Fall is the season of soup.
And this spicy squash soup does a great job of capturing the classic flavors of fall. The sweet butternut pairs well with fragrant spices of nutmeg and cinnamon, a bit of honey and heavy cream, and the caramel flavor of brown sugar. All of that sweetness matches perfectly with the hints of smoky spiciness from smoked paprika, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce. Throw in some red pepper flakes and sweet roasted red peppers for additional spicy sweet flavor, and you’ve got a great bowl of fall comfort food.
A quick note: for those who aren’t too keen on the heat of chipotle peppers, you can tone it down just a bit by tweaking the recipe. Try adding just one diced chipotle pepper to start, along with only one tbsp of adobo. You can always taste after adding the heavy cream and while the soup is simmering, and add more peppers or adobo as needed from there.
Time You Need
- ~15 prep
- ~ 1 hour cooking
What You Need
- ~ 3 large butternut squash, cut into quarter pieces vertically and seeded
- Olive oil, for brushing
- 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp of cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp honey
- ¾ cup of heavy cream
- 1 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely diced and seeded (Use less to start to gauge heat level)
- 2 tbsp adobo sauce (Use less to start to gauge heat level)
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste,
- Salt to taste
What You Do
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat in cooking spray.
- Place the quartered squash on the baking sheet and brush with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. You’ll want to generously coat the flesh of the squash with olive oil here.
- Roast squash in oven for 40 minutes, until the squash is softer and tender.
- Remove from heat and let the squash cool enough to touch.
- Then spoon out the squash from the skin and add to a large pot.
- Next, add broth, honey, peppers and adobo sauce, along with nutmeg, paprika, cinnamon, brown sugar, and additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer over medium heat, cooking for about 10 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, puree mixture until smooth (If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer mixture to a regular blender and puree).
- Then mix in heavy cream, and cook at a low simmer over medium-low heat for another ten minutes.
- Season with any desired additional seasonings, then serve and enjoy.