Seasonal Soup Series: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Enjoy this warm, cozy butternut squash soup while watching the autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place as the temperature drops. Sweet butternut squash with sage sausage and savory kale in the perfect creamy combination.

This soup was created so I could desperately feel like fall was here when the temperature dropped to a mere 65 degrees. My leaves are still green, but walk in the door and you will find Gilmore Girls on the TV with a pumpkin candle burning. After our first cold front here in Southern Louisiana, I felt the need to make ALL of the soups. I now have a freezer full that will last the whole winter. Welcome to the Seasonal Soup Series where I will share them all!

Is It Even Fall Without Butternut Squash?

Chance and I went to a pasta class earlier in the month where we learned how to make homemade pasta. It was definitely fun and informative, but I don’t see myself making homemade pasta anytime in the near future. One of our courses was a delicious butternut squash ravioli. Once I found out Chance liked it, the wheels started turning on all of the butternut recipes I could possibly come up with.

I scoured the internet for inspiration, but kept coming across the same thing. Either roasted squash cubes, or a beautiful, smooth, and creamy soup. Personally, I don’t like one texture soups. I like my soups chunky with more substance than juice (with the exception of tomato basil with a grilled cheese, of course). I also didn’t think Chance would even touch just a “plain” butternut squash soup. He is my biggest critic.

The Soup Necessities

The beautiful thing about soup is that you can throw in whatever ingredients you have, add a base and some seasonings and it just works. For this soup, I tried to plan ingredients that would compliment each other and most importantly, taste like a crisp fall day. I don’t get to experience real fall here in Louisiana, so I try to fake it until I make it.

I’m not going to lie, I got the biggest butternut squash I have ever seen in my Walmart pick up order and I was intimidated. I spent several days collecting and searching the perfect ingredients. To be honest, I thought I was in over my head. However, I was determined to make this work.

The main ingredients include:

1. Butternut squash – However big you want it to be. This is something I don’t normally cook with, so I can’t be of ANY help. Sorry! Mine was huge, and I ended up only using half in my soup and froze the rest for the next batch.
   
2. Kale – I love kale! I know, what is wrong with me. I think it is the most flavorful veggie by itself though. It really is just so savory on its own. Okay, arugula too, but you get the point. I knew it was the perfect compliment to the sweet squash.
   
3. Sage Sausage – THIS IS IMPORTANT! Sage and butternut squash is like PB&J. You can’t have one without the other. I do know that Jimmy Dean brand makes a sage breakfast sausage. Where do you find it? No idea, it’s stealth. If you’ve been around long enough you know where I found mine…Whole Foods. They sell a beautiful sage breakfast sausage in the case, just ask for it! You can probably get away with an Italian sausage, but I would then add some fresh or dried sage to your soup for sure!
   
4. Beans – What is soup without beans? As I mentioned, I like chunky soups, so beans were a given. To be honest, I thought white beans (great northern) would just look aesthetically pleasing in the soup so that is how they ended up there.
   
5. Garlic – I shouldn’t even have to list this one, it should be a given.
   
6. Chicken Broth – Same goes for chicken broth, basically the base of all soups. You could probably use water, but that is no fun.
   
7. Coconut Milk – A must for the creamy texture of the soup. You can sub heavy cream if you can tolerate dairy.

Butternut Squash Soup In The Making

To my surprise, this soup came together pretty quickly. It took just as long to roast the squash as it did to make the soup. For some reason I had a lot of energy this day, so I ran with it and made 3 meals in one day. I regretted it later. Anyways, I started roasting the squash first. It was easier to cut in half than a spaghetti squash. I drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled salt on the squash halves before putting them face down on a baking sheet. After about 35 minutes, I was able to poke through with a fork and figured that was a good sign to take them out. They were definitely too hot to handle, so they cooled for a good hour almost.

For the soup, I started by browning the sausage and draining it once it was fully cooked. I left some of that good grease in there and proceeded to sauté the garlic until it was fragrant. Next up, it was time to add in the kale and continue to sauté until it was slightly wilted. I then added the chicken broth and coconut milk.

Now, I’m not going to lie this part made me sweat. I was just going with the flow and added in the mashed butternut squash little by little. I smashed it against the side of the pot to break it up and left some big, chunky pieces. It melted so nicely into the soup. All that’s left is to add in the lagniappe. Put the sausage back in the pot, add in a can of drained and rinsed beans, then season. I added fresh time and red pepper flakes in the end for a little kick. It continued to cook for about 20 minutes and it was ready to go.

The Critic’s Response…

I probably made this seem more complicated than it actually is, but it is one of those soups that tastes so good you’d think it took all day. Chance had it first and immediately said “did you put this on Instagram yet? Because you should!” I’m not kidding when I said he was obsessed. He ate it for 4 meals straight. I think I had one small half serving if that. Don’t worry, I did freeze a couple of servings for me. I can assure you I will be making this again soon!

I hope you can enjoy it as much as he did!