I absolutely love a good butternut squash soup this time of year and I find myself stocking up on squash like I imagine our ancestors may have prepared for the long winters prior to the introduction of grocery stores!
There’s just one problem I have with traditional butternut squash soup – it never seems to fill me up enough to feel like a meal! Admittedly, I have a huge appetite… anyone that knows me, knows I could I’m always hungry no matter how much I eat! Fortunately or unfortunately, our children have inherited this same salacious appetite and never seem to be satisfied. I need soups with staying power! Soup that gives me all the warm and cozy feelings, but doesn’t leave me feeling hungry an hour later. Butternut squash soup can be an easy meatless and plant-based meal, even once my secret high-protein ingredient is added to it!
Butternut squash on its own is so nutritious, being that it’s extremely high in vitamin A, vitamin C and antioxidants. Naturally creamy when roasted, butternut squash makes a perfect thick and hearty base for soup, without needing to add cream or milk. What butternut squash doesn’t have a lot of, is protein. This is where my secret ingredient comes in!
How to Add Protein to Butternut Squash Soup
I had been trying to consume more protein, to put on weight after I finished nursing the youngest of my three girls. Every time I nursed a child, I would end up under my normal weight even though I was consuming more calories than I normally do. We now have four children including a one year old (it’s a boy!) whom I still nurse exclusively, so I need to work harder at getting more protein in my diet. The idea was sparked to increase the protein in butternut squash soup, by adding red lentils.
Lentils are a super lean, plant form of protein, and women should get around 40 grams of protein a day – which I guarantee most of us aren’t getting!
The addition of lentils, makes this soup a fiber AND protein-rich, grain-free, nutritious meal that will carry you over to your next meal of the day! Choosing red lentils over brown lentils, ensures they blend in seamlessly with the color of the butternut squash and are virtually invisible.
How to Make Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Sautéing a little onion and garlic with nutmeg, gives the butternut squash soup all the Fall feels and creates the delicious flavor base. I love that this soup can be made in one big pot from start to finish.
Once the onion becomes tender and the garlic fragrant, add some maple syrup to round out the sweetness in the squash with a caramel-like finish. I add the lentils, squash and liquid all at the same time, heat it up to a boil and reduce it to a simmer to meld the flavors.
When the soup is finished cooking, an immersion blender makes it easy to puree right in the pot and achieve the silky, smooth, naturally creamy finish that butternut squash soup always has.
Just prior to serving, crack some black pepper over top and sprinkle on pepitas of choice. I love sprouted pumpkin seeds, which are easy to digest and even more nutritious than conventional. If you’re serving kids, try allowing them to dress up their soup themselves! This little trick always makes my littles more curious to give their meal a taste!
Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/4 large onion (or 1/2 a small)
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 c red lentils
- 5 c water or broth of choice
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- pepitas for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the stem end off of the butternut squash, stand it up on on the cut end, and slice down the middle of the squash to split it in half. Scoop out the seeds, brush the tops of the squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and place faceup into a rimmed sheet pan with an inch of water in it. Place the pan into the oven and allow to cook for 45 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the tops with a fork.
- In a Dutch oven or stock pot, add the remaining olive oil and heat on medium. Add minced onion and cook until translucent and starting to brown.
- While your onions are cooking, scoop the flesh from your butternut halves. Add garlic, nutmeg, salt, maple syrup, butternut squash and lentils to the pot with 5 c of water or chicken broth. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are cooked.
- Add more water as necessary - the soup should be thick, but also “soupy!” Turn off heat and purée with an immersion blender or allow it to cool and add in batches to a food processor.
- Sprinkle the soup with plenty of freshly cracked pepper and pepitas to serve!
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