Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Post updated: April 29, 2020

It's Fall y'all!  This is, hands down, my favourite time of year!  Sweaters, hiking in crunchy, colourful leaves, hot chocolate on the porch and soups and stews make a come back on dinner tables.  It is my bliss. Even though here in south-western Ontario we've been experiencing a rather warm Autumn so far it's time to get out the soup pot and start making homemade soup!

Yesterday I whipped up this soup for supper and it was utterly delicious!  It was as smooth as Barry White, had a nice kick of spice and even a wee bit of heat.  

This soup is Fall in a bowl!  

It's also pretty healthy because it not only has a hearty dose of veg but it only has two tablespoons of butter in it.  That means your daily butter quotient is lower so you can slather more of it on the homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread you'll whip up along side this soup, right?  Isn't that how it works? Gosh, I hope that's how it works.

This soup is easy enough to whip up on a week day night for you and yours and if you prep your bread maker ahead of time and have wee hands helping with a salad dinner is on the table in no time.  Happy Fall!



2 tbsp butter (or margarine to keep it dairy free)
1 small onion - finely chopped
2 1/4" piece of fresh ginger - peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves - minced
2 lbs butternut squash - peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes (see note below - April 29/20)
3 cups water
1/2 cup orange juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp brown sugar

Garnish - sour cream and/or a dash of cinnamon

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Add onion and cook for 2 minutes.  Add ginger, garlic and squash.  Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the squash has softened.

Remove from heat.  Using an immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth.  Stir in orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and brown sugar.  Blend again briefly to allow spices, especially the cinnamon, to blend well with the soup.

Serve immediately with homemade bread and a green salad.

Note: If you don't have an immersion blender, use your regular blender and carefully blend in two batches.  And then go buy yourself an immersion blender.  You deserve it.

Note - April 29, 2020 I've been regularly making this soup for 3.5 years now and have found an easier way to deal with the squash. If cutting and peeling the squash is a chore, put the whole squash in the oven at 350F for about an hour (or until a knife can easily pierce the flesh). The skin will look a little charred but it's easy to peel, saves your wrists from cutting it up raw and it's simple to scoop out the seeds and dice. If you use this method, reduce your cook time for the squash considerably.