In the wintertime, I'm a soup queen. I make homemade soup a couple of times per month. I really enjoy having soup as a starter to a main meal when entertaining, or as the main event when it's just Walker, Vienna and I. We had this soup for lunch and then as a little appetizer at dinner with fish and salad.
This turmeric butternut squash soup is creamy (without any cream, dairy or otherwise) and incredibly flavourful! It was huge hit.
Everyone loved the crunchiness on top! Especially Vienna, it was her favourite part of this soup (she LOVES chickpeas and so do I).
Those crunchy roasted chickpeas and kale chips are the perfect balance to the smooth and spicy creaminess of the soup. However, once she got past the chickpeas, she was all "mmmmmm" and "nommy nommy". I was quite pleased, of course! Getting her to try new foods these days isn't as easy as it was when she was around a year old. I often find myself thinking, if she'd just try it, she'd love it! Which is why I was so happy when she did! I find a big part of experimentation with a child is eating with them, as opposed to feeding them at separate times.
When your children see you eating healthy foods, they want to emulate that.
Togetherness at meal time is really important to me as a mom, but we are not perfect at this. Sometimes breakfast is Walker or myself slurping our smoothie while helping Vienna get dressed, but we always sit down to dinner together and make a point of eating brunch together on weekends. Breakfast, on the otherhand, is a work in progress.
I created this soup into a video because I wanted to show you how easy it is! If you're not a fan of butternut squash or you don't have any, you could easily swap in sweet potato instead. You can find the video below and then you'll find the recipe further down in the post.
There are many wonderful health benefits of this soup!
- Butternut Squash is packed with Vitamin A which holds all of the immune-boosting properties
- Butternut Squash also has a high potassium content which can help support strong healthy bones (especially in postmenopausal women and older men, who are often at higher risk for osteoporosis)
- The potassium present in butternut squash can also help to alleviate and prevent muscle cramps and PMS-related cramps
- Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, is a potent antioxidant which can help neutralize and protect the body from free radicals
- Curcumin (or turmeric) has been shown to boost Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which is linked to improved brain function and a lower risk of brain disease
- Turmeric helps to clear up Amyloid plaques (buildup of protein tangles) which are at the root of Alzheimer's Disease
- And no, you don't need to add black pepper to this soup to aid in the absorption of the curcumin, contrary to popular belief. You can read more about that here
I used homemade chicken bone broth I made a few weeks ago for the stock. It's incredibly flavourful and really makes a difference to this soup. If you're just using water, the soup won't be as tasty.
In the recipe I suggest to garnish your soup with kale chips and roasted chickpeas. This isn't mandatory, but it is highly recommended! I have some super yummy roasted chickpea recipes in my book, Joyous Detox, including Sea Salt Rosemarry Roasted Chickpeas, Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas, or you can try this recipe here!
If you're tight on time, you can reach for the kale chips I mention in this post at your local health food store, or you can make your own!
I have three amazing kale chip recipes in my first book, Joyous Health, but today I'm going to share my Sea Salt Kale Chips with you. You can find the recipe below.
Turmeric Butternut Blender Soup
Soups
Turmeric Butternut Blender Soup
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Ingredients
- 3-4 cups butternut squash or one large butternut squash cubed
- 1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)
- 4-6* cups of chicken or veggie stock
- 2 white onions or shallots, chopped
- 1 heaping tsp ground organic turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground organic ginger or one knob fresh ginger
- Juice from half a lemon
- Pinch sea salt
- Kale chips and roasted chickpeas for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spread butternut squash evenly over a parchment covered baking sheet, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and bake until tender for 30-40 minutes.
- Heat chicken or veggie stock on stove on medium heat. Then reduce heat to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, saute onions with extra-virgin olive oil for a few minutes, or until tender.
- Once butternut squash is done, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the squash, onions, stock, spices and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and give it a good blitz until creamy and smooth.
- Give it a taste test, if it's to your liking, you can enjoy immediately.
- Once the taste is to your liking, garnish with kale chips and roasted chickpeas and enjoy!
Notes
Serves 4.
*I put a range for the stock because you can add the liquid slowly and adjust it to your liking. As you can see from my photo, I like it pretty thick and creamy.
Snacks
Sea Salt Kale Chips
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Ingredients
- One bunch dino or lacinte kale, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes (on convection setting) until the kale chips are nice and crispy.
Notes
Tip: After washing the kale, make sure you dry it really well otherwise it will take longer to get crispy in the oven.
If you're like me and like enjoying your soup with a little somethin' somethin', try pairing this Turmeric Butternut Blender Soup with one of the recipes below!
If you end up making this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below or tag me on social media at @joyoushealth!
What's your favourite soup to cozy up to on a cold day?
What’s the best way to peel squashes. I always struggle....
ReplyI use a veggie peeler. I think that's the best way to do it but I often have part of the skin fly across the room! ha!
I made it with kabocha squash and it’s also delicious.
ReplyHey Ellen! That's awesome! So happy to hear it worked out for you :) Rachel - Joyous Health Team
Soup looks delicious! Joy, where is that learning tower from? :) I'm looking for one for my baby!
ReplyIt's from a clearing house near the airport (Toronto). I think it was literally called the Clearing House, but the brand is Little Helper and you can find it on Amazon but it's quite pricey that way. We got it for under a hundred bucks and I believe it retails for around $300 US. My hubs found a good deal just buy doing a little google search. Good luck!
Made this soup and the roasted chickpeas for dinner tonight. All I can say is, YUM! SOOOO good! My 2 yo loved the chick peas and the soup was a hit with my husband who is always hesitant with orange veggies. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. It is filling and satisfying which I never expected from a dairy-free squash soup! This is my new favorite soup recipe. :)
ReplyHey Evelyn, That's amazing! So happy to hear it was such a hit :) Rachel - Joyous Health Team
My favourite soup to cozy up with on a cold day is definitely the Butternut Squash Soup, yummm. It's so smooth and warm. I also like to fall back on chicken noodle soup.
ReplyMmmm, yummy! Butternut squash is a wonderful comfort food isn't it?:)
Made this soup today for a meal prep for my lunches this week; it is delicious! I only had 4 cups of stock and I think next time I make it I will use a little more to make it less thick, but it is so yummy! Thanks for sharing!😍 #ScrappyGidget
ReplyYou're welcome Hayley! Enjoy the soup, it's sooooo yummy!
Hi Joy, I have a bunch of frozen butternut squash cubes in my freezer - would this recipe work if I thawed them? Thanks :) and love your blog.
ReplyYes 100% sounds like a delicious idea!
This is amazing soup! Delicious and satisfying. I roasted both the squash and the onions because I love caramelized onions. Then taking inspiration from your parsnip and pear soup from the Joyous Cookbook I threw a couple halved pears on my baking sheet halfway through. OMG so good. I used home made bone broth which I also think makes everything taste better. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring recipes.
ReplyMmm, that sounds amazing!! Love the addition of the pear, sounds like perfection! I agree 100% - homemade broth or stock is simply the best. Enjoy your soup!
Dear Joy, I truly enjoyed the Turmeric Butternut Squash Blender Soup. It was delicious! Very easy to make. Thank you. Dee Santucci
ReplyGlad you loved it Dee! Thanks for your comment!
This turned out beautifully. I forgot to add the lemon and didn't miss it. Thanks
ReplyGlad you loved it Sandra!
Love this soup - family favourite.
ReplyGlad to hear you love it too!
Tried this soup but the half lemon was too bold, so I added two boiled apples in the end hoping to save it without luck. Too bad 🥹
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