Butternut Squash Soup with Buttered Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons
Silky smooth butternut squash topped with crunchy sweet croutons, perfect for fall meals.
Ingredients
Soup
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3 pounds butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, each half cut in half widthwise; seeds and fibers scraped out and reserved.
- 6 cups water
- salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
- pinch ground nutmeg
Croutons
- 2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, about 1 cup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Soup
- Melt butter in large pot over medium-low heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add seeds and fibers from the squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes.
- Add water and 1 teaspoon salt to pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, place squash, cut side down, in steamer basket, and lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until the squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Take pot off heat and use tongs to transfer squash to rimmed baking sheet. When cool enough to handle, use large spoon to scrape flesh from skin. Reserve squash flesh in bowl and discard skin.
- Strain steaming liquid through fine-mesh strainer into second bowl; discard solids in strainer. You should have 2 1/2 to 3 cups liquid. Rinse and dry pot.
- Working in batches and filling blender jar only halfway for each batch, puree squash, adding enough of the reserved liquid to obtain a smooth consistency. Transfer puree to clean pot and stir in remaining steaming liquid, cream and brown sugar. Warm soup over medium-low heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Stir in nutmeg, season with salt to taste. Top with cinnamon-sugar croutons and serve. Options for other toppings include lightly toasted pumpkin seeds, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or a dusting of paprika. Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Croutons
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°. Combine bread cubes and melted butter and toss to coat. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl, then add to bowl with the bread cubes and toss to coat.
- Spread bread cubes in single layer on parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet to room temperature. Croutons can be stored for up to 3 days.