The girls & I love butternut squash soup. It is very hard to cut butternut squash when it isn’t cooked (my wrist still bothers me a lot, especially when cutting), so I like to cook it a bit before dicing it up, it makes it a lot easier.
In the winter, I’ll roast it in the oven, but this time of year I prefer to use the instant pot, so it doesn’t warm up the house! I know most people don’t enjoy soup in the summer, but we like it all the time. 😃
Scrub the outside of the squash, then cut. I cut the squash just enough to fit into the instant pot, or whatever pan you will be using. I did end up cutting the big piece on the left in half as seen in the next picture, so it would cook more evenly.Scoop out any seeds…I like to use a grapefruit spoon, it works great on all the insides!Cleaned out squash The pieces in the instant pot. Don’t forget to put 1- 1 1/2 Cups of water in the bottom of the instant pot, so it doesn’t burn!
Alternatively, you can just peel & cube the squash first, then cook it. Both methods work equally well. (You can even buy frozen cubed butternut squash & skip all the prep!)
I set it for 10 minutes. It really could have done with only half the time, you just need it cooked enough to scoop out the insides. It is actually easier to scoop out after it’s been cooked & cooled, but do what you have to do. 😃Put the squash (minus the peel) back in the instant pot. I minced & sauteed a sweet onion in some olive oil & added it to the mix. (You could also add the onion whole when you first cook the squash, you puree it at the end, so it doesn’t make a huge difference either way). Add a couple Cups of chicken broth (2-4 depending on whether you like it thicker or thinner). Put it back in the instant pot for about 5 minutes to finish cooking, then it’s ready to puree. I used an immersion blender to puree the soup because we prefer a smoother texture. You can use any hand mixer or a blender or leave it chunky if that’s your preference. I then added about 1 Tbsp of pink salt, but as always, start small & add to taste. This was a HUGE butternut squash.
You can also add things like cumin or curry powder & either some milk or coconut milk is fantastic in it, but right now Lexa & I can’t have any of those, so we left them out. It’s also delicious served with a spoonful of sour cream. Yum! ❤
