Still rocking soup season as Jersey continues to get cold! I am a big fan of butternut squash – roasted as a side dish, stuffed as spaghetti squash, stews and now a creamy vegan soup!
The game-changer was purchasing my immersion blender. I have always wanted to make creamy soups but the thought of transferring the ingredients hot and steamy to a blender in batches goes against my simple recipe philosophy!
Once I saw how easy it was to now make creamy soups with just a hand blender, my life has changed! I love creamy soups in the Winter but often find store-bought brands with dairy, sugar, high in sodium and other ingredients that I just don’t care for.
I adapted this recipe from one of my fav bloggers WellPlated. I love that she uses coconut milk to make it extra creamy while keeping it dairy-free. I went with my leftover chicken bone broth from Bonafide Provisions but you can use vegetable broth too to keep it vegan/vegetarian.
The addition of the fresh herbs I think are key to this recipe. I went with fresh sage and rosemary, the aromatics alone are worth it! (You can heat up the leftover herbs on the stove with a cinnamon stick and orange peels to make your home smell festive!) Toasted pumpkin seeds top everything off and give it a slight crunch. In place of any added sugars, there are apples chopped up in this dish – one sweet and one tart which are genius! I went with a granny smith green apple and a honey crisp (which is my fav!!)
To make this recipe even easier I purchased butternut squash already diced and ready to go. Cut’s your prep time down! Chop up a sweet onion and add it to the slow cooker along with the cubed butternut squash and cored and diced apples. Pour in your stock of choice (go with organic and low sodium) season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and turmeric. Cook on high for 3-4 hours (I went with the full 4) Add in the coconut milk at the end and again on top before serving if you wish! Sprinkle with the fresh herbs and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Enjoy all week long as this can be stored in the fridge for a few days and even frozen for later enjoyment. Creamy and delicious and love that it came out thick! Perfect for a snack or great with a side salad. Even better as an appetizer on Thanksgiving!
Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you give it a try! I love to see what you are up to!