Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup
This butternut squash and lentil soup recipe is so tasty and warming. It’s mildly spiced and packed with protein. It’s also gluten and dairy free.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 lb butternut squash
- 1 cup split red lentils
- 1.5 cups coconut milk 1 tin
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder
- 4 cups vegetable stock or bone broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh coriander (cilantro) optional garnish
Instructions
- Chop up the onions and garlic. Peel and chop the butternut squash into small chunks, if you are not using frozen.
- Add olive oil to your Dutch oven or large saucepan and set it to a medium heat.Cook the onions on their own first, until they start to become translucent. This should only take a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, if you are not using bone broth, boil 4 cups (1 litre) of water to make your chicken or vegetable stock.Place the stock cube in a Pyrex measuring jug and pour in 4 cups (1 litre) of boiling water. Stir to dissolve the stock cube.Set the stock to one side.
- Add the garlic, butternut squash and curry powder to the pan and mix well. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Rinse the split red lentils in a sieve, ideally using filtered tap water. Then add these to the pan.
- Add your bone broth or stock to the pan, stir well and bring to the boil.Once it has started to boil, reduce to a medium heat and stir every now and again. Cook for around 20 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.
- After 20 minutes add the coconut milk.Bring to a boil and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Use a hand held immersion blender to blend the ingredients into a soup. You can make it as smooth as you like, or leave it with bigger chunks in.
- Once you have blended the soup to your preferred consistency have a taste of the soup and add some salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with some fresh coriander / cilantro leaves and a drizzle of coconut milk if you want to make it look fancy!
Notes
How to store and reheat
This soup can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Allow the soup to cool completely before placing it in the refrigerator or freezer.
You can reheat this soup on the stove in a saucepan, or in a microwave.
Do I need an immersion blender?
Whilst having a hand held immersion blender will make your life a lot easier, you can get by without one. If you have a different type of blender, you can spoon in the soup in batches and use that instead.
Or you could use a potato masher and crush the butternut squash once it is cooked. However, this won’t give your soup a very smooth consistency.
Can this soup be made in a slow cooker?
Yes! Simply add all of the ingredients (apart from the fresh coriander / cilantro) into the slow cooker and set to cook on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours. Just before serving use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh coriander / cilantro leaves before serving (optional).
Nutrition
Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 644mg | Potassium: 1018mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 16428IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 6mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!