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This month’s issue of Sam’s Club Healthy Living Magazine talks about being mindful when we eat and encourages us to look for ways that we can cut back on calories, while not sacrificing flavor.  I wanted to contribute one of my favorite recipes to this challenge – Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.  The original recipe calls for heavy cream and butter and well…it’s delicious but not low fat.  I made some simple modifications and I was surprised to see (or taste) that my favorite soup was still amazing, even with a few swap-outs.

Roasted Squash Soup

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion, diced

2 pounds of butternut squash

1 apple, cut into chunks

1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin puree

4 cups of low sodium vegetable or chicken stock

2 teaspoons of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 cup of low fat milk

 

The first step in this recipe is to roast your butternut squash.  

Note : A good shortcut that will allow you to skip this step altogether is to purchase pre-cut butternut squash – it will not be as flavorful but still delicious and a time-saver.   

Set your oven to 400 degrees.  Carefully cut the squash in half and brush some olive oil on the cut side facing up.  Cook the squash in the oven for 20 minutes.

 

In the meantime, add the coconut oil to a pot and sauté your onions.  I allow them to cook slowly so that they become somewhat caramelized.

Note: There is no need to cut the onions perfectly, as everything will be pureed at the end.  Allowing your onions to cook slowly and caramelize will add sweetness to your soup; we are not adding sugar like most squash soup recipes.

Remove the butternut squash from the oven and allow to cool.  Slice the skin off and cut into chunks.

Your squash may be cooked all the way through or you may notice that in some areas it is not.  That’s ok because it will continue to cook inside the pot.

 

Add the pumpkin puree, the diced apple, diced butternut squash, stock, salt, and pepper to the pot with the onions.

Notes:  The pumpkin puree will give this soup a lot of flavor and body.  Make sure that you are not using pumpkin pie filling which is completely different.

Also,  the apple is optional.  If you like a sweeter soup, add it.  Otherwise, you can skip that ingredient.

 

Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes.

I turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly.  Next, I get out one of my favorite kitchen tools – the immersion blender.  If you don’t have one, you can use a traditional blender.  I love how I can puree soups right inside the pot.   Once pureed, add the milk and heat the soup through once more.  Make sure the salt level is ok and if not, you can add.  This varies depending on how salty the stock was that we initially added.

Your delicious soup is done.  Serve and enjoy!

One more thing, for a touch of decadence (and since we already cut so many calories) you can add a small dollop of creme fraiche to the soup.  #OverTheTop

Ingredients for this post were found at Sam’s Club (mostly the baking aisle).  For more tips on healthy eating, check out Sam’s Club Healthy Living Magazine!

I’d love to hear about your favorite soup recipe!