Vegan Butternut Squash Soup with Pickled Peppers
I am a soup fanatic. I love the texture and how all of the flavors combine to create something cozy, warm and truly delicious. Plus, soup is incredibly easy to make, it is not an exact science like baking. Toss in a little of this and a little of that, it’s very forgiving.
Also, homemade soup is super nutritious, especially this vegan butternut squash soup. It is literally jam-packed with vegetables. Plus there isn’t all the sodium found in canned soup. Soup is a low-calorie, nutrient-dense food and can help you maintain a healthy weight. According to Healthline.com “studies have found individuals who regularly consume soup tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and are less likely to have obesity, compared with those who don’t eat soup at all”. Who knew?
Lastly, I love that you can throw everything thing in a stockpot and just go relax. The cook time for this vegan butternut squash soup recipe may seem long, but it’s very hands-off cooking, so find a good book and kick back while you enjoy the delicious smells from your kitchen.
Let’s Get Roasting
You can make this soup with frozen butternut squash, however, I’m always a little disappointed in the frozen butternut squash flavor. This soup is so amazing when using a whole roasted butternut squash, it is well worth the extra effort! Plus roasting is really easy, it just requires a little extra prep time. To roast the butternut squash, cut the squash in half and scoop out the “guts”. Brush olive oil on the flesh of the butternut squash. Place it on a silicone baking sheet flesh side down and pop it in the oven at 350° for 45 minutes. That’s it, easy peasy!
Prep the Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
Next, I like to get the soup started while the butternut squash is roasting to cut down on time. Or you can roast the squash the night before. You can make up the pickled peppers the night before too, then this is a quick and easy weeknight meal. One of the best parts about making this soup is that it will eventually be blended up so no need to spend lots of time chopping. A very quick rough chop is all you need to do. Or better yet, have the kids do the chopping! Again, this soup is very forgiving, don’t have an orange bell pepper? Use a yellow instead. Just chop it up and toss it in the stockpot.
Easy Pepper Pickling
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers… okay so you know the rest! You can always find me saying this silly nursery rhyme while making these pickled peppers. My kids just roll their eyes and say I need to stop! But it’s just so fitting, I can’t help myself! Anyway, these peppers are delicious. Mini sweet peppers are amazing, but they are even more delicious pickled. A must try! Leftover pickled peppers? They are great to just nibble on as snacks or serve them for appetizers.
So What If I Don’t Have A Stick Blender?
No problem! There’s always another way. If you don’t have a stick blender you can use a regular blender. Please be very careful when transferring the hot soup to and from the blender. All of the soup doesn’t fit in my blender pitcher so I usually have to do two batches of blending. All the more reasons why I love my stick blender; I can blend this soup right on the stovetop!
Soup is Made for Dipping
Lastly, you cannot have soup without bread. Soup is just made for dipping! Maybe it’s the kid in me that still likes to play with their food, but I much prefer to scoop up my soup with a piece of bread rather than a spoon. This soup is delicious served with a warm ciabatta loaf. I especially love Izzio bakery ciabatta bread, made in Louisville, Colorado. It is pretty easy to find in the Denver metro area. Izzio breads are affordable and come in the freezer section so you can always have one on hand. Just pull it out of the freezer, pop it in the oven, and there you have it delicious bread.
Hungry yet? Let’s get cooking!
Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
Curl up with a bowl of thick and hearty fall soup that is loaded with vegetables: butternut squash, bell peppers, potato, and onion. Seasoned with caraway seeds and sweetened with granny smith apple, this soup is incredibly flavorful and will delight your taste buds. Top it off with pickled mini sweet peppers for a zesty punch. Mmmmm!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow cook
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Pickled Peppers
- 4 mini sweet peppers, sliced
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1/4 teaspoon of mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon of whole black pepper corns
Butternut Squash Soup
- 1 medium-sized butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 granny smith apple, peel, cored and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 2 bay leafs
- 2 cups of unsweetened cashew milk
- 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- Handful of parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush the olive oil on the flesh and place the butternut squash flesh side down on a silicone baking sheet. Pop it in the oven and roast for 45 minutes.
- Make the pickled peppers. Add the sliced peppers, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns to a small mason jar. Put on a lid and give it a good shake to mix everything up. Set aside for at least 45 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of water to a large stockpot. Add the chopped potato and cook on high until the potato is tender about 15 minutes. Strain the potato and set aside.
- Using the same stockpot, add olive oil and kick the heat up to high. Add the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the orange, red bell pepper, potato, apple, garlic, and caraway seeds. Cook for 10 minutes on medium-high.
- When the butternut squash is finished roasting, let it cool for about 10 minutes then scoop the butternut squash out and add it to the stockpot.
- Add the bay leaves, cashew milk, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves. Blend the soup using a stick blender in the stockpot. Cook the soup for an additional 10 minutes to thicken. Stir in the fresh parsley.
- Serve in bowls and add the pickled peppers on top. Soup is delicious with ciabatta bread.
Notes
This recipe was inspired by the Autumn Butternut Squash Soup recipe from the folks over at Forks Over Knives.
Butternut squash soup is great as leftovers and keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The pickled peppers keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Erica
