Roasted butternut squash soup with celery and sage. This healthy soup recipe is one of my favourite ways to use up all those late summer veggies. The aromatic sage and earthy celery create an amazing green Goddess-style colour and also go incredibly well with the sweet, roasted butternut squash. A topping of feta and crushed pistachios and we have ourselves one incredible soup.
Roasted Butternut squash soup
Reasons to put this recipe to the top of your 'mid-week tea' list or even your 'recipes to make for the freezer' list, right now:
- It’s chocker with lots of healthy vegetables.
- It fills you up in next to no time.
- And it looks amazing with all those vibrant greens shining through from the celery and sage. What’s not to love about this soup?
Butternut squash can also be used to pad out a creamy pumpkin pasta dish and is also great in a quinoa salad side dish, which I usually serve with my satay chicken recipe.
Do you peel butternut squash before cooking?
Theres no need to peel butternut squash before cooking. Not only is this incredibly difficult but it also takes a good while to peel when raw. Its definitely so much easier to peel the skin off a roasted butternut squash. My favourite thing about preparing this squash soup is the roasting of the butternut.
How do you roast butternut squash?
- Chop the butternut squash in half length ways
- Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
- Seeds can be discarded or washed, dried and then turned into a lovely snack by roasting in the oven until crisp.
- Drizzle oil over the exposed flesh of the butternut squash. Place on a baking tray and pop in the oven for around an hour.
- The squash is cooked when the tip of a knife easily pushes into the flesh.
- Remove from the oven a cool before peeling off the skin.
So delicious! Baking the squash without peeling it means that the skin comes away from the flesh with no hassle, so this really is an easy dish.
Can you eat the skin of butternut squash?
The skin of butternut squash can be quite tough and so generally its best to remove. However, the skin can be edible if you roast the squash until the skin starts to soften.
How do you make roasted butternut squash soup?
- First roast the squash as instructed above
- Whilst the butternut squash is cooking the rest of the soup can be prepared. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan or casserole dish. Add chopped onion and garlic and fry gently for 5 minutes or until slightly caramelised.
- Next add the chopped celery, 1 teaspoon oregano and black pepper. Stir well before pouring in 750ml of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Chop the roasted squash into chunks and add to the soup. Mix in well and then add the freshly chopped sage.
- Next transfer the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. This is best done in batches to avoid over filling the blender.
Recipe Tip: Transfer the bulky veg to the blender first with only a little of the stock liquid. Gradually add more stock whilst blending until the desired consistency is achieved. If all the stock is used and the soup is still too thick; extra tap water can be added. A good consistency is when the soup just coats the back of a spoon.
How long will this recipe keep?
Once made store this soup in a sealed container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days
Can I freeze homemade squash soup?
Yes homemade butternut squash can be frozen. Make sure the soup is cooled before transferring to a sealable container, then store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating. Make sure reheated soup is piping hot all the way through.
How do you add cream to soup without it curdling?
To prevent curdling always take soup off the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding cream. Adding cream or yogurt to a soup can really add to the flavour as well as help to thicken soup with a thinner consistency.
What should I serve with this recipe?
Every good soup deserves warm homemade mini bread rolls, perfect for dunking and moping up. If you're having this soup as a starter to a 3 course dinner then why not follow with a roast beef dinner or comforting fish pie. For more 3 course meal ideas have a look at my collection of romantic dinner recipes. Love soup? Have a look at all my soup recipes here.
📖 Recipe
Butternut Squash Soup with Celery and Sage
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash (1600g - raw whole weight)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions chopped (200g)
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 sticks of celery chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Black pepper
- 750 ml vegetable stock
- Fresh sage leaves (5 leaves, stalks removed and roughly chopped)
- Water to add if required
- Salt and pepper to season
- Pistachios and feta to top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Halve the butternut squash - you'll need a large knife for this and a little bit of patience. Scoop out the seeds, and either discard or roast in the oven and serve as a snack. Keep the skin on - we will remove this after cooking!
- Place the halved squash on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Use your fingers to spread the oil evenly over the flesh. Place the squash in the oven and bake for around 1 hour. Check regularly, the squash will be cooked when it starts to caramelise and the tip of a knife can be pressed easily in to the flesh. Once cooked remove from the oven and set to one side to cool.
- Whilst the butternut squash is cooking the rest of the soup can be prepared. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan or casserole dish. Add chopped onion and garlic and fry gently for 5 minutes or until slightly caramelised. Next add the chopped celery, 1 teaspoon oregano and black pepper. Stir well before pouring in 750ml of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Whilst the soup is simmering, remove the skin from the cooling squash. This can be done by either peeling the skin away or by scooping out the flesh with a spoon. Once the skin is completely removed chop the squash into chunks and add to the soup. Mix in well and then add the freshly chopped sage.
- Next transfer the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. This is best done in batches to avoid over filling the blender.
- Recipe Tip: transfer the bulky veg to the blender first with only a little of the stock liquid. Gradually add more stock whilst blending until the desired consistency is achieved. If all the stock is used and the soup is still too thick; extra tap water can be added. A good consistency is when the soup just coats the back of a spoon.
- Finally pass the blended soup through a sieve, taste and add salt and pepper if required. If serving immediately reheat gently in a pan but do not boil. Serve in bowls and top with chopped pistachios and crumbled feta cheese if desired.
- If storing for another day do not reheat. Transfer to sealable containers and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Notes
PIN FOR LATER
Caz
I've made this soup, and it tastes divine! Could you tell me please, does the nutritional details include the feta and pistachios?
Debbie
Hi Caz, Thanks so much for your kind comment - so glad to hear that you've made this soup and that you like it 🙂
In relation to the nutritional info - the info that was displayed was based on a previous nutrition calculator that I was using back in 2016. Since then I have created my own nutritional analysis calculator which is a lot more accurate and uses the UK McCance and Widdowson nutritional database. This soup was one of the recipes to still be updated with my new calculator. I have now updated this and have worked out the nutrients for both with and without toppings - I hope this helps. In the actual recipe displayed above shows the amounts without toppings. Above this recipe you will now see 2 links which will bring up the full nutritional analysis for both with and without toppings. I have assumed 20g of nuts and 25g feta per person. Please do let me know if you need any further information. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