Thanksgiving Appetizers: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Nothing says fall quite like roasted butternut squash soup. You can purchase butternut squash soup at the grocery store, but I prefer making it at home because you control the amount of sodium (and flavor) that goes into the soup. It’s a hearty (and healthy) soup that’s super easy to make. I decided to make the soup for my NYC Thanksgiving party because I wasn’t sure if there would be enough food, but there was definitely more than enough and the soup was so filling that people were full before the turkey even came out.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

5 pounds butternut squash
1 container of Chicken Broth
1/2 container pure pumpkin puree (this is definitely optional; I think it gives the soup a slightly sweet flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste

First, cutting up the butternut squash:

Butternut squash is very easy to cut – first, I cut the squash into two pieces for easier handling:

The top of the butternut squash it easily cut into thin slices for quicker roasting:

And the bottom of the butternut squash has lots of seeds and can be quickly hollowed out:

My mom grows butternut squash at home, so I packed up the seeds in a damp paper towel and mailed it to her (it’s surprisingly easy – we just threw some of the seeds into the soil and a couple months later a huge butternut squash was growing in my mom’s courtyard!):

Place the sliced up butternut squash on a baking sheet:

And roast until the squash is tender (I roasted at 450 degrees for 30 minutes):

Place the butternut squash into a blender:

And add about 1/2 of the container of the chicken broth:

Dump the puree into a pot and add some pumpkin puree:

On a low heat, slowly stir the pumpkin puree and butternut squash and add lots of pepper:

Some people add nutmeg to the soup, but I think it’s perfectly hearty without. I also added some water to smooth out the butternut squash (totally depends on your preference). The butternut squash soup was enough to feed 14 people and I also had a container of leftovers for me to enjoy by myself!

Cost Breakdown:

5 pounds butternut squash – $5.00
1 container of Chicken Broth – $1.99
1/2 container pure pumpkin puree (this is definitely optional; I think it gives the soup a slightly sweet flavor) – $0.99
Salt and pepper to taste – free

Total: $7.98 (feeds at least 14)