It’s like Colorado heard it’s officially autumn and flipped seasons overnight! This weekend was cold, drizzly, and absolutely perfect for curling up on the couch with a blanket. Fall is here – the mountains even got their first dusting of snow. This is prime soup season, friends.
Nothing says fall like adding apples to everything, but soup might be my favorite savory way to use these beauties up; they add sweetness and body and just a little extra blended into veggie soups. Paired with rich butternut squash and creamy coconut milk, this is just what we need to ease into this seasonal transition – and it’s even accidentally vegan. Roasting the butternut seeds with spices make a fun crunchy topping!
Most of Colorado doesn’t usually get several rainy days in a row, but since our home is nestled in the entry of Clear Creek Canyon we get huge rainbursts rolling down from the mountains. While I love the coziness this brings it’s really not ideal for taking pictures of food outside.
It’s occurring to me that I might need to rethink this photography setup before winter, but for the moment I’ll just take advantage of the early morning cloud breaks…. wet table boards and muddy shoes and all.
One of my biggest love/hate relationships with food blogging is adding inedible props to the bowl/plate/skillet. It’s gorgeous, it photographs beautifully, it adds so much interest to the picture… but sometimes my type-A brain stubbornly refuses because it’s silly. (Other times I am totally guilty of this, so win-some-lose-some.)
Trying to brainstorm fall soup toppings led me to crunchy pumpkin seeds, and as soon as I cut into the butternut squash I knew I wanted to roast the seeds! They taste just like roasted pumpkin seeds, just smaller. This extra step is so worth it for a fun seasonal topping that adds so much texture!
Is it soup weather at your house, or are you still firmly stuck in summer? Or, for my southern hemisphere readers, are you finally starting to see spring?! Let me know if you’re ready to pull out the big soup pots!
Butternut Apple Coconut Soup with Roasted Butternut Seeds
Ingredients
- 2 T. coconut oil or olive oil
- 2.5 lb. butternut squash peeled & roughly chopped, seeds set aside
- 2 large baking apples cored & roughly chopped
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 in. fresh ginger peeled & grated
- 14 oz. coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 t. cumin
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 t. olive oil
- 1/2 t. chile lime seasoning or 1/4 t. cumin + 1/4 t. salt
- 1/4 cup coconut milk for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add butternut squash, apples, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.
- Stir in coconut milk, broth, cumin, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook until squash is soft, about 15-20 minutes.
- While soup is cooking, roast the butternut seeds: Rinse seeds and pat dry. Toss with olive oil & seasoning and spread in a single layer across a baking sheet. Roast at 300° until seeds are golden brown, 15-20 minutes.
- Blend soup until smooth & creamy in the pot using an immersion blender, or carefully transfer to a countertop blender and blend in batches.
- Serve hot topped with roasted butternut seeds and a swirl of coconut milk.
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