Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Keep warm and cozy with this sweet and spicy curried butternut squash soup- even on the coldest and rainiest fall days!

Servings: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time:  20 minutes   |   Cook Time: 40 minutes   |   Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced (approx 4 cups)
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 5-6 cups water
• Coconut milk, for garnish
• Cilantro, chopped for garnish
• Pepitas or pumpkin seeds, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent, approximately 3-4 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon, bay leaf, salt and pepper and toast the spices for one minute. Add the diced squash and apples and stir the ingredients together. Add enough water to just cover the vegetables and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the squash is cooked through.

Remove the bay leaf from the pot. While still warm, use a hand blender to puree the soup until it is completely smooth. You can also use a food processor or blender to puree the soup, but make sure to do this in small batches, only filling the food processor or blender so that it is half full (to avoid a soup explosion and burns).

Once the soup is pureed and is still warm, add the soup to bowls and top with coconut milk, cilantro, and pepitas.

Enjoy!