppers I love youuuu), and freezes beautifully (hello easy weeknight dinner)! Really, what more could you want? I serve mine with hot sauce (I like the Cholula chipotle flavor, it goes really well with the flavors in the soup, and sour cream because you can never go wrong with sour cream) for a tasty lunch or dinner.
P.S. You can totally roast the seeds just like you would for a pumpkin, they make a great topping for the soup.
- - 1 butternut squash
- - 2 teaspoons olive oil
- - salt and pepper
- - 1/2 sweet onion
- - 2 tablespoons olive oil
- - 2 cloves garlic
- - 2 teaspoons cumin
- - 1 teaspoon paprika
- - 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- - 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from the canned peppers (adjust to your desired level of heat)
- - 26 to 36 oz chicken broth (varies depending on size of squash and desired soup consistency)
- - Chipotle hot sauce ( optional for serving)
- - Sour cream (optional for serving)
- - Preheat oven to 400F
- - Line a baking sheet with foil or a baking mat
- - Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (I recommend roasting these!)
- - Cover each squash half with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, rubbing to cover
- - Sprinkle with salt and pepper
- - Place cut side down on the baking sheet
- - Bake at 400F for 45-50 min until flesh is tender (you should be able to prick with a fork without resistance)
- - Once tender, remove from oven, flip so cut side is up, and allow to cool for 10 minutes
- - While the squash is cooling, chop onion and mince garlic
- - Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot, add the onion and cook until transparent (about 5 minutes
- - Add the garlic and spices, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes
- - Scoop the butternut squash flesh from the skin and add to the pan
- - Add the chipotles, adobo sauce, and about 20 oz of chicken broth, stir to combine
- - Bring to a simmer, cover, and allow to cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
- - Uncover, and remove chipotles, if you want a a milder soup discard the chipotles, for more heat remove chipotle stems, seeds, and return pepper(s) to the soup mix
- - Using an immersion blender puree the mixture, adding broth, until you reach your desired consistency (for this soup, which is a little thicker I has a smaller squash and used 28 oz)
- - Ladle into bowls and serve, topping with hot sauce and sour cream as desired
- - You can substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth, but I think chicken broth has more flavor
- - If you don't have an immersion blender carefully transfer the soup mixture to a blender and mix until smooth, being sure to open the blender lid every few seconds so the hot mixture does not blow the top off the blender
Seriously, yummmm
