Cut up and ready to be roasted!

If I plan to have this soup on a week night, I’ll roast double the amount of squash so that there’s enough extra to put aside for soup later in the week.

Jen’s Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded (most supermarkets now carry it already cleaned and cut up–look around your produce section.)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 to 4 cups chicken stock (for vegetarians use vegetable or mushroom stock)
• 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 scoops (or 1/3 c.) BiPro unflavored whey protein
• 3 tablespoons butter (yes, real butter)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
• 2 teaspoons ground Nutmeg (it’s better if you grate it fresh)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the butternut squash into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a sheet pan and toss them with the olive oil, Thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread the squash in a single layer. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until very tender.

When the squash is done, put it into a big bowl and mash it up into pieces with a potato masher. Once it is mashed, place the squash in a dutch oven and add the chicken stock. Stir it well, then let it come up to a simmer so that the chicken stock is completely heated through but not boiling.
Once it is heated, turn the burner off. Using your Immersion Blender, puree the soup until all the big pieces are gone and it’s a smooth texture like in the photo below.

This is the texture you want once it’s done.

Turn the heat back on, then add the Herbs de Provence, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Now stir in the heavy cream and butter, then taste for seasonings to be sure there’s enough salt and pepper.

Adjust seasonings if needed, then heat thoroughly. DO NOT bring it to a hard boil once you’ve added the cream. If you boil it, the cream will “break” and ruin the texture.

Whisk in your protein powder right at the end. This soup freezes well, so if you’ll have leftovers to freeze, only add protein to the individual servings rather than the whole pot. We recommend 1/2 scoop per 4 oz serving when added to the individual portion.

I like mine with a little Greek Yogurt stirred in, go figure!

 

We LOVE to give you two versions of the same recipe, (aka “1 Dish, 2 Ways”) but in the case of this recipe, we’re giving you 1 soup 3 ways! You saw Nik’s version on Thursday, her Carrot Ginger Soup, and it’s delicious! Last Fall our good friend Pam T posted her version, and what better time to share it with you than Soup Week?

 Pam’s Butternut Squash Soup is another scrumptious variation on this comforting soup. While both my version and Nik’s are perfect for all stages from pureeds on up, Pam’s is better for “further outs”, although you could omit the optional items in hers to make it for all stages. She goes into all that in her recipe, so I’ll leave the rest to her.

Whatever version you choose, this soup is a home run. It’s my “go to” soup course for Thanksgiving Dinner and always gets requests seconds AND for the recipe. Enjoy!

P.S. Don’t forget the Soup Week Cook Along Contest has been extended through November 7, and this recipe qualifies for the contest, even though it’s not “our” recipe. Pam gave us her blessing to share it, so you know what to do! Go Play With Your Food, make it your own, and send in a pic!