It’s that time of year when a warm, soothing bowl of soup hits the spot. This highly nutritious Butternut Apple Soup is quick to put together, especially if you use butternut squash that is already cut up from your grocery store. It cooks in about 20-25 minutes.
This would be a great soup for the holidays. The sweetness of the apple compliments the winter squash so well, and the spices just take the flavors up a notch and turn this into a beautifully rich medley of flavors.
Tip* I love saving the squash seeds, spicing and roasting them. You can use these spiced butternut seeds as your topping or enjoy them as a fun snack.
This butternut squash apple soup is vegan and another low-in-fat and high-fiber dish, making this a wonderful comfort food without the bloat.
Butternut squash is a wonderful vegetable to enjoy during the winter months when the sun isn’t as strong. Nature knows its way, as it offers us the right veggies to protect our health at just the right times.
Butternut squash is loaded with vitamins A, C, E, B6, zinc, protein, folate, and many other essential vitamins, and a cup of cubed squash offers more potassium than a banana.
Love all kinds of squash? Try one of these recipes:
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Risotto with Basil Pesto
- Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts, Apple Stuffing
- Roasted Kabocha Squash
- Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa
- Roasted Squash Salad with Pomegranate and Pepitas
Apples add another dose of health-boosting love with its phytonutrients, antioxidants, and fiber (keep the peel on).
A diet rich in apples is extremely beneficial for your overall health, especially in gut health. They lower the risk of many diseases. It’s no wonder “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” actually may have some truth. Take advantage of this butternut squash ginger apple soup to help satisfy your apple intake.
Adding in that one piece of fruit, including the peel, could improve cardiovascular health equal to prescribing of cholesterol-lowering statins for everyone over age 50, according to a report published in BMJ (British Medical Journal).
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Butternut Apple Soup recipe! If you have a photo, post it on my Instagram page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
Butternut, Apple Soup
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb butternut squash (or use already cut squash from the market)
- 1 onion chopped
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 2 apples peeled, seeded and roughly chopped. Any kind will do.
- 6+ cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or homemade)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1/2 tsp ginger ground
- 1/2 tsp coriander ground
- 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon* ground
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds. Note: if you're using store-bought, already cut-up squash, place parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake them for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
- For squash halves, place them on a baking sheet or pan with a rim. Add a small amount of water. Optionally, you can lightly spray them with oil to prevent drying out, but it's not necessary. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the squash is tender when poked with a fork. Set aside to cool enough to handle.
- In the meantime water sauté the chopped onion and celery in a large soup pot for a few minutes.
- Scoop the cooled squash from the skin and add it to the pan with the onion and celery. Add the apples and the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook for about 45 minutes until the apples are soft and the vegetable flavors have blended. Add more broth if the soup is too thick.
- Cool slightly before putting the soup in a blender. Carefully blend at a slow speed. (Optionally, you can use an immersion blender.)
- Turn up the blender to finish off the soup to a creamy smoothness.
- Serve in bowls with the roasted seeds, if desired.
- *If you're so inclined, you can roast the seeds with the squash on a baking sheet in the oven for about 15 minutes until they are crisp. Clean the seeds under running water in a colander. Place on an oil-sprayed cookie sheet and add a little salt. Check on them until they are your desired doneness.
We’re a little confused about step 7. Put half the soup into a container of a blender? Does that mean put it in a blender?
Cover with a paper towel to prevent splatter? Wouldn’t putting the cap on the blender do the same thing? And why only half the soup? Shouldn’t it all be blended?
Hi John, I’ve updated the recipe to make it less confusing. And, yes, you’re right, the whole soup should be blended. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Hi Diane, I’m not seeing how long the squash halves are meant to be baked in the oven at 400 degrees. And if it’s then meant to be cooked on the stovetop with the onion, celery and apples for 45 minutes? Thanks for your clarification! Am looking forward to trying this recipe. — Cathy
Hi Cathy, I’ve updated the instructions to make it clearer. I haven’t made this soup in a while. I adjusted a couple of other items in the ingredients, as well. 1. The size of the butternut squash. They are most often 2-3 lbs. Any size would do, but you might need to adjust the amount of broth used depending. 2. I lowered the broth from 2 quarts to 6 cups (1 1/2 qts) as it seemed like too much with a note to add more if the soup seems too thick. I hope that helps.
I’ve made this soup twice now, the second time using less broth and more squash as you recommend. That was a helpful adjustment. I might add that I baked the squash for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees upside down in baking dish with water. That seemed enough for it to be tender. Then when sauteing with the apples, onion and celery, 20 minutes or so was sufficient. Didn’t need 45 minutes for that. The flavor profile of this soup is fabulous and I highly recommend it!
Cathy, thanks for the feedback and I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe. 👍