Welcome to a simple and simply delicious butternut squash and bean soup. Plus this soup contains a nice helping of kale! It tastes like you are stepping into your garden and harvest time and savoring all those homegrown vegetables.
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I love it when recipes taste like something that freshly came out of my garden! This recipe was inspired by my other squash soup recipe that similarly tastes as if it came directly out of a garden, but instead of using spaghetti squash, I wanted to take the butternut squash from my garden and make something that I equally loved.
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Ingredients
Please note! Many of the ingredients that you see pictured in my photos are directly from my garden. The quantities may look a bit off in the pictures, but I have measured them so you can get the same result as I have.
- Ground beef, sausage, or turkey
- Peeled and cubed butternut squash
- Medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained (or chickpeas)
- Water or broth
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Fresh kale
- Grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish (green can okay)
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Dried thyme
- Dried sage leaves
- Mineral salt (Redmond Real is my preferred salt)
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Black pepper
- Pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
The process for making this soup is quite simple. It's a chop-and-throw-in-a-pan type of recipe. Honestly, the longest part is chopping all the butternut squash!
Cook ground beef, sausage, or turkey. Drain fat. Add meat to a large saucepan.
Chop the butternut squash into medium-sized cubes.
Chop onions. Add to pan.
Add squash (if using) white beans, garlic, paprika, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Heat to bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until butternut squash is tender. Stir in kale and let kale soften.
Gently add parmesan and nutritional yeast and stir in. Taste and add adjustments to seasonings as needed. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Hint: Although you don't have to add the shredded summer squash, it adds such a lovely flavor. If you don't have any, grab some zucchini from the grocery store. You won't regret the extra step! AND your kids get more veggies without knowing it.
Substitutions
There are a few substitutions that
- Kale - you can also use cabbage instead of kale.
- Parmesan cheese - eliminate the cheese entirely if you want to make this into a dairy-free recipe. You could alternatively try a dairy-free cheese like those that are in the Trim Healthy Cookbook.
- Northern beans - you can truly substitute any bean for the northern beans if you wish. The northern beans add a lighter flavor profile.
Equipment
- Dutch oven or soup pan.
- Cutting board
- Cutting knife
- Onion chopper
Storage
This recipe stores well in the refrigerator for up to a week. Over a week the kale will start getting soggy. More information about freezing the soup can be found in the FAQ section.
Top tip
Make sure you don't overcook the kale! No one likes soggy and mushy kale in their soup.
FAQ
Can I freeze this butternut squash soup?
Yes! Absolutely! And guess what, it freezes really well. Once it is cooled, ladle soup into mason jars (leaving plenty of head space) or gallon storage bags. I prefer mason jars, but I have used storage bags as well. It is preferable that if you are going to the store leave the greens out until you are ready to reheat. However, it won't ruin the soup if you forget.
Can I use roasted butternut squash?
Sure! I love using roasted butternut squash and roasted pumpkin seeds in this recipe. Both add quite the flavor combination. Roasting is a great way to add a caramelization flavor to the soup. It's also great for repurposing veggies. If you had roasted butternut squash the night before and have leftovers, this would be a great way to use the leftovers.
Butternut Squash and Bean Soup
Welcome to a simple and simply delicious butternut squash and bean soup. Plus this soup contains a nice helping of kale! It tastes like you are stepping into your garden and harvest time and savoring all those homegrown vegetables.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef, sausage, or turkey
- 1 lb. peeled and cubed butternut squash
- 3 cups grated zuchini or summer squash (yellow kind) (optional)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 (15-oz.) can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained (or chickpeas)
- 4 cups water or broth
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 cups fresh kale
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 to 2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 to 2 tablespoon dried sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon mineral salt (Redmond Real is my prefered salt)
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ½ teaspoon papirika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook ground beef, sausage, or turkey. Drain fat.
- Chop the butternut squash into small cubes.
- Chop onion. Add to the pan.
- Add meat and butternut squash to a large saucepan.
- Pour water or broth and almond milk into the pan.
- Add shredded summer squash (if using) white beans, garlic, paprika, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Heat to bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until squash is tender.
- Stir in kale and let kale soften.
- Gently add parmesan and nutritional yeast and stir in. Taste and add adjustments to seasonings as needed.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 218Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 461mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 10g
Online nutritional calculators are estimates only. Use your best judgement when consuming.
Food safety
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are handling meat. I know I need a refresher sometimes on basic safety in the kitchen!
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
