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    You are here Home » Recipes » food

    By: Melissa

    Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

    Roasted acorn squash soup is made with roasted carrots and acorn squash along with carrot top pistou. This creamy Fall soup is so delicious. The pistou for this roasted squash soup is a pesto that is made from carrot greens and it is so easy to make and adds such wonderful flavor. This soup makes a great soup for Fall, Thanksgiving, or whenever the mood strikes.

    Jump to Recipe
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

    About this roasted acorn squash soup

    For this roasted carrot and squash soup I like using acorn squash and carrots because they have a delicate flavor and are not too sweet. This is one of our favorite acorn squash recipes and such a great way to use this squash when it is in season.

    Although I prefer acorn squash to all others, you can certainly substitute butternut squash if that is what you have on hand. Another thing I love about this soup is it uses carrots that we always have lots of them in our fridge in the Fall.

    Carrots and acorn squash go so well together!

    I love making this soup and lots of carrot cake to use up our supply of carrots. To me, this soup is a complete win in the Fall because it tastes so delicious and it makes use of veggies I have in the house.

    Carrot top pistou that tops this soup

    If you are not familiar with pistou, it is like a French pesto. It comes from the Provence region and is usually made with basil, garlic and olive oil and it's used to top soups.

    This recipe forgoes the basil and uses the green tops of the carrots instead. It is essentially a carrot green pesto. It is amazing!

    carrot green pesto (pistou)

    This roasted carrot and acorn squash soup goes so well as a main dish or as a side for Thanksgiving or larger gatherings. It is really easy to make and really big on flavor.

    Ingredients needed

    There are not too many ingredients needed. Half of the ingredients are split between the soup and the other half the carrot top pistou.

    • Acorn squash
    • Carrots (green tops reserved for the pistou)
    • Chicken stock
    • Garlic
    • Heavy whipping cream
    • Bay leaf
    • Dried thyme
    • Shallot
    • Olive oil 
    • Salt and pepper

    Pistou

    • Carrot top greens
    • Parmesan cheese
    • Olive oil
    • Garlic

    How to make this easy acorn squash soup

    • Add all of your veggies to a large sheet pan.

    You are going to roast the carrots and acorn squash in the oven. Add just a little bit of olive oil to them before roasting.

    This will bring out a beautiful deep flavor in your squash and carrots and make the soup taste amazing. You will remove the skins from the acorn squash after it is done roasting.

    • Mash down the Carrots and Acorn Squash:

    Now add the fully roasted vegetables into a large pot.

    In this step, you are going to mash down your vegetables. You don't have to mash too much since they will be going into the blender later.

    • Add your stock:

    Mix the stock into your mashed veggies.

    You will add your chicken stock to your mashed-up veggies and mix it well. Once you do this you will start to bring it over to your blender to puree it into a soup.

    This can be done in batches. You always want to make sure to only fill your blender halfway with hot liquids so it doesn't pop out of the container during blending.

    • Add the pureed carrot and squash soup back into your large pot:

    Once you add the pureed soup back into the pot on the stove, you add your heavy cream.

    This is where it all starts to come together. After you are done pureeing your soup in the blender add it back to your pot and mix in the heavy cream. The soup will become thick and silky.

    Cream-being-added-to-acorn squash soup
    • Gently Warm:

    Once the cream is well incorporated you begin warming the soup over low heat

    Now that you have a creamy delicious soup, the last steps are making sure it is nice and warm all the way through and tasting for seasoning. This is a great time to add any salt or pepper that it may need (to taste).

    You would be surprised how much cream takes away from the saltiness of soup.

    squash and carrot soup image

    That is it. It is very easy. To serve the squash and carrot soup, just ladle some soup into a bowl and top with a dollop of your pistou. The pistou is so good!

    Tips

    What can I serve with this acorn squash soup?

    In our house, all soups are served with a good crusty bread and this one is no exception. I like making my crostini, homemade ciabatta, homemade yogurt biscuits, or Parmesan bread to serve alongside this soup for dipping.

    If you want a lighter item to pair with this carrot and squash soup, try a simple spinach and mushroom salad, roasted radicchio salad, or chopped kale salad.

    Do you need to roast squash for acorn squash soup?

    Yes. This roasting the acorn squash and carrots is where all the flavor comes from with the vegetables. The roasting brings out the sweetness from the vegetables and helps soften them up for pureeing.

    If I am serving this as a side dish, what meat goes well with this squash soup?

    I always make this as a main dish but at larger gatherings, I will make this as a side. For the holidays I like to serve this squash soup as a first course to my Baked ham with glaze or alongside cast iron chicken when I entertain.

    Can I freeze the leftover soup?

    Yes. This soup freezes beautifully. Just let it cool completely and place it in a freezer-proof container or bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.

    To thaw, place the frozen soup in the fridge overnight to gently defrost.

    To reheat, place your soup into a large pot and heat on low until fully warmed through.

    Highlights of this easy carrot and acorn squash soup:

    • The carrots and squash are roasted until caramelized adding a great lightly sweet and nutty flavor
    • There is little food waste since we are using carrot tops to make the pistou
    • The garlic and Parmesan from the pistou complement the sweetness of the soup adding depth of flavor

    This is so easy to make and such a delicious fall squash soup!

