Cozy up with a bowl of Roasted butternut squash and lentil soup that is bursting with fall flavors. This comforting soup is a medley of butternut, lentil, and carrot, where the lentils pair beautifully with the creamy and starchy textured butternut squash, making them rich and delicious.
Perfect for the holidays and beyond, this luscious soup is heavenly!! Even my picky eaters eat this soup without much fuss.
For me, comfort food primarily equates to a bowl of warm soup during the cold season. And if you love soups, like me, then you will be wild about this roasted Butternut Squash and lentil Soup.
It is a healthy, hearty, and soul-satisfying soup that will satisfy your hunger and warm you up from head to toe on a cold winter night! On top of it, the soupy goodness is a low-sugar and low-fat fare while being dairy-free, vegan, protein-packed, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free.
Now, what more can I ask in a bowl of soup?
This Roasted Butternut Squash and lentil soup is amazingly delicious for something so simple.
Reasons You’ll ♡ Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup
Squash is one of the best foods you can take in winter, containing a chockful of nutrients. The deliciously comforting soup always appears on our menu as it is packed with a plethora of essential nutrients while being tasty. What’s more, the soup is —
- Super easy to make
- Comes together with minimal ingredients
- Packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients
- Full of flavor, warmth, and goodness
- Loaded with hearty veggies
- Smooth and Velvety
- It is an excellent winter warmer!
In short, this Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil soup has clean, simple whole food ingredients married to create a flavor explosion.
Ingredient list for Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup
This mildly spiced filling squash and lentil soup is simple in its choice of ingredients and cooking technique. Gather the below ingredients, and you are all set to make this vibrantly colored orange soup.
Red Lentils — Lentils add creaminess to the squash and lentil soup. You can use hulled red lentils that cook easier than other lentils. They break down much easier, giving them a thick, creamy, and hearty texture while providing a better color.
Butternut Squash — The nutty and sweet butternut squash is the building block of the soup. Brightly colored and sweet, it is an excellent source of omega 3, vitamins, and beta-carotene. Besides, it is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Store-cut butternut squash works perfectly for this recipe. Even frozen butternut squash will work, though baking time may vary.
Carrots — These are rich in beta carotene, lutein, vitamin A, lycopene, and silicon. Therefore, adding carrots to winter soups is an excellent idea to make them more nutritious.
Celery — Soups usually have an aromatic vegetable base, giving them essential flavor and texture. Celery plays a significant role in it. Apart from being nutritious, it also gives the much-needed crunchy texture. The natural saltiness and slight bitterness from celery also lend the squash and lentil soup a depth of savory flavor that no other vegetable can provide
Garlic — Another great addition to the soup is garlic. When cooked, garlic loses some of the spicy kick and instead brings in a nutty flavor, giving a complex taste to the soup, which is much loved.
Bay leaves — Packed with vitamins and nutrients, bay leaves are usually incorporated in soup since they lend an aromatic taste and fragrance to the soup, which amps its flavor profile. The more they simmer, the more the flavor.
Onion — Onion, celery, and carrots make up the mirepoix or the base of various soups. Onion provides a distinctive flavor and texture to soups. It has a savory flavor kick with slight sweetness, which goes well with the other ingredients while adding moisture and texture.
Vegetable Broth — It is mainly added to soups for its flavor. Make sure to use a low-sodium version, as it is much healthier. Also, look out for those who have balanced flavor and more body.
Lemon — It is added at the end to brighten the soup’s flavor with its slightly acid flavor, which balances all the other flavors in it.
Black Pepper — It comes with piney and citrusy notes apart from heat which is excellent for improving the flavor of soups. Furthermore, they have anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties, which gives more reason to add them.
Turmeric — The spice adds a depth of flavor to the soup because of its earthy bitterness. On top, it gives a vibrant color.
Cumin powder — The earthy aromatic spice is included in the soup, for it provides citrusy notes for this hearty soup.
Paprika — The colorful spice is included for its sweet, smoky flavor.
How to make Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup?
Peel the squash — The roasted squash and lentil soup recipe start by peeling the butternut squash. It’s a tough job, but you can easily peel and de-seed a butternut squash with this simple trick. Clean butternut squash with a wet towel to remove dirt or grits. Poke holes in the squash. Microwave on HIGH for 3-4 minutes. Microwaving will soften the skin and make it easy to peel.
After 3 minutes, carefully remove the squash from the microwave. Allow it to cool for 2-3 minutes. Peel the outer layer. Slice the top and end off.
Cut squash in half. Using a spoon, remove seeds from the squash. Cut the butternut squash into cubes.
