Velvety smooth and savory with warm spices, this Butternut Squash Bisque is rich and elegant yet surprisingly easy to prepare!

I think Butternut Squash is in my top-five-favorite-food list.  Roasted with butter and brown sugar or made into a perfect soup.  I have tasted many and tried many, and oh my squash, this is it.  This is the one.

This is so good that it survived the soup trials and taste tests and made it all the way to events that I’ve hosted.  It even beat out the recipe I got from a chef from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

And now, I share it with you.  Because that’s how neat I am. :o) You wouldn’t believe how simple it is.  And how very satisfying.

Begin with two beautiful butternut squash.  The chef taught me that the more yellow it is the sweeter it will be.  Wash it, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (do not throw them away!) and lay it, face up, on a rimmed baking pan.  Drizzle generously with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast it in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes- 1 hour or until a fork will pierce the soft flesh easily.  Set it aside to cool.

While it’s cooling chop 1/2 c. onion and peel and slice one apple.

When the squash has cooled enough to handle, scrape the soft squash out, and set it aside.

In a soup pot, melt 4 T. of butter and add in the onion and apple.  Sauté 3-4 minutes until tender.

Add in the squash, (about 6 cups), 4 cups of chicken stock, 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Bring the whole thing to a boil and then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, pour a cup or two of your hot liquid from your pot into 8 oz. of cream cheese cut into cubes and let it melt the cream cheese.  Stir together until creamy, and add back into the pot.

If you have an immersion blender, use it to puree the squash into bisque-y loveliness.  If you don’t have one, let it cool and then puree it in batches in your blender or food processor.   Season to taste.

You have garnishing options!  My favorite is to toast the squash seeds in 1 T. butter with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.  Or you coast up some pecans for garnish by either warming them over medium heat in a frying pan, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes or until browned up and fragrant or putting them in the oven for 5 minutes at 350.  Drizzle with warmed heavy cream and a bit of smoked paprika if desired.

See how easy?  See how beautiful?

Enjoy this little taste of fall.  Or impress someone you love.  Make them some bisque.

Butternut Squash Bisque

 

Print

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Butternut squash is roasted and blended into a decadent, creamy soup that will surely become a fall favorite.

Alison: That Which Nourishes

Recipe type: Soup, Meal

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8 servings

Grocery List

• 2 Butternut squash
• Several Tablespoons of olive oil
• ½ c. onion
• 1 apple
• 4 T. butter
• 4 c. chicken stock
• ½ tsp. pepper
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• Garnishes:
• Toasted pecans
• Toasted squash seeds
• Heavy cream

Here's how...

1. Wash the squash, cut it in half and lay it on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the open squash halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Set is aside to cool.
2. Chop the onion and peel and slice the apple.
3. Scrape the insides out of the cooled squash sand set it aside.
4. In a soup pot, melt 4 T. butter and add in the onion and apple. Saute 3-4 minutes until tender.
5. Add in the squash, chicken stock, cayenne pepper, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, pour hot soup liquid over the cubed cream cheese to melt it and then stir it into the pot.
7. Use an immersion blender to puree or let it cool and puree in batches in a blender or food processor.
8. Season to taste.
9. Garnish with toasted pecans, squash seeds, and/or heavy cream.

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