Mmmm… This soup is one of my favorites. We just had it last week and it still makes my mouth water to think about it! I know this is often thought of as a winter time soup, but we served it luke warm on a 95 degree day with some cool salad and fruit and it was perfect!

I don’t really have a recipe for this. I just add a bit of this and a bit of that and change it up every time. The basics are there, but the nuances change each time it’s made. This time my boys even ate it down to licking the bowl, latterly done by my youngest son!

Since it is meatless, it easily fills you up, but doesn’t hold you super well. Hubby and I ended up with nuts and cheese for an evening snack! We don’t often snack after dinner, but the boys were in bed early that evening and we were playing a game together and needed some munchies!

I use my Vitamix to puree the soup and I also use it to heat it. If I let it run on high for 3-5 minutes it friction cooks and heats. When there is steam coming out of the cap it is ready to eat! This is fantabulous for the summer! I don’t have to heat the house with the stove. I have tried putting raw butternut squash in the Vitamix to make this soup, but it doesn’t quite taste the same. In fact, we didn’t like it at all… it tasted to raw for our liking. You do have to roast the squash first, but it is well worth it and so yummy!

We don’t use our AC very much, so turning the stove or oven on is something I tend to avoid at all costs! Our motto is that we don’t turn it on till the temperature is over 100 degrees. However if friends or family is coming to visit and it’s warm we will often turn it on for a few hours so that our guest feel comfortable!

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash
1.5 cups of chicken broth (I have used bouillon cubes with no MSG in the past, but not as good for you)
1.5 cups of milk
3-4 TBSP butter or coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Cut butternut squash in half, remove seeds from center. Place in middle of oven and roast for about 1 hour or until a fork easily goes through the thickest part of the squash. Remove from oven and let cool until easy to handle. Scoop out meat of squash and discard/compost the skin. Place all of meat into blender/Cuisenart/Vitamix/Blentec, etc.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the roasted squash and blend to desired consistency. Blend until hot if using Vitamix or Blendtec. If not, then will probably need to reheat soup on the stove. If you want it a little thinner add more milk.

Variations:
Add onion sautéed in coconut oil to give some added flavor.
Add additional seasoning like curry or garlic, fresh basil or tarragon or whatever spice sounds good to you.
Substitute the milk for coconut milk, almond milk (might be too sweet) or rice milk, or other dairy/non dairy product!