Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is:

• PALEO
• DAIRY-FREE
• GLUTEN-FREE
• WHOLE30 FRIENDLY
• SUGAR-FREE

Butternut squash soup is one of my favorites hearty dishes to make at home. Whenever I’m craving something warm, comforting and little hearty, I whip up this recipe. This is actually a take on Balance with B’s Butternut Squash soup (props to her for always making delicious recipes) with a few more additions to make it super flavorful (I like flavor-bomb dishes :D)

The addition of the yogurt, veggie broth, fish sauce, lime juice and ghee really took this soup to the next level and made it a more decadent dish.

Let me talk for a sec about fish sauce. Fish sauce has been Austin and I’s go-to secret ingredient in a variety of dishes. It adds a little bit of sweetness and a hint of umami. Whenever you take a bite of something and it’s so delicious and you just can’t stop eating it, that’s what umami is to me. And fish sauce is the perfect way to “umami” up your dishes. Highly recommend trying it. We bought ours at Trader Joes, and it’s the good brand – Red Boat.

Also, let’s talk about acidity, aka citrus and yogurt in this recipe. I’m kind of a citrus-fiend. Anytime a dish needs something, 9 times out of 10, it needs some type of acid. Especially in the south, a lot of dishes served here are devoid of some time of acid to give it that bite that balances out starchiness, richness or saltiness. The fresh lime juice and plain yogurt really flavored up this soup and gave it a zing that made it feel fresh.

So on to this delicious soup.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole butternut squash, diced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• SPICES
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 heaping tsp turmeric
  • 1 heaping tsp ginger
  • 1 heaping tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 can reduced fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup forager plain yogurt
• 2/3 regular size box of veggie broth
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp ghee
•  TOPPINGS::
  • Freshly chopped basil
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Drizzle of Ninja Squirrel Sriracha

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Peel and dice butternut squash
3. Roast for 45 minutes or until tender and set aside
4. Chop onion and garlic finely
5. Heat soup pot on medium with olive oil
6. Toss onions until they sweat with olive oil
7. Add garlic & cook 2-3 minutes
8. Add all spices up to the garlic powder
9. Stir for 1-2 minutes until spices are flavorful
10. Add in cooked butternut squash and remaining ingredients
11. Stir and cook the mixture for 5-10 minutes
12. Immersion blend the soup mixture until the soup is liquid. Add more broth if too thick. Add more yogurt if it needs more cream.
13. Reduce heat to low-medium low
14. Add in the nutritional yeast, fish sauce, salt and pepper, juice of 1 lime and ghee.
15. Stir and cook on low for 5-10 more minutes.
16. Top with Sriracha and fresh basil.
17. ENJOY!