Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup with Buttery Croutons
Move over butternut — this creamy soup gets its thick, velvety texture from roasted kabocha squash aka Japanese pumpkin. With a perfect balance of savory roasted squash, a touch of cream and layers of maple, cinnamon and nutmeg…this soup is autumn in a bowl!
It’s officially fall, which means it’s the start of soup season! This Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup is perfect for blustery, cold days when you’re craving something savory and warming to take the chill off.
This recipe leaves a lot of wiggle room to tweak and adjust as you go. You’ll see I’ve left notes throughout the recipe card with easy ingredient substitutions. For instance, heavy cream can be swapped out for canned coconut milk and vegetable stock can easily be used in place of chicken stock. Feel free to play around with flavors and proportions.
Hungry for more winter squash recipes? Check out: Honey Roasted Squash with Burrata and Pumpkin Seed Dukkah as well as, Maple-Brown Butter Roasted Squash with Toasted Hazelnuts and Sage.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- For the Soup: kabocha squash, chicken stock, shallot or onion, garlic, fresh or dried thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup and heavy whipping cream.
- For the Croutons: slightly stale bread like a seedy country loaf, ciabatta or sourdough, butter and flakey sea salt.
How to Make Kabocha Squash Soup:
Step 1. Roast the Squash
Carefully cut the squash in half. If you’re having trouble slicing through it pop it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to soften the flesh–this trick works for all types of hard winter squash. Scoop out and discard the seeds and stringy membrane then coat the squash all over with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tender. You can do this step up to a day ahead if you feel so inclined.
Step 2. Toast the Croutons
Cut the bread into bite-sized cubes, toss with melted butter and flakey salt. As soon as the squash is done, turn down the oven temp and pop in the croutons. Bake until golden brown.
Step 3. Simmer and Blend
In a large pot or dutch oven sauté the aromatics until soft and translucent. Your kitchen is going to smell amazing! Next add in the rest of the ingredients, excluding the cream, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes then turn off the heat, pour in the cream and blend until smooth.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Kabocha Squash, also known as Japanese Squash or Japanese Pumpkin has a hard and rough exterior, dull dark-green skin and a bright yellow-orange flesh that becomes rich and fluffy when roasted. Flavor-wise it’s very sweet, even sweeter than butternut squash. Kabocha squash can be used just like acorn or butternut squash, it’s great for roasted, mashed or added to soups, stews and curries.
How to Purée Soup – With or Without an Immersion Blender:
By far the easiest way to purée a soup is with an immersion blender. Place the blade end of the immersion blender into the bottom of your soup pot and puree until smooth. To avoid splatters, be sure the blade is completely submerged while blending. My immersion blender or “stick blender” is one of my holy grail kitchen appliances. It’s perfect for quickly blending together soups, sauces, salad dressing, aioli.. etc. It’s compact and easy to clean, if you don’t have one already I highly recommend this one by Kitchen Aid.
If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a regular countertop blender but you need do so carefully and in small batches. Before getting started allow the soup to cool off on the stove, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. In batches, transfer the soup to you blender filling it no more than halfway, then place the lid on loosely leaving it slightly ajar so steam can escape then blend on the lowest/slowest setting until smooth and creamy. Repeat as needed until all of the soup is puréed.
Check Out More Delicious Fall Recipes:
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Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup with Buttery Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 medium kabocha squash (about 2lbs) - halved vertically, seeds removed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 large shallots, or 1 small yellow onion - thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic - grated
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream - or 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt
Buttery Croutons (Optional)
- 2 cups cubed, slightly stale bread; seeded country loaf, sourdough or ciabatta
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp flakey sea salt - or 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the squash on the pan and drizzle each half with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the the inside. Rub the oil over the inside of the squash and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Bake, cut side down, until tender and completely cooked through, about 40 to 50 minutes. Set the squash aside until it’s cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
- Line an additional baking tray with parchment paper and scatter the bread cubes in a single even layer. Drizzle the melted butter and salt over the bread and toss to coat. As soon as the squash comes out of the oven, turn the oven temperature down to 375 F and bake the croutons until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes, stirring half way through.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot or dutch oven melt the butter over medium heat then add the sliced shallot and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium – low heat for 10 minutes, or until soft and translucent then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently about 2 minutes.
- With a large spoon, scoop out the flesh of the roasted squash and transfer it into the pot, discard the skin. Next, add the chicken stock, maple syrup, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg and another generous pinch of salt. Bring the soup to a low simmer, cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, then turn off the heat, pour in the cream and blend with an immersion blender (or in batches with a countertop blender, see notes below) until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
- To serve, divide the soup between bowls, top with croutons and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve right away.
Notes
- By far the easiest way to purée a soup is with an immersion blender. Place the blade end of the immersion blender into the bottom of your soup pot and puree until smooth. To avoid splatters, be sure the blade is completely submerged while blending. My immersion blender or “stick blender” is one of my holy grail kitchen appliances. It’s perfect for quickly blending together soups, sauces, salad dressing, aioli.. etc. It’s compact and easy to clean, if you don’t have one already I highly recommend this one by Kitchen Aid.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a regular countertop blender but you need do so carefully and in small batches. Before getting started allow the soup to cool off on the stove, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. In batches, transfer the soup to you blender filling it no more than halfway, then place the lid on loosely leaving it slightly ajar so steam can escape then blend on the lowest/slowest setting until smooth and creamy. Repeat as needed until all of the soup is puréed.
- Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat over low heat in a saucepan or in the microwave. Add a few tablespoons of water to loosen up the soup as needed.
- Freezing Instructions: Cool completely, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in fridge then reheat in the microwave or on the stove until piping hot, stir well.
