If we haven’t told you, or you haven’t figured it out yet, FALL IS IN THE AIR.
That being said, we wanted something warm and hearty to fill us up after we drank our amazing Spiced Apple Wassail. Thus we went to the refrigerator to take a peek at what we had, and then it hit us. We had the worlds most important ingredient, BACON! Then we turned around a saw a butternut squash and proceeded to grab an apple to make this happen. Then it happened and voila.
We think we did it. We think that this should be a meal to enjoy all year round so we can always have something in mind that is loaded with bacon.
Bacon Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash peeled and cut into large chunks
- 3 whole carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1/2 pounds raw bacon chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 small apple chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon taste bud depending, start with 1 and add to taste
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit
- Toss squash and carrots with coconut oil
- Arrange in a baking dish and roast uncovered for 35 minutes or until tender
- In a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside for the soup garnish
- Add the onion and apple to the dutch oven or stock pot and sauté in bacon fat over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes
- Add the roasted butternut squash, carrots, chicken broth, and coconut milk to dutch oven or stock pot and bring to a boil stirring often
- Remove from heat
- Use an immersion blender to blend your soup or working in several small batches, blend soup in food processor or blender until smooth
- Return to dutch oven or stock pot, bring to a simmer and season with salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
- Serve soup in large bowls garnished with bacon or you can freeze and save for later. We have frozen mine up to 2 months
Notes
Want to learn which ingredients are the best to cook with?
Check out our friends over at Wellness Force Radio and learn about how good nutrition impacts your health with Udo Erasmus:
Spiced Apple Wassail
I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s always delicious! It’s hard to mess it up. I undercooked the roasted veggies last time so I just let the soup simmer longer and it was perfect. I also didn’t have a big enough squash so I used more carrots and added some cooked cauliflower before pureeing it.. still delicious!
Thank you for the great recipe! Hit the spot! :)
You are so welcome Mayra, so glad you enjoyed
I followed the advice of many commenters and used only a smidgeon of cinnamon and nutmeg. Next time I will omit these completely, as the apple makes it sweet already. I added a bit of cayenne, put a handful of spinach in the bottom of the bowl ( covered with a plate for a couple of minutes and it cooked from the heat of the soup) and garnished with bacon and scallions. The added savory flavors helped tone the sweetness down and created the perfect combo of flavors. YUM! This would be delicious with pork chops instead of the traditional apple sauce. Thanks!
(My carrots did take a tad longer to roast than the squash, but I usually throw them in to roast about 5-10 minutes before the squash)
Thanks for this! Always looking for great soup recipes, and this is a keeper. I make it almost every week and freeze it for lunch or whenever I feel hungry…though I do omit the nutmeg and cinnamon (tastes just great without it!)
Oh yes, I agree it tastes great without it too
I made this soup for dinner. It was absolutely delicious and I will definitely make it again. I did reduce the spices a little and I stirred in some kale at the end. It was incredible!! Thank you!
Ah sounds awesome. Thanks for letting me know Erin :)
Just made it. Thanksgiving side. Had to sub some sweet potato as I didn’t have enough squash (I can get it already cubed!) Wish I would have used the Granny Smith I had but went with a Fugi. Going to thin it out with a little apple juice I think. Don’t want to use more chicken stock – I had to add quite a bit. It’s delicious though!
Awesome. Happy thanksgiving
Did not test my carrots after roasting for 35 minutes, which was a mistake. I think for most carrots, the roasting time should be increased to an hour (even if they are cut into fairly small chunks). Fought with that pot of soup for an hour, alternately trying to cook the carrot pieces and shred them sufficiently with the immersion blender. Finally got it basically cooked. I agree with the comments about the spices being overwhelming, too. I would reduce both cinnamon and nutmeg to 1/2 tablespoon. Or instead add just 1 tablespoon of garam masala or curry powder. I thought it approached a curry flavor, but missing the cumin. My soup turned brown after adding the spices, which was disappointing. Also agree about not being able to taste the veggies.
Thank you for all your feedback Jackie :)
This soup was great! I did not blend the soup after cooking, as I do not have an hand held blender, but it was still great! Did not add in the cinnamon or nutmeg, but just salt and pepper. Will definitely make this again!
This recipe is great. I made it exactly how it is stated. I think next time, though, I will reduce the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. I think if your spices are fresh, you’ll find that the taste is a little overwhelming and you can’t taste the flavor of the butternut squash itself. I will definitely be making this again using 1/2 tbsp cinnamon and 1/2 tbsp nutmeg. It’s a keeper.
This soup is to die for. I swear, I could eat it every week and not get sick of it!
Is really supposed to be a tablespoon of nutmeg and cinnamon?
Yep!!
George, this recipe is amazing!! I’ve never cooked or tasted butternut squash and was delighted by it. I actually didn’t use the bacon for garnish but blended it in with the soup and it was so good! I will be making this in the future! What are the nutritional facts on this? Like how many calories and such? Do you keep track of that?
