Coconut Butternut Squash Soup – a Fall Comfort Classic

Once you’ve got the squash baked, this coconut butternut squash soup comes together quickly. It’s a fitting soup for the fall and winter holidays, yet easy enough to make for everyday meals. Dairy-free and delicious, it’s a bowlful for everyone!

The mellow flavors of squash, kale, and red onions have a delectable synergy, and look gorgeous together as well.

Holiday first course: Though you need not wait for a special occasion to serve this soup, it’s a wonderful first course for Thanksgiving, Christmas (serve with Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread or other favorite bread), and Rosh Hashanah (with Vegan Challah rather than cornbread)

Butternut squash prep tips

Seriously, peel and dice a butternut squash? Whenever a recipe instructs to “peel and dice a butternut squash” (or any other hard winter variety), I feel quite inadequate.

My knives are pretty good, but I always felt like I needed to borrow my husband’s chainsaw to do the job. See how to make this a whole lot easier, below.

Pre-bake squash to make life easier. As I started to give more talks, I found that a lot of cooks shared my little secret. So, I developed a completely lazy way to tackle the winter squash dilemma — partially pre-baking the squash before attempting to peel and cut the squash. So much easier!

And this technique works for any kind of hard squash. See more about this technique in How to Cut Butternut Squash Easily.

Fresh pre-cut squash is another option. All this being said, pre-cut fresh butternut squash is now widely available on supermarket produce shelves in the fall and winter months. If you’d like to bypass the entire process of chopping the squash, you’ll make an easy soup even simpler. You’ll need about 3 pounds, which may be about a package and a half.

Ingredients for Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

• Butternut squash (2, about 1 1/2 pounds each)
• Onion, 2 large yellow or sweet white
• Red onion, 1 large
• Kale, 1 good-size bunch (about 10 to 12 ounces), any variety
• Apple, 2 medium, any variety
• Bouillon cubes
• Ginger, fresh or bottled
• Light coconut milk, Two 13.5-ounce cans
• Curry powder, good-quality
• Pinch of ground nutmeg or allspice

From the pantry

• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Recipe is from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas. Photos by Susan Voisin, FatFreeVegan.com.

Explore more pureed and coconut soups …

• Carrot-Ginger Soup with a Parsnip Variation
• Creamy Vegan Parsnip Vegetable Soup
• Coconut Curry Carrot Chickpea Soup
• Curry Coconut Red Lentil Soup

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Yield: 8

Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

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Once you’ve got the squash baked, this coconut butternut squash soup comes together quickly.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium-large butternut squashes (about 1 1/2 pounds each)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow or sweet white onion, chopped
• 2 medium apples, any variety, peeled and diced
• 4 cups water
• 1 large or 2 regular-size vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh or bottled ginger, plus more, to taste
• 1 tablespoon good-quality curry powder
• Pinch of ground nutmeg or allspice
• Two 13.5-ounce cans light coconut milk
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garnish (optional)

• 2 medium red onions, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1 good-sized bunch kale (about 10 to 12 ounces)

Instructions

1. To prepare the squash without the usual struggle: Wrap the entire squash in aluminum foil and place in a casserole dish. Bake at 375º F for 40 to 45 minutes pierce through the narrow part easily.
2. Once cool enough to handle, Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Cut the squash into thick slices, then peel and cut into chunks. Softer areas can just be scooped out
3. Heat about half of the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Add the apple, squash flesh, water, bouillon cube, ginger, and ground spices. Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer gently until the apples and squash are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the solids to a food processor with a slotted spoon (in batches if need be) until smoothy pureed. Transfer back to the soup pot. Or better yet, simply insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until smoothly pureed.
6. Return the soup to a gentle simmer. Stir in the coconut milk and cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until well heated through. If need be, adjust the consistency with additional water if the soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; if making ahead of time, gently heat through before serving.
7. For the optional topping: Just before serving, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and sauté over low heat until golden and soft.
8. Meanwhile, strip the kale leaves off the stems and cut into thin shreds. Stir together with the onions in the skillet, adding just enough water to moisten the surface. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the kale is bright green and just tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.
9. To serve, ladle soup into each bowl, then place a small mound of kale and onion mixture in the center.

See lots more tempting vegan soups & stews.