A Deliciously Tasty Acorn Squash Soup Recipe
As the weather starts to cool down, finding the right soup to match the weather gives you the chance to embrace seasonal flavors. If you’re looking for a soup that offers creamy, autumnal flavor, acorn squash soup is creamy and full of flavor and is good for any cozy night in. How can you make a deliciously tasty acorn squash soup recipe at home? Read on to learn how to make this soup in your own kitchen and to learn some tips and tricks for serving this tasty recipe.
What Makes Acorn Squash Soup So Good?
Acorn squash soup is a classic dish that isn’t overly hard to make but still adds decadence to any meal. If you’re looking for the secret of acorn squash, it isn’t that much of a secret. The acorn squash is the ingredient that makes for a rich, warm taste and infuses the soup with a robust flavor profile. Not only does this soup taste great, but its goldenrod hue makes it a delight for the eyes as well. Most dishes can’t capture the feeling and look of fall as well as this soup. The soup’s flavors aren’t so aggressive that they offend picky palates, making this soup pleasing to most people.
Irresistible Autumnal Acorn Soup Recipe
This recipe will make about 6 servings of acorn squash soup, but you can easily adjust the numbers to reflect your needs.
Ingredients
- 3 acorn squash, seeded and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 thyme sprigs
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Begin by roasting the squash. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and lay the halves of the squash on the parchment paper. Brush each half with olive oil. Sprinkle halves with pepper, salt, and thyme. Cook squash in the oven for about 50 minutes or until the squash becomes tender. Set the squash aside to allow it to cool. When cool, scoop out squash into a bowl and set aside.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until the garlic starts to soften and the onions become translucent. Add the maple syrup and ground nutmeg. Cook for 5 minutes more.
- Using the lemon juice, deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the broth, squash, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. When the soup is boiling, reduce the heat and let the soup cook for 20 minutes more.
- Once you have cooked the soup, you should remove it from the heat and start to blend. You can blend it in a stand-up blender in batches, or you can use an immersion blender. You want to blend it until smooth. Be careful because the soup will be hot. Using a clean towel over the blender’s opening can help the process. If your blender isn’t powerful, you may have to strain your soup to get chunks out.
- Put the soup back on the stove. Add the heavy whipping cream and warm to the desired temperature.
- Serve and enjoy your soup hot.
Can You Make Acorn Squash Soup Ahead?
Whether you want to prepare a big batch of soup for a social occasion or want to make this soup in advance for whenever you have a hankering for autumnal goodness, acorn squash soup is a great choice for making ahead. I love to always have some of this in the freezer so that I can have a quick and satisfying meal on busy days.
This soup does especially well when it is frozen. When you are ready to serve it, you can pop it out, defrost it, and heat it on the stovetop over low heat. Frozen food will always be safe to eat when stored properly, but the quality of the food may start to decline after about three months.
If you want to go ahead and plan to use the soup in the short term, it’s simple to store this in the refrigerator for up to five days, but I find that the quality of the soup is best within the first three days in the fridge.
Can I Make Substitutes?
One of my favorite tricks in the kitchen is substitution. I love using whatever I have on hand to make tasty dishes. The more trips to the store I can save, the better. Experimenting with substitutes can transform the taste of the dish and allow you to keep recipes interesting even after using them dozens of times. I’ve played with several additions or substitutions that have come with fantastic results.
Some people don’t love to use whipping cream because of the high fat levels. While I think the heavy whipping cream is the best option for this recipe, you can also swap the heavy whipping cream for half-and-half. This swap will make the soup a little less rich, but it will still be tasty. I’ve also tried this recipe with non-dairy options. Coconut milk is a great option because it maintains the richness of the heavy whipping cream and also adds a nice nutty flavor and provides a range of nutrients.
You can also use just about any stock or broth that you want. This recipe uses vegetable broth, but chicken stock or even beef stock can both work well in the recipe, and you won’t notice a drastic difference in the flavor of the soup.
While this soup is acorn squash soup, you can easily swap out the acorn squash with other squash varieties. Of course, doing so will change the look and the taste of the soup, but these changes will still promote a tasty dish. You may even find that you prefer certain types of squash in this soup.
Is Acorn Soup Good for You?
When you taste this soup, you may think, “How can such a creamy, delicious soup possibly be good for me?” The answer to this question is the key ingredient: squash. Although botanically it is a fruit, in the culinary world, squash is more of a vegetable and comes with many of the same health benefits you might see in other orange plants like carrots or sweet potatoes. Being low in carbs, squash gives you a lot of nutrients in a low-calorie package.
Squash has a range of health benefits that help make this soup a healthy choice for a balanced diet. One of the main assets of squash is its high levels of vitamin C. It also contains other vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, fiber, potassium, and magnesium. All these nutrients can help prevent chronic disease, improve bone health, promote healthy blood, maintain your eyesight, support heart health, and give you healthy skin.
If you’re concerned about weight management, some research has shown that soup can help with weight management. When you eat soup, you feel fuller, so you may feel more satisfied after your meal and may eat fewer calories from other foods. While soup isn’t going to guarantee results related to your body or weight, it offers a great vehicle to get more nutrients without feeling deprived of a hearty meal.
