Winter Squash Soup

This recipe came about entirely because of one afternoon spent studying in a Panera Bread in Minneapolis and my subsequent obsession with their Autumn Squash soup. If you didn't get a chance to try it, it's insanely delicious and seriously addictive. Since all good seasonal items eventually are discontinued, I played with my own recipe for Butternut Squash Soup until I was satisfied that I had created a close copycat version of the original. I'm happy to say it received a very enthusiastic approval from my family when I served it over the holidays, and I know your families will love it too.


All varieties of winter squash are naturally sweet, rich sources of vitamins A and C as well as fiber. I love cooking with it because there are so many different varieties and you can readily find in the dead of winter at your grocery store. For this recipe I prefer to use butternut squash because it's very fleshy with few seeds and as an added bonus is very easy to peel, making it ideal for dicing and roasting for this soup. Other varieties, such as buttercup or blue hubbard squash, could also be used but I feel they are more tedious to peel, so I reserve these for roasting whole and serving as a side dish. But by all means, use what is seasonally available at your market - any variety of winter squash will work in this recipe. If you are strongly opposed to dicing and roasting a whole squash or simply are short on time, you can substitute two 10 oz packages of frozen winter squash for the whole squash in this recipe. Do not feel guilty about this - some studies have shown that frozen vegetables and fruits may actually boast slightly greater concentrations of nutrients than their fresh counterparts, particularly in areas where produce has to be shipped in from warmer growing regions.

The use of both winter squash and canned pureed pumpkin create a velvety texture that tastes like it was created with generous amounts of cream and butter, but it wasn't. I also like to use a little apple cider to bring some extra sweet notes to the soup, but you could stick to broth if you prefer a more savory dish. Lastly, I finish this with a little fat free half and half, just to add a little extra creamy richness to the soup. As always, add the half and half just before serving and do not bring the soup back to a boil or you'll end up with white flecks of dairy solids in your soup. If you want this to be a vegan or dairy free dish, you could substitute a little light coconut milk or skip this step altogether, it's plenty rich without it. At my dinner table I like to serve this with a simple kale salad and a slice of my Honey Whole Wheat Bread for a comforting winter meal. This recipe will yield about 2 quarts of soup, serving 8-10 as an appetizer or 6-8 as a main dish. If you're cooking for one or two, put a quart away in the freezer for a rainy (or snowy) day when you don't feel like cooking. At just 115 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving, you could enjoy this guilt free any time you like. Enjoy!

Winter Squash Soup, Serves 8
1-2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1-15 oz can pumpkin
1-15 oz can vegetable broth
2 cups apple cider
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt to taste
1/2 c fat free half and half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place prepared squash on a large baking sheet, drizzle with oil and toss to coat well. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender. Transfer squash to a 4 quart stock pot or dutch oven, add pumpkin, vegetable broth, cider, honey, curry powder, ginger, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over medium low heat for 15 minutes until heated through. Either transfer to a blender to puree, or using an immersion blender, process until smooth. Return to pot and add half and half if using, and heat through but do not return to a boil. Add salt to taste, and serve immediately.