This butternut squash soup recipe is the perfect autumnal comfort food and comes with delicious melting cheese toasts topped with chilli flakes and a dash or two or Worcestershire sauce. Just what's needed when the darker nights are drawing in.
Preparing ahead? We've included helpful tips on how to make this butternut squash soup in advance and freeze for later.
While butternut squash is a delicious and versatile ingredient, it can be challenging to peel and chop. If you want to know how to cut a butternut squash properly, follow our handy guide.
For the speediest of mid-week meals we recommend this one-pot squash, sage and bacon pasta dish. It’s ready in 30 minutes, perfect for when you’re in a hurry or want to keep time in the kitchen to a minimum. And for a Sunday roast, we love this hasselback squash recipe (think: hasselback potatoes, but topped with cheese and roasted hazelnuts).
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Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 5 mins
Cal/Serv:
250
Ingredients
For the soup
2Tbsp.
extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
5
fresh sage leaves
1
large onion, finely chopped
2
medium carrots, finely chopped
2
sticks of celery, finely chopped
1
butternut squash, about 900 g (2lb), peeled, deseeded and cut into rough 2.5cm (1in pieces)
1l
vegetable stock
For the cheesy toasts
6
slices bread
100g
Cheddar or Parmesan cheese, grated
few pinches dried chilli flakes
few dashes Worcestershire sauce, optional
Directions
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the sage leaves. Cook for 30sec or until crisp. Lift out the leaves with a slotted spoon (leaving any oil behind) and set aside on kitchen paper (the leaves will be used as a garnish).
Step 2
To the pan, add the onion, celery, carrots and squash. Cook for 10min, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for 20min or until the vegetables are completely soft.
Step 3
Blend the soup (do this in batches if necessary) and return to the pan. Check the seasoning and set aside.
Step 4
To make the cheesy toasts, preheat grill to medium. Lay the bread slices out on a baking tray, then grill on both sides until toasted and lightly golden. Divide the cheese, chilli flakes and Worcestershire sauce (if using) among the toasts and grill until golden and bubbling. Reheat the soup if necessary and ladle into warmed soup bowls. Garnish with a drizzle of oil and the crumbled fried sage leaves. Serve with the cheesy toasts.
Freeze ahead
Make soup to end of step 3 (no need to fry sage). Leave soup to cool completely; transfer to a freeze-proof container or bag, cover if needed and freeze for up to six months. To serve, defrost soup; reheat gently in a pan (frying sage in a little oil in a separate pan) and complete recipe.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
