Y’all already know I love a good bowl of soup! Dylan brought home a butternut squash from a roadside stand this week, and I was all too excited to get started on this recipe. I have been trying to make an effort to purchase more local produce, and now is the perfect time of year to grab some butternut squash from your farmers market.

We are supposed to be in the middle of soup season, but we haven’t had too many cold days this fall in Asheville. I’m definitely not complaining. Warmer weather makes for more hikes with the little one, and a warm day never stopped me from eating a bowl of soup anyway. I eat it all summer long.

little boy in striped jacket rock climbing — From our hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway this weekend. Don’t worry Grandma, he was fine.

A lot of butternut squash soup recipes I have tried are a little too sweet for my taste. This version is dressed up a bit with some not so traditional ingredients like freshly grated ginger and ricotta cheese that I think help to balance out some of that sweetness. The ricotta happened mostly because I had some left over that I needed to use up from making pizzas. I loooooooove ricotta on top of pizza, but that is a different story! Anyway, I’m so glad I went for it because I think it makes this soup extra delicious.

Roasting the butternut squash is optional , but it makes for an extra tasty soup. Getting that nice caramelization deepens the flavor of the butternut squash and just wakes everything up a bit in my opinion. If you choose not to roast the squash, make sure to dice it into much smaller pieces and simmer away until it is fork tender.

I topped my soup with a splash of balsamic vinegar. That little bit of acid at the end makes for a beautiful brightness. Just a tad though! You can’t have a bowl of homemade soup without freshly toasted bread. You just can’t. Dipping a crusty piece of bread into a hot bowl of soup to soak up all that deliciousness is the best part. Make sure you have some fresh bread on hand!

A Few Notes About Roasting Butternut Squash

The squash needs to be peeled. The skin is a little tough so I recommend a good quality vegetable peeler.
Slice off the top and bottom. The bottom of your squash should be flat before you start doing any cutting so we keep all of our fingers!
Don’t forget to scoop out the seeds and pulp.
Dice the butternut squash into large chunks. They don’t need to be perfect in this case since we are making soup, but you do want them to be relatively uniform.
Roast at 425 degrees F

Let me know if you give this a try. Also, be in touch if there are any recipes you are looking for. I would love to hear from you! I’ll be working on a French onion recipe for my next soup, and I really can’t wait! Looking for more soup recipes? Try my easy broccoli cheddar soup or spicy green chili with pork. Have a great week y’all!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Author: Katelyn
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 8 cups 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Extra creamy butternut squash soup dressed up with freshly grated ginger and ricotta cheese to keep things fun and exciting. Roasting the vegetables lends a deep butternut squash flavor, and finishing with a splash of balsamic makes this the best version I have ever tasted!

Ingredients

Scale

The Soup:

1 large butternut squash (3 to 3.5 pounds), peeled and diced into large chunks
1 medium carrot, peeled and medium diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (I highly recommend this microplane zester for this task)
4 fresh sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Toppings:

fresh parsley
splash of balsamic
toasted bread

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the chopped butternut squash and carrot with the olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes or until fork tender and caramelized.
Add butter and minced shallot to a Dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until softened.
Add the garlic, ginger, and sage, and nutmeg and stir for one minute.
Add the roasted vegetables and vegetable broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.
Remove the sage leaves.
Transfer the soup to a blender or use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Return to pot and season with additional salt and pepper to taste (seasoning to taste is very important here!).
Top with fresh parsley and a splash of balsamic vinegar (just a splash), and serve with freshly toasted bread.