How to Make Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
This roasted butternut squash soup recipe is topped with crispy bacon, thyme and cream. Simply put this soup is fall in the bowl.
Why You’ll Love This Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Thyme
It’s the season to make butternut squash everything. And why not? Squash is a great addition to your fall menu, as you can literally create anything you wish with this magical fall vegetable, from simply roasting it to making a butternut squash lasagna, and so much more!
Butternut squash, bacon, thyme and a little cream with are a perfect combo. Here is everything you need to make this fall soup recipe.
Ingredients to Make this Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- large butternut squash
- vegetable stock
- yellow onion, chopped
- garlic cloves, chopped
- tbsp olive oil
- sprigs of thyme
- bacon strips, chopped or crumbled
- ground nutmeg
- salt & pepper to taste
Make a Vegetarian Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk
Tip: To make a vegetarian version of butternut squash soup recipe you can use coconut milk instead of stock, and of course skip the bacon. I would still recommend adding thyme to your soup, and vegetable stock to thin the squash out.
How to Roast a Butternut Squash
The toughest part about making this butternut squash soup recipe is probably cutting the squash in half!
Its exterior is a little tough so you’ll have to use some serious muscle to carefully split this vegetable in two halves. Once you cut the squash in half, scoop the seeds out and then drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
While my butternut squash roasts in the oven, I like to prepare all of my other ingredients. So when the butternut squash is fully cooked, I can simply add it to the onion and stock mixture I have on the stove.
P.S. We make this roasted butternut squash soup recipe with cream for our Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s been a mainstay on our menu for almost 10 years.
Butternut squash, bacon, thyme and a little cream with are a perfect combo. If you’re thinking you have all of the ingredients, but want to skip the thyme, I’d urge you to trust me on this.
Thyme adds such great earthiness and flavor to the butternut squash that whenever I’ve made the squash soup without it, I missed the additional flavor. Thyme has really grown on me, and I’ve even experimented with adding it to cocktails.
For a while, we were on a turkey bacon kick, but more recently I switched back to regular (low sodium) bacon. Turns out there isn’t that much of a difference between “real” bacon and turkey one, in terms of salt and calories.
A version of this butternut squash soup recipe also suggests pancetta—which also makes for a really nice addition.
I also find that people really love adding things to their soup, so when they see you sprinkling bacon on top of their squash soup, it gets them pretty excited!
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 bacon strips ( chopped)
- 1/8 tbsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Set the squash on a baking sheet, cut sides up. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast the squash for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender.
- Scoop the squash out of the skins into a bowl. In a large, heavy stockpot, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the squash and the stock and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
- Add 3 of the thyme sprigs and sprinkle of nutmeg.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 20 or so minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, cut bacon into small cubes, cook until crispy.
- Let the soup cool, then pick out and discard the thyme sprigs. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until thick and creamy-smooth, about 1 minute per batch.
- Garnish soup with sprigs of thyme and crispy bacon.