    If you want more soup inspiration for the cooler weather you might like:

    • Winter minestrone
    • Indian garlic soup
    • Pasta Fagioli
    • Vegetable Soup with Cabbage
    • Coconut Curry Ramen Soup
    • Sausage and Tortellini Soup
    • Italian Wedding Soup

    More like this

    If you love this carrot and squash soup, you may also like these:

    • acorn squash slices
      Simple Roasted Acorn Squash Slices
    • gnocchi and pumpkin roasted on a sheet pan
      Roasted Gnocchi with Pumpkin
    • pear and vodka cosmopolitan
      Pear Martini With Spiced Syrup
    • gnocchi with parmesan cream
      Pan Fried Gnocchi with Kale and Parmesan Cream

    Faqs

    Do you leave the skin on squash for soup?

    When roasting the squash for the soup you leave the skin on but when you are ready to puree the soup, make sure to remove the skin since you do not want to eat it.

    Can you substitute Butternut squash for acorn squash?

    Absolutely. Butternut squash will be a little sweeter so plan for that in the recipe.

    Carrot and acorn squash soup
    Print Recipe
    5 from 5 votes

    Roasted Acorn Squash Soup with Pistou

    A delicious and creamy Fall soup with an amazing carrot top pistou
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time30 minutes mins
    Total Time40 minutes mins
    Servings: 6 people

    Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!

    Author: Melissa

    Equipment

    • High powered blender for pureeing the soup

    Ingredients

    • 2 acorn squash cleaned, cut in half and seeds removed
    • 8 medium fresh carrots cleaned and peeled and green tops reserved
    • 32 ounces chicken stock good quality
    • 2 cloves of garlic minced
    • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
    • 1 bay leaf
    • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
    • 1 shallot diced
    • 3 tablespoon good quality olive oil plus a little more for drizzling on vegetables
    • 1 teaspoon salt and pepper plus more to taste

    Carrot Top Pistou (carrot top pesto)

    • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
    • â…› cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 whole bunch of carrot top greens rinsed and coarse chopped
    • 1 clove of garlic course chopped
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    Instructions

    • Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees
    • Add your cut and cleaned carrots (not the green tops) and cut and halved acorn squash to a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
      8 medium fresh carrots, 2 acorn squash
    • Roast your vegetables for about 20-25 minutes or until they start to brown a little and are soft all the way though
    • Once cooked, remove from the oven and let cool for a minute before handling
    • In the meantime, heat a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat and add ½ of your olive oil
      3 tablespoon good quality olive oil
    • Now add your diced shallots and 1 clove of your minced garlic and cook for about 4-5 minutes
      1 shallot diced, 2 cloves of garlic minced
    • Now add your chicken stock, thyme and bay leaf
      32 ounces chicken stock, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 bay leaf
    • Now you are going to get the roasted vegetables ready to add to the pot by scooping the flesh of the acorn squash away from the skin. You may be able to just peel the skin of the squash right off.
    • Once this is done, you can add your whole carrots and the flesh of the squash right into your soup.
    • You can mash it down a bit with the back of your spoon. Don't worry about smoothness here since we will be pureeing it all in a blender.
    • Now add your salt, pepper and your cream
      1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
    • Mix it well and let it come to a light simmer
    • Once it has simmered for a few minutes, remove your bay leaf and discard.
    • Bring your pot over to the blender (If you have an immersion blender, you can just puree your soup right in the pot and skip the blender steps)
    • Add your soup to the blender making sure to only fill it ¾ of the way to the top as hot soup will expand in the blender
    • Place the top on your blender tightly and cover with a towel. Puree your soup on high for 2 minutes or until smooth
    • You may need to do this in batches to make sure you do not over fill your blender
    • Once your soup is all blended and smooth, add it back to your pot. Taste for any seasoning (add salt and pepper to taste) then place over low heat with a lid on top.

    Carrot top pistou (carrot top pesto)

    • Take the green tops from your carrots and finely chop them
    • Add this to a food processor along with the remaining â…› cup of olive oil, 1 clove of minced garlic and your Parmesan cheese and blitz until it is smooth.
      ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 whole bunch of carrot top greens, 1 clove of garlic, ⅛ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • Add your pistou to a small bowl

    Assemble

    • Ladle your soup into bowls and top with a dollop of the pistou
    • Enjoy!

    Notes

    For making a more traditional Italian pesto with the carrot top greens:
    You can add ½ cup of nuts (almonds or walnuts) and 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pesto recipe and mix in the food processor until somewhat smooth.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 1462mg | Potassium: 693mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1155IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutrition Values are estimates only.

    See full nutrition disclaimer here
    Course :Soup

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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Anna says

      November 03, 2022 at 4:34 pm

      5 stars
      I love acorn squash too and this soup was the perfect way to use it! The carrot pesto was delicious with it.

      Reply
      • Melissa says

        November 03, 2022 at 4:42 pm

        I am glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    2. Jan says

      October 13, 2022 at 11:56 pm

      5 stars
      The soup was amazing! The topping really makes it. Such a great contrast to the creamy soup

      Reply
    3. Aliana says

      November 15, 2019 at 4:29 pm

      5 stars
      Looks amazing!

      Reply

    Trackbacks

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