Roasted butternut squash soup
Sweet roasted squash, a little maple and a pinch of cinnamon whisked into a golden, velvety soup, with no peeling and no blender needed.
- 80 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.04 a serving
- 210 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 butternut squash, about 3 lb
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
- 2 tbsp pepitas (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 210 calories, 3 g protein, 37 g carbs and 7 g fat, and costs about $2.04 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No pepitas? Sunflower seeds work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F and line a large with .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Poke the squash a few times with a fork and microwave it for 3 minutes to the skin. Let it cool for a minute, then cut it in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Lengthwise. Lengthwise means cutting along the long side, from stem to tip, which gives long pieces. Crosswise is the other way, straight across the middle, which gives short, round ones.
How you’ll know: Lengthwise halves of a zucchini look like two little canoes; crosswise pieces look like coins.
Timer: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: Set the squash on a damp paper towel so it can’t roll, and press down on the back of the knife with your other palm. Slow and steady.Brush the cut sides with 1 tablespoon of the oil, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the salt, and lay the halves cut side down on the pan.
Toss the onion and garlic with the rest of the oil and tuck them under the squash so the garlic doesn’t burn.
for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife slides into the thickest part of the squash with no push.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 47 min 30 sec
Scoop the soft squash out of its skin into a large pot and add the onion, garlic, broth, maple syrup, cinnamon, pepper and the rest of the salt.
over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Mash with a potato masher, then hard for a minute until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Roasted squash is so soft that a whisk gets it almost silky. A blender works too if you want it perfectly smooth.Stir in the cream if you’re using it, taste for salt, and serve topped with pepitas.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
