If you are a fan of Panera’s Squash Soup, you must try this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- One small yellow onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 pounds chopped butternut squash (about six heaping cups)
- Three small carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups apple cider or apple juice (do NOT use apple cider vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Dash of nutmeg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 ounces low-fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, more to taste
- Salt to taste
- Heavy cream, optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add vegetable broth, apple cider, squash, carrots, and spices.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until squash and carrots are soft. Remove from heat and add pumpkin puree, butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar. Blend until very smooth. Puree with a hand (stick) blender or in batches in a regular blender.
- Taste the soup and add salt as desired. If desired, add more vegetable broth to thin soup. You can also add a little heavy cream if you want a more decadent soup. You may also add extra brown sugar or honey to achieve a taste closer to that of Panera’s.
- Return to burner over medium-low heat, if needed to heat the soup back up, and then serve immediately.
Notes
- If you want it to be just like Panera squash soup – add more brown sugar and honey to taste. Adding more cream will also give it a richer flavor.
- This soup calls for two cups of apple cider, NOT APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. If you can’t find apple cider (sometimes it’s hard to see if it’s not fall), use a natural (100% juice) apple juice. If you use vinegar by accident, your soup will NOT turn out and will NOT taste like Panera’s.
- To reduce sodium, use low sodium or no salt added vegetable broth.