Thanks again for the recipe!! Really in love with it!!
Hi! I don’t keep track of nutritional information, but you can plug in the recipe to myfitnesspal or a similar application :)
You’re welcome :) glad you enjoyed it!
Ok, how in the world did you cut, peel, and chop a 2-3 lb butternut squash, as well as prepping all the other ingredients, in 15 minutes? I must be using the wrong knife…so do you have any tips for peeling & chopping a raw b-nut squash?
Thanks!
It’s all about the knife ;) it took me a few years to really master preparing vegetables. Keep those blades sharp.
What would you use an a replacement for coconut oil? i’m allergic to it.
I’d grab some ghee or grass-fed butter instead.
What kind of apple did you use? It looks kind of like a granny smith in the picture, often use these for baking, but wondering if a sweeter apple would add a different taste?
Also, I have a HUGE organic butternut squash, how do you go about peeling it before baking it? I’ve always roasted squash by halving it and cooking in a baking dish filled about an inch of water and covered in foil. Super excited to try this!
Sounds like you know EXACTLY how to handle the squash. I would recommend using a Granny Smith, yep :)
Oh I should say, I used beef broth because I had some good stuff in the fridge. I’m not sure if that added to the depth of flavour, but yum…! :)
*Whimper*
Oh my goodness… this is heaven in a bowl. I pureed the bacon in with the soup, and used apple instead of pear. Didn’t have coconut milk, used a bit of heavy cream. It was sweet, it was smoky, it was SO GOOD. This is going into the regular rotation!
Thanks again! :)
I will have to try it with apple instead sometime. Thank you for the feedback! :)
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve made it twice now and its incredible — perfect for a busy work week. I added raw chopped pecans to the bacon garnish to help spread it out a bit further and it was delish. :)
That’s a great idea. I always approve adding bacon to ANYTHING!
Yes! Delicious. Just sorry I didn’t double the recipe!
Made this soup tonight for a “not-so-sure-what-she’s-getting-me-into” boyfriend. Needless to say, there won’t be any to freeze; there’s probably two bowls left. Winner winner, butternut squash dinner! Yum! Thank you!
Made this last night and it was ridiculously flipping amazing. There’s leftovers in the fridge, but that’s only because there’s just 2 of us and I didn’t think it would be a wise idea to eat the entire batch of soup in one go. LOL.
That said, when it came time to “simmer” for the final step, the soup was so thick that even on the lowest setting, air built up and soup bubbles formed and popped (because it was too thick to really simmer properly)… and a schlop of soup landed on my finger and gave me a pretty bad burn (it’s blistered up this morning, eeew!). But seriously… WORTH IT.
I’d just suggest that if someone makes it and it’s quite thick, to have a care in that final step just in case!!!
(And if you don’t make this recipe, OH MAN, you’re missing out!!!)
So sorry to hear about that Faith, at least the burn tasted good
No worries, it was honestly worth it. :)
We ate the leftovers last night and as weird as it sounds, I think it almost tasted better on day 2!!!
Forgot to give it 5 stars. So here ya go!
Ok, this is fantastic. I just finished making it to have ready for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious. I roasted the seeds with some kosher salt to have as a garnish in addition to the bacon. Can’t wait to dig in! This is definitely going into my weekly rotation. :-D
Woohoo. So glad you loved it
OMG i think i love you! lol new to your site and in love with everything about it! awesome stuff keep it up! btw, my 2 year old calls bacon “num num” her two favourite things are bacon and butternut squash so ill think this will be a new staple in our lives! Thank you so much!
Just one word….. LOVE!!!
One of my favs!
Woohoo thank you
So, I have been cooking so many different variants of Butternut squash soup! Ones with sweet potato, without, ones with coconut, without, the list goes on.
Then, BAM, I stumble across this sweet little creation. May I just say it is amazing! Slightly more time consuming then my other variants but it is so worth the effort!
Everyone, make this soup.
Do it now, you will not regret it!
Haha thank you Didi, I am so glad you came to leave me a comment :)
My mom and I wanted to try this, but unfortunately she is allergic to coconut. Would this still work even without the coconut ingredients?
You can, but I don’t know how it will taste. Let me know
George,
I’ve made your soup many times now, and it gets better each time! I make a large batch and freeze half for the days where I may not be able to cook/prepare meals. Thank you for your passion and dedication to health.
Many Blessings to You,
Christina
Thank you so much Christina, I am so glad you love it
Excited to try this now that we are GF and avoiding dairy. Pinned it to refer back to later in the week. Thanks for posting this!
Your welcome :)
George, First time have made one of your recipes and this soup was great! I made a double batch as I have made various versions of butternut soup before, but never with apples and bacon. The rest should last me the better part of the work week! Thanks!
Sorry for the typos, but there is no edit feature.
Awesome, welcome to my site. Hope you love many more
Love love love this soup! Blows all others out of the water. Thank you so much for sharing. It has