Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup With Apples
Silky butternut squash meets sweet apple and warm curry spices in this cozy, one-pot soup that's ready in under an hour. It's the kind of fall comfort food that tastes like a hug in a bowl and doubles as an easy simmer sauce for the next day!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil or avocado oil
- 2 Cups Yellow Onion diced, about 1 large
- 2 Cups Carrot diced, about 3-4 carrots
- 2 Cups Celery diced, about 3 stalks
- 1-2 Jalapeños small dice
- 6-10 cloves Garlic minced
- 3-4 tablespoon Ginger grated or paste
- 1 small Butternut Squash about 5-6 cups cubed
- 2 medium Sweet Tart Apples about 3-4 cups cubed
- 1-2 tablespoon Curry Powder of choice; Jamaican hot or mild, regular yellow curry powder, gochujang, tandoori spice, garam masala, or swap in Thai curry paste
- 1 Quart Vegetable Broth or chicken broth, bone broth
- 2 cans Full Fat Coconut Milk
- 1 Lime cut into wedges
- 1 ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt plus more to taste
Instructions
- Step 1: Sauté Mirepoix. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the mirepoix with a large pinch of salt and cook until the veggies begin to soften (about 4-5 minutes).3 Tbsp Olive Oil, 2 Cups Yellow Onion, 2 Cups Carrot, 2 Cups Celery
- Step 2: Add Aromatics (garlic, ginger, jalapeños) with another pinch of salt and sauté until fragrant (1-2 minutes).1-2 Jalapeños, 6-10 cloves Garlic, 3-4 Tbsp Ginger
- Step 3: Add Butternut Squash & Apples to the pot with the curry powder and the remaining pinch of salt. Sauté to coat the squash and apples in seasonings.1 small Butternut Squash, 2 medium Sweet Tart Apples, 1-2 Tbsp Curry Powder
- Step 4: Add Liquids. Add the broth and coconut milk to the pot and simmer until the squash and apples are tender.1 Quart Vegetable Broth, 2 cans Full Fat Coconut Milk
- Step 5: Blend the soup with an immersion blender (for more chunky) or a high-powered blender (for silky smooth). Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Step 6: Serve the soup with a wedge of lime and an optional drizzle of extra coconut milk, chili crisp/sriracha and toasted pepitas. Enjoy!1 Lime
Notes
Nutritional facts are for the soup itself, not after adding anything to use as a curry simmer sauce.
How to Use Apple Butternut Squash Soup as a Simmer Sauce
Step 1: Prep & Cook Your Protein. In a large sauté pan, heat a little oil over medium heat until shimmering. If you're using raw meat or tofu, cut it into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper before adding it to the pan. Cook until mostly done through.
Step 2: Add Your Veggies. Toss in whatever fresh or frozen veggies you have on hand (plus garbanzo beans, if using) along with a bit more seasoning. Swirl the pan around to coat everything and let it cook until the vegetables start to release some water.
Step 3: Add the Aromatics. Stir in two cloves of minced garlic and about 2 teaspoons of minced ginger, cooking until fragrant, about a minute.
Store-Bought Hack: If you don't feel like pulling out that cutting board, I hear you—use a flavor booster instead! Swap the garlic and ginger for about 2 teaspoons of green or red Thai curry paste, or use jarred ginger paste and minced garlic.
Step 4: Add the Simmer Sauce. Dump in your leftover roasted butternut squash and apple soup and bring everything to a simmer.
Tip: If you're using leftover or rotisserie chicken, cook your veggies as described above, then add the chicken once the sauce comes to a simmer. Let it cook for about 3-5 minutes, just until the chicken is warmed through.
Step 5: Serve & Enjoy. Ladle the butternut squash curry over rice and garnish with cilantro or Thai basil, fresh chilis, and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts or cashews. You just turned last night's soup into a completely different dinner—congratulations, I told you you were good!
Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations
- Hands Off Roasted Butternut Squash Apple Soup. Don’t want to hang out in the kitchen? Roughly chop your squash, apples, mirepoix ingredients, and jalapeños, then coat in the oil and roast on a sheet pan at 400ºF for about 20-30 minutes, until they start to soften. When they’re done, add a bit more oil to a dutch oven and sauté the ginger and garlic until fragrant, tip the veggies in, add the broth and coconut milk, simmer, and blend!
- Make It Vegetarian/Vegan. Skip the chicken or use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and lean on garbanzo beans or tofu for protein in the curry remix. The soup itself is naturally vegan as written, as long as you're using vegetable broth.
- Turn Up the Heat. Love it spicy? Add an extra jalapeño (seeds and all) or a pinch of cayenne along with the curry powder. You can also finish each bowl with a drizzle of chili crisp or a few extra slices of fresh chili.
- Tone Down the Heat. If spicy isn't your thing, remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeños before adding them, or leave them out entirely. You'll still get great flavor from the ginger, garlic, and curry powder.
- Swap the Curry Powder. No curry powder on hand? A mix of turmeric, cumin, and a pinch of cinnamon makes a nice stand-in, or try a yellow or red curry paste for a different flavor profile.
- Make It Nut-Free. Simply skip the peanuts or cashews when garnishing the curry remix—toasted pepitas or sunflower seeds make a great crunchy substitute.
- Boost the Protein. Stir cooked lentils, shredded rotisserie chicken, or crispy chickpeas into the soup itself for a heartier, more filling meal.
- Refrigeration: Let the leftover soup cool completely to room temperature before storing to prevent condensation (which can water it down and promote bacterial growth). Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. The flavors actually deepen overnight, so leftovers often taste even better than the day you made it.
- Freezing: This dairy-free soup freezes beautifully for longer storage. Let it cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe bags or containers, leaving about an inch of headspace for expansion. I like to pour cooled soup into freezer bags and lay them flat to freeze; once solid, you can stack them like books to save freezer space. It'll keep well for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: From the fridge, reheat the soup gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through—about 5-7 minutes. If it's thickened up in storage, add a splash of broth or water to loosen it back to your desired consistency.
- Reheating: From frozen, the easiest method is to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat it as above. If you're short on time, you can also reheat it directly from frozen in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently and adding a little extra liquid as needed to help it break apart evenly. Avoid microwaving from fully frozen, as it tends to heat unevenly and can scorch the edges before the center warms through.
Nutrition
Calories: 466kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 6gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 1295mgPotassium: 1146mgFiber: 7gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 20977IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 142mgIron: 6mg
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