Description
Thick, creamy soup that’s bursting with butternut squash flavor. it’s slightly sweet and topped with some smoky, crunchy chickpeas. This soup is great for meal prepping or feeding a crowd. it also freezes well.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- SOUP
- 1 butternut squash (4 cups), cubed*
- 1 onions, chopped
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
- 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup honey (or sub maple syrup or agave nectar for vegans)
- 1/2 can light coconut milk, shaken (could sub full fat for a richer soup)
- CRISPY CHICKPEAS
- 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (optional)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 teaspoons coconut sugar
- Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- SOUP
- To a slow cooker, add all of the ingredients to except for the coconut milk. Cook on low for 8 hours of on high for 4 hours, or until the squash and carrots are fork tender.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the until smooth, OR you could transfer the ingredients to a blender, working in batches so that you don’t fill the blender more than half way at a time. Return the soup to the slow cooker to keep warm, if needed.
- Stir in the coconut milk and adjust taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add more honey/maple syrup for more sweetness and more salt and pepper to bring out the flavors.
- CRISPY CHICKPEAS
- An hour before your soup is done cooking start making the chickpeas. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the drained, rinsed chickpeas on a clean kitchen towel. Pat dry with the towel, they don’t need to be completely dry, but they do need to be mostly dry. Remove any skins that come off in the process.
- Transfer the chickpeas to a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the spices and the oil. Taste a chickpea and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Spread the chickpeas onto a medium sized rimmed baking sheet so that they have plenty of room. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. The chickpeas will become a light brown and char slightly, when they are done they should be pretty crunchy. Stick with them for the last 20 minutes and stir them every 5 minutes to prevent burning. Allow to cool completely.
- To serve the soup top it with some chickpeas.
- Soup leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days. Store the chickpeas in an air tight container on at room temperature. The soup also freezes really well.
Notes
*You could use frozen, defrosted butternut squash since we are purreing it. Or you can use pre-cubed unfrozen squash you can sometimes find at a grocery store.
Watch thisvideo for how to peel and cut a butternut squash. I also find it helpful to poke a few holes in the squash and microwave the squash on high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it’s warm to the touch but not hot. This softens the squash slightly and makes it a lot easier to cut into!
