Description

Roasted butternut squash soup with crispy bacon and tangy goat cheese.

Ingredients

Scale

3 strips thick cut bacon, diced
1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1.5 cups roasted butternut squash
4 oz. goat cheese, plus extra for garnish
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
Easy Crusty French Bread, for dipping (optional)

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Instructions

Put diced bacon pieces in a large pot over medium heat. Cook until fat has rendered and bacon is crispy, about 7-10 minutes.
Remove cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Leave the bacon fat in the pot over medium heat.
Add chopped onion and garlic to pot and stir to combine. Sauté in the bacon fat, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent and slightly browned, about 4 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add a splash of stock to the pan to deglaze, and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon or stiff spatula. Add the rest of the stock and stir to combine. Bring mixture up to a simmer.
When soup is simmering, stir in butternut squash and bring the mixture back up to a simmer.
Remove soup from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
Add goat cheese to soup and stir until cheese has melted.
Add milk to soup and stir to combine. I like to use my immersion blender one more time here: blend until all milk and goat cheese are completely incorporated and the soup is smooth and velvety.
Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with a sprinkle of goat cheese, a handful of the bacon you cooked at the beginning of the recipe, and a sprig of parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

I roast a butternut squash every few weeks, puree it, and keep it in the fridge to use as needed for recipes like these! I love having roasted squash on demand for soups, butternut squash risotto, and butternut squash mac and cheese. To make your own puree, halve a large butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 30-45 minutes or until squash is easily pierced with a fork. Let cool, then scrape roasted squash into the bowl of a food processor and give it a good whirl to blend it into a puree. Store in the fridge for up to a week and use as needed for recipes like this one!

You can use uncooked butternut squash in this recipe if you like - you will just have to extend the cooking time so that the squash cooks through while it simmers in the stock in step 6.

If you don't have an immersion blender, you can blend soup in a regular blender. I love this immersion blender!

For more unique immersion blender recipe ideas, check out 10 Ways to Use Your Immersion Blender!

If the soup is too thick, add a little more milk to thin it out. Too thin? Blend in another 1/4 cup or so of roasted butternut squash to thicken it up or simmer it an extra 10-15 minutes on low heat.

To make this soup vegetarian, omit the bacon from the recipe and instead sauté onions and garlic in 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. To make it vegan, omit the goat cheese as well and substitute almond or coconut milk for the milk in the recipe.

Serve with easy crusty French bread!

Keywords: soup, comfort food, fall