The Best Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds butternut squash cubes (see note)
- 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into thin half moon strips
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon paste (see note to use chicken broth or bouillon cubes)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup milk (I use 2%)
- ½ cup heavy cream (see note)
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more, to taste
- Optional garnish: cooked, crumbled bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Scatter butternut squash cubes and onions evenly over half sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lightly toss. Roast in the oven for 1 hour without stirring until the squash and onions are tender and golden.
- Scrape the squash/onion mixture into a 4-quart pot. Add the water, bouillon, and garlic. Bring to a simmer.
- Stir the cream cheese cubes into the soup. Turn the heat off and let the cream cheese melt into the soup, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the milk and cream and stir to combine.
- Using an immersion blender (or ladling the soup into a blender), blend the soup until smooth. *If using a blender, vent the lid so steam can escape.*
- Return the soup to medium-low heat to heat through. Stir in the cayenne pepper. Add additional salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
- Serve warm with crumbled, cooked bacon on top, if desired. The soup will thicken a bit as it cools.
Notes
Butternut Squash: The pre-packaged squash cubes work brilliantly well in this recipe. Costco and Sam's Club sell 2-pound containers. Walmart and other grocery stores carry them, too (often in 1-pound containers). One large or two small-medium butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed, will yield the 2 pounds/6 cups squash cubes.
Bouillon: I use Better Than Bouillon paste for this recipe. You can sub 2 cups chicken broth in place of the water + bouillon, however, I would still recommend adding a scoop of bouillon paste or 1 to 2 bouillon cubes to deepen the savory flavors (important to balance the sweetness of the squash). You can sub in six bouillon cubes for the 2 tablespoons bouillon paste.
Milk + Heavy Cream: One cup half-and-half can be subbed in for the milk and heavy cream.