Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

By Tamara Edson
@Somebody66

I perused multiple recipes for a winter squash soup to make for Thanksgiving this year... and I ended up coming up with my own version. I made mine quite spicy, though, of course the heat can be toned down for those who can't tolerate it. Either way, the flavor is wonderful and the heartiness of the soup is very satisfying.

Rating:

★★★★★ 1 vote

Prep:

30 Min

Cook:

2 Hr 30 Min

Method:

Stove Top

Ingredients

2 large: fresh butternut squash
1 large: yellow onion
3 large: celery stalks, diced
2 large: carrots, diced
2 Tbsp: fresh garlic, finely chopped
2-3 Tbsp: unsalted butter
2 Tbsp: olive oil, extra virgin
2-3 box: low sodium chicken stock
1 Tbsp: fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 can(s): (or less, to taste) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
: sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
: crumbled goat cheese

How to Make Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

Step-by-Step

1Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare shallow baking pan by covering w/ foil. Split the squash lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and strings, rub olive oil on the “meat” side of the squash and place face down on the foil. Poke some holes in the skin w/ a fork. Bake 45 min. to 1 hour, until tender. Allow to cool, then use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the meat of the squash into a bowl and set aside.
2Sauté onion, celery and carrots in unsalted butter and/or olive oil until just becoming soft, add garlic and sauté a few minutes more
3Use a potato masher on the squash, add to soup pot, add chicken stock to desired thickness, and fresh thyme. Bring to a simmer, add desired amount of chiles in adobo sauce and allow to simmer until everything is soft. I added one entire can of the chiles, left chiles whole and then pulled them out once they had plumped up and released their flavor. This left the soup quite spicy.
4Use immersion blender to make a smooth consistency, or blend in standard blender in batches. Season w/ sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
5Garnish w/ crumbled goat cheese to provide the perfect counterbalance for the heat.