I am an absolute sucker for anything Butternut Squash. Every fall I cover my counter with as many as I can (somewhat) reasonably buy.
And proceed to use it as many times, as many days, and as many ways as I can until my husband tells me it’s time to squish the squash obsession….or else.
But since we are gloriously still at the season, let me share this week’s absolute hit & how we used it up!
Butternut Squash, Tomato & Garlic Soup
For this week’s rendition, we went a bit fancy. and absolutely loaded with flavor!
I started by cutting a medium butternut squash & removing the seeds. I left the skin on for roasting, but in hindsight wished I’d pealed it. Tip for next time!
Then I sliced one onion in half, removed the top from a head of garlic & grabbed a few handfuls of tomatoes from my freezer stash.
Next I drizzled a generous amount of olive oil over everything (especially the garlic). Likely it was about 2-3 tablespoons worth.
Last but not least, I went out to my herb garden and got a few branches of oregano and a few of thyme. Those went right on top of the butternut squash.
Roast at 400 for 50 minutes
Roasting the vegetables and herbs together created the best smell in our house, before we even made the soup!
I went for a 50 minute cook time so the squash would be soft, but the tomatoes wouldn’t be burnt. It worked great!
Into my heavy soup pan, I added all of the ingredients, including the juices from the pan. It was a bit of a struggle getting the squash out of its shell fully just because it was so hot, so again, going to peal that first in the future!
Next, I added one pint (about 2 cups) of homemade beef bone broth.
This is something I made over the summer & canned. It was so delicious, and this was exactly the reason canning is such a huge advantage in my kitchen. Having all the things right at my fingertips is crucial for me to take care of my family & feed them. If you’re interested in starting your canning journey, I’d love to chat! You can also checkout my ultimate canning supply list!
Once everything was initially blended using my immersion blender, it was a bit gritty. If yours comes out that way too, don’t worry! The next step was to simmer the soup for a couple of hours. You could do a shorter time, but the longer you can let those flavors blend the better!
The Meal 🥰
After a couple hours and a second run through the immersion blender, it was finally time to eat dinner!
I love to pair this soup with cheesey chive drop biscuits. They take about 20 minutes to make, including the baking time. And they are just the perfect pairing to go with this delicious dinner!
If you’re looking for some additional protein, aside from the bone broth, I highly recommend adding bacon to the top of your soup!
It gave a salty crunch that was so perfect against the silky background of the soup!
Another idea is chicken thighs or pork strips. Both have a nice juicy and fattier content that just pairs beautifully with the richness of this soup.
What To Do With The Leftovers?
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are focusing right now on anchor meals – things that we can cook once and eat a few ways! If you missed that post and are curious, here’s the link.
This soup was no exception. To that rule.
Home canning of butternut squash soup is unsafe according to a lot of reputable sources. It’s one that I personally have not, and probably will not, attempt. But honestly up to you! Your kitchen, your rules!
Often if I have nothing immediate to use the soup for, I’ll freeze it. By far one of my best freezer soups ever! It lasts for a very long time, if the air is properly removed of course.
But this week, as this soup was part of my anchor meals, we actually used it slightly differently for our next meal. Instead of having it as another soup dish, I used the leftover as a sauce for pasta!
My boys love to have bow tie pasta, so we covered the pasta in the soup and then topped with some delicious cheese. I popped it into the oven to crisp up and come together as almost a Mac & cheese texture.
Truly it was amazing!
Try It!
If you’re looking for the coziest meal this week, definitely give this one a try! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Yum yum!
🍁🎃 Meg
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