Homemade Whole30 Butternut Squash Soup {Recipe Files}

Morning, ladies and Happy Tuesday! Today I have a super delicious recipe to share. I must confess, this recipe is kind of a mishmash of two recipes and then I just kind of winged it in the kitchen. I understand this isn't the best example of a recipe, however, it is quite easy and allows the individual to cater to taste. This was inspired by pre-cut butternut squash being on sale at my local grocery store and after I purchased it I researched recipes until I found two I thought were easy enough. Then, I just kind of fiddled and have to admit, I'm pretty proud of the outcome.

Homemade Whole30 Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe adapted from *here* and *here*

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash [or container of pre-cut squash]

Salt & Pepper

Cinnamon/nutmeg

1/2 - 1 can of Coconut Milk [or cream/half&half if you aren't eating Whole30]

1 - 2 Onion[s]

Any other dried spices you enjoy with butternut squash

Appliances

Cookie Sheet

Skillet

Immersion Blender or Regular Blender

Potato Masher

1] Cut butternut squash in half or place pre-cut diced squash on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil and salt over the meaty part of the squash and if using the diced pieces move them around so they are all coated. Roast in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until tender. If using the diced pieces check them about 25 minutes in and use a spatula to roughly rotate them on the sheet. Depending on the size of your squash, it may take as long as 50 minutes for the halves.

2] While the squash is roasting cut up onion[s]. I prefer strips [because they are easier] but it doesn't matter since they will be pulverized with an immersion blender or a straight blender. When there is about 15 minutes or so left on the squash, add about 1 - 2 TBS of EVOO to a skillet and start to caramelize your onions. When they are done, remove from heat and set aside either in pan or transfer to a plate.

3] Once squash is tender [check with a fork, if it cuts through easily the squash is done], remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. If you want to use an immersion blender read through steps 4 -6, if you would rather use a blender place squash, onions and coconut milk into a blender and skip to step 7.

4] Place squash in a big  pot on the stove and turn it on very low heat. Add some coconut milk [or cream if not eating Paleo/Whole30] and mash with a potato masher.

5] Add caramelized onions.

6] Continue to mash until you  have a smoothish [!] consistency. [I tried to use an immersion blender and it pretty  much was a fail. I didn't have the correct pot size and it was way too much work].

7] I found the immersion blender was a bit cumbersome so I stopped halfway through and  put everything into a blender. Oh my goodness, so much easier. Once everything was combined I added a bit more salt, pepper, cinnamon and coconut milk to thin it to more of a soup consistency. Honestly, this last step is to taste and feel, in my opinion.

8] Put mixture back into a sauce pant to heat thoroughly then enjoy. I sprinkled extra bacon on top of mine and it was a DELICIOUS addition. You could also swirl an extra bit of cream on top to make it look fancy if you want.

I stored the rest in a container and will enjoy it the rest of the week for lunch at work. I know some of the measurements are kind of wonky with my recipe, but I honestly went my feel and taste. Depending on your blender you may need to use a a soup sieve for the proper consistency. We don't have one and personally I thought the blender was enough, but, I am no chef, so if you want to sieve, sieve.

So, what do you think? Have you made butternut squash soup before? Is this too far off?  Feel free to reach out to me with comments or questions. If you try making this soup please let me know :)!

Psdotcom: So many of you commented on the purple potatoes I had to say something here. I had NO idea purple potatoes existed until three years ago when we started watching CHOPPED! If you are interested in them, check by the baby red potatoes in your grocery store.

linking up here here here here here and here today