Maple Butternut Squash Soup: A Recipe Full of Memories

Many years ago, my husband and I had a favorite date night spot, California Cafe in Los Gatos. One dish I couldn’t resist was their seasonal soup, which always impressed me. One memorable evening, while very pregnant with our second child, I may have enjoyed my soup a bit too enthusiastically. The server saw my excitement and passed on my compliments to the chef. To my surprise, the chef gifted me the recipe, complete with his handwritten notes. I’ve been making a version of this delightful soup ever since!

From Restaurant Soup to Culinary School

Fast forward 15 years, and I found myself pursuing my professional culinary certificate. I had the honor of interning at Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park, where one of my regular tasks was to make 16 quarts of vegan Butternut Squash Soup multiple times a week. My trusty notebook tells me that each batch included around nine butternut squashes and 15 onions! During those months, I made the soup so frequently that I could practically do it in my sleep.

Combining Techniques for the Perfect Soup

Now, a few years later, I’ve created my favorite version of Maple Butternut Squash Soup. This recipe blends flavors from the California Cafe with the solid techniques I learned at Flea Street Cafe. The result is a delicious, comforting soup perfect for a crisp fall evening.

A Tip for Serving

Since this soup includes cream and maple syrup, it can be a bit rich. I recommend serving it in smaller portions—a cup is perfect—paired with a hearty seasonal salad to balance the richness. A slightly bitter salad or some warm, crusty bread for dipping makes the ideal complement. I hope you get a chance to make it this season and enjoy it as much as I do!

Cheers,

Christina

Roasting cut side up with lots of good flavors

Thinly slicing the veggies is a lot quicker to prep than chopping into similar sizes

Perfectly roasted with very flavorful cooking liquid – be sure to save this!

Very easy to scoop out and toss in the pot

I’m no artist and all I see is a a strange sunburst or alien smiley face

Soup + salad combo: baby kale, arugula, radicchio, apple, pear, blue cheese, toasted almonds, champagne vinaigrette

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

A delicious fall soup that's great as a soup + salad + panini combo.

Course: Soup

Keyword: butternut squash

Servings: servings

Author: Christina Shoup

Ingredients

2 lbs butternut squash about 1-2 squash
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaf
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 cups water
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 cup carrot, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
3 tbsp pumpkin puree
⅔ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp maple syrup
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon

Optional toppings

crème fraîche, chive, freshly grated nutmeg, pumpkin oil, olive oil, toasted pepitas

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°. Rinse the outside of the squash (it will sit in liquid while it cooks and you will use in the soup, so you want a clean squash). Cut squash ends off, then in half lengthwise, and remove seeds. Place halves in a roasting pan, cut side up. Add thyme sprigs, bay leaf, brown sugar and kosher salt to the top and cavity of the squash. It's ok if some falls off and into the pan. Add water to the bottom of the pan and cover tightly with a sheet of parchment paper, followed by a sheet of heavy aluminum. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot, melt butter and olive oil over low heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, kosher salt and black pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 20-30 minutes total. You are looking for very soft vegetables and only the slightest hint of color. Turn off the heat while the squash finishes cooking.
When the squash has cooked for an hour, remove from the oven and carefully take the parchment and foil off and let the squash cool a few minutes. Be sure to save the liquid in the pan; you should have a little less than 2 cups.
Scoop out the flesh and add it directly to the pot with the vegetables. Add pumpkin puree, stock and flavorful cooking liquid from roasting pan to the pot with the vegetables and bring to a boil, then cover, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and add heavy cream, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Carefully blend mixture with an immersion blender directly in the pot. For the most smooth texture, use a high speed blender such as a Vitamix, blending in batches and returning soup to the pot to reheat.
Top each serving with any of the following toppings: a spoonful of crème fraîche, freshly grated nutmeg, finely chopped chive, a drizzle of pumpkin or olive oil, toasted/spiced pepitas, coarse flake salt

Notes

You can use 2 lbs of bagged, precut butternut squash to a pan and roast it on a rimmed sheet pan, uncovered with 2 tbsp olive oil and using the same roasting spices. Due to the lack of water used while roasting, increase the broth by 1-2 cups in step 4.

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