If you need a quick, easy, healthy butternut squash soup recipe without cream or coconut milk that is dairy-free, vegan and even paleo – this one is it! Since I seem to be allergic to all of the dairy-free milks out there and don’t use cream, I used cashews to make the soup creamier and it worked. Actually, it was SO good, the best butternut squash soup you can make with 10 simple ingredients in around 30 minutes.
The first time I heard about pumpkin or butternut squash soup was when I was doing my Master’s in biochemistry in Germany. My friend kept telling me they were going to eat Kürbissuppe at home. Day after day after day. And after like 5 days, “I thought, when is that weird soup going to come to an end?”. I didn’t want to offend her, but to me, coming from the Balkans, the words pumpkin soup sounded horrendous.
See, we’re simple. It’s either bean, lentil, or chicken soup. Sometimes you could do meatballs or spinach and rice or things like that. Like, normal soup foods that don’t taste sweet. Sweet = dessert. Not sweet = soup or dinner. These are the rules of Balkan life.
The only two things we’d make with pumpkin or butternut squash (which we call violin pumpkin) were – 1/ bake it with some sugar and nuts, or 2/ make it into a dessert with phyllo pastry (usually as part of the pre-Christmas fast). And now that I’m talking about it, I think I will make this, because I have phyllo dough and so many butternut squashes in my garden.
Anyway, my friend back then insisted that I should also try the pumpkin soup. She didn’t invite me for a bowl of their week-old gourmet dinner, so I had to buy a pumpkin and make it on my own. Well, Butternusskürbis was the cheapest and smallest one and therefore the winner that day. I still remember that soup 15 years later. I didn’t write down the recipe, but I remember I had put in some broccoli and dill in it and it was SO nice. I remember the dill really made it even better.
Then I didn’t make any savory recipes with butternut squash for many, many years after. (Okay, I had forgotten about this soup)
Now, this is a different butternut squash soup as I didn’t have any dill and I made it without coconut milk or dairy. I used butternut squash, cashews (for the creamy part), onion, garlic, spices, lemon juice and some ginger. It was SO good. Like, I think even better than the one I originally made. Hope it doesn’t take me another 15 years to repeat. But if it does: here’s the recipe as a reminder for my future self and instructions for you! Below, I also share some step-by-step photos that I took in the dark when I made it.
Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
Easy healthy butternut squash soup recipe with 10 simple ingredients that you can make in 30 minutes without cream, coconut milk or roasting. This soup is spicy, creamy, delicious, dairy-free, vegan and even paleo.
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw chopped butternut squash
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 2 cups water (or stock)
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp juice of lemon
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onion, pumpkin and garlic.
- Sauté the onion and garlic with crushed red pepper, coriander, ginger and olive oil for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add in the butternut squash and the water (add salt) or stock. Then bring to a boil and add the cashews.
- Reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer covered with a lid for 20 minutes.
- Add in some lemon juice, blend thoroughly, and adjust for salt and pepper.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Use sweeter varieties like butternut squash.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 329Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gUnsaturated Fat: 17gSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 10gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g
How To Make Butternut Squash Soup
Roughly chop the vegetables – butternut squash, onion and garlic.
Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil, crushed red pepper, coriander and ginger.
Add in the pumpkin, salt and pepper as well as the water (or if using stock). Bring to a boil, then add in the cashews and reduce the heat to medium/low. Simmer covered for 20 minutes.
Add in some lemon juice, and adjust for salt and pepper. Then blend with an immersion blender thoroughly until smooth. Enjoy!