Roast the squash — Preheat the oven to @375 degrees F. Grease a baking dish. Add cubed butternut squash, carrots chopped into cubes, celery, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and black peppercorns to this dish.
Spray olive oil and add sea salt. Mix it well. Make sure garlic is not on top of the vegetables, as it burns quickly. Bake in the preheated oven (375 degrees F) for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork-tender.
Keep a watch on the veggies when they are fork-tender (meaning when the fork slides through the baked vegetables without any resistance), and remove them from the oven.
Prepare the soup — Wash lentils and pressure cook lentils for 1 whistle (5-10 minutes) until soft. Red lentils lose their shape and often end up mushy during pressure cooking. No worries at all. Set it aside.
Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed wide pan. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add the baked vegetables and cook for additional 5 minutes. Pour in vegetable stock and season with spices. Give it a good stir. Time to add cooked lentils to the veggies.
Mix to combine. Cook the veggies for another 5 minutes. This allows the veggies to blend beautifully with lentils and vegetable stock. Remove bay leaves and discard. Use an immersion blender to blend the veggies+lentil mix until smooth and creamy. Bring it to a boil. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Garnish — Take it off the flame. Pour in soup bowls. Finally, complete the butternut squash and lentil soup with a drizzle of coconut cream, chopped green onions, and pomegranate seeds. Serve hot!
Can I make roasted butternut squash and lentil soup in the Instant pot?
You sure can! If you want to make roasted butternut squash and lentil soup in the Instant pot, follow the recipe until Step 7.
- After that, turn the Instant pot on; turn the Instant Pot to ‘Saute mode.’ Once it displays ‘hot,’ add oil to the insert.
- Stir in chopped onions. Cook until it’s soft and translucent. Remove bay leaves and peppercorns from the baked vegetables and add the vegetables to the cooking onions. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Pour in vegetable stock and season with spices. Time to add rinsed lentils to the insert. Mix to combine. Make sure the squash pieces are submerged in the sauce. Do not stir.
- Turn the Instant Pot off. Close the lid and seal the pot. Press the Manual or pressure cook button and cook the squash curry for 6 minutes on HIGH.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, turn off the Instant Pot. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release. When the pin drops, carefully open the lid.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the veggies and lentil mix until smooth and creamy. Bring it to a boil. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Pour in soup bowls. Finally, complete the squash and lentil soup with a drizzle of coconut cream and chopped green onions. Serve warm.
Expert Tips and Variations!
This squash and lentil soup is a versatile and straightforward soup that can be completely customized to your liking. Some handy tips!
Modify the veggies — Feel free to add or subtract veggies as per taste for more nutrition and texture. Options include – broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, zucchini, and pumpkin. Possibilities are endless! For picky eaters, the best part is that you can hide the veggies they dislike in this roasted butternut squash and lentil soup, and they won’t even know about it.
Garnish — The roasted butternut squash and lentil soup can be topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and a drizzle of coconut milk and butter. It is possible to add croutons for a contrasting texture to make gluten-free soup.
For extra spiciness — you can add a bit of cayenne pepper or add chili flakes along with paprika. You can also spoon in the exotic Arabic spice blend Ras el hanout, which will give it a unique fiery flavor.
Roasting — Roasting the butternut enhances the flavor of the creamy soup. It brings out a depth of flavor that is usually missing in the classic butternut squash soup, giving it an earthy and caramelized flavor
Butternut squash — If you are unable to get good butternut squash, you can substitute it with acorn squash, buttercup squash, Hubbard squash, or any winter squash. Or else, you can even go for sweet potato since they both have a similarly sweet, moist, and nutty flavor.
Lentils — Instead of red lentils, you can use any lentils of your choice, but the texture and cooking time may vary. The best option, though, would be yellow lentils. Be aware that the cooking time will be high in that case.
Carrots — Carrots are much liked by all. But, if not preferred, parsnips can be added instead of baby carrots as they have similar tastes and textures.
Celery — Either carrot or cooked fennel can be used in place of celery since they have the perfect mellow flavor.
Cream — Non-vegans can substitute coconut cream with regular cream to garnish this roasted butternut squash and lentil soup
Let me know what you think!
If soups are your ultimate bowl of indulgence, as it is for me, then you really should take a peek into my soup and salad category.
I have many wholesome and hearty soup recipes ranging from roasted tomato basil soup to instant Thai butternut squash soup in it, which are simple and easy to make.
Should you make this roasted butternut squash and lentil soup, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.
Some of the other popular soups are:
ROAST THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH
INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE THE SOUP
Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 305mg | Potassium: 541mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 10355IU | Vitamin C: 22.5mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2.5mg
