Hoodies, boots, crisp cool air, pumpkin spice everything (literally), it is officially fall in South Jersey, and one of my fav go-to harvest time recipes is Butternut Squash Soup! SO easy, and so versatile; in under 30 minutes you can have a warming, healthy bowl of soup ready to go!

This soup freezes great, so make sure to prepare a big batch. It is easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but def elegant enough to serve at your next dinner party. (I serve it all the time at dinner parties that I cater!).

If you don’t have all the veggie ingredients handy no frets, I have made the soup many times without a carrot, or without celery, or with only a quarter of an apple, or no apple at all!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or water for an oil-free version

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 apples (any kind) cored and chopped (no need to peel!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 7 to 8 cups)

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock, or for vegetarian option veggie broth

1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves or 3 TBSP dried

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Add the butter/oil/water to a medium-sized pot, over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and apple and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic and cook, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the squash and the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the sage.
4. Continue to boil until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat.
5. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If you do not have a hand blender, you can puree, in batches (few cups at a time) in a food processor.
6. Serve topped with Cinnamon Garlic Croutons (recipe below)

Cinnamon Garlic Croutons

Ingredients

3 tablespoons melted butter

2-3 cups cubed baguette, Italian roll, bread – whatever you have on hand

2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients (except bread) in a bowl then toss bread cubes in the mixture, stir to coat.
3. Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then stir and continue baking for 10 more minutes, until toasted. Serve on top of soup.

Chef’s tip – cutting some types of squash, such as Butternut or Spaghetti Squash, can be difficult because their skin is so tough. I find that poking a few holes in the skin with an ice pick, and then heating the squash in the microwave for 5 to 8 minutes will soften the skin enough to make it easy to cut or peel.

Watch out, though – DON’T DO THIS WITH PUMPKINS!  Unless, of course, you’d like your microwave to look like this:

Hope you will make this easy, tasty soup – let me know how you enjoyed it!

Click here for a printable copy of the Butternut Squash Soup Recipe