I was out shopping a few days ago with my BFF, we enjoy shopping together and usually stop somewhere for lunch. On this day we went to Panera Bread for soup. I was thinking about their wonderful Broccoli Cheddar Soup when I went in but then I saw the Autumn Squash Soup and it looked so delicious I had to try it. I was amazed at how good this stuff was, I literally wiped out the bowl with my bread. So, of course, the first thing I did when I got home was look for a knock off recipe and I found this one at cantstayoutofthekitchen.com
Although I didn't look forward to peeling and chopping up a very large butternut squash, I was hoping the results would be close to the real thing. I was actually hoping it would be just a tad less sweet, then it would be perfect.
This soup is wonderful for fall. Its rich and creamy, made with butternut squash and pumpkin with just a bit of cinnamon and a little curry. It really is good, just see if you can only eat one bowl.
BTW, I don't try to eat gluten-free but I have tried to reduce the gluten in my diet and this soup is...tada....gluten-free.
So lets make some delicious soup....you'll find complete ingredient list and directions at the end of this post.
First get all your ingredients together. I accidentally included olive oil in this picture. Its not needed for the soup but I did use it to make the roasted squash seeds for garnish (totally optional).
This is the worst part, lol. Peel and rough chop your butternut squash. Just think of it as your arm workout.
Now place the pieces on cookie sheets, drizzle with coconut oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast in a preheated 450° oven 25 - 30 minutes.
Smash them up with a potato masher (or something else that will do the job).
Add the apple juice, vegetable broth, pumpkin and half-and-half and puree with an immersion blender.
This is where I got into trouble because I no longer had an immersion blender and decided to just use my regular big blender. What a mess! The blender would only handle about a third of the soup at a time so I had to use a separate large bowl to pour the pureed soup in and then pour more soup into the blender...well you get the idea. Anyway, that's why there are no pics of this part of the process. lol
I roasted the butternut squash seeds instead of buying pumpkin seeds for the garnish. Directions below.
Making your own roasted squash seeds is easy. Rinse seeds from butternut squash and remove large pieces of fiber. Dab with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Toss in about a tablespoon olive oil and some salt. Spread out on a cookie sheet and roast in a preheated 300° oven for about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 extra large butternut squash
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 15-oz. can Libby's Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 1/2 cups apple juice
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1.4 teaspoon black pepper
- roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish (or make your own roasted squash seeds, see directions above)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- Peel squash.
- Remove seeds and cut into chunks.
- Place in baking dish or on cookie sheet and drizzle with oil.
- Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Bake at 450° for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender.
- Mash squash with a potato masher and place in a large stock pot.
- Add pumpkin, apple juice, half-and-half, and vegetable broth.
- Puree ingredients with an immersion blender until well mixed.
- Add honey, curry, cinnamon, salt and pepper and heat through about 10-15 minutes at a low simmer.
- To serve, garnish bowls of soup with roasted pumpkin or squash seeds.
Notes:
Adjust the apple juice, vegetable broth and half-and-half according to how large your butternut squash is. If the squash is smaller, decrease liquids. If it's a whopper you may have to increase this amount.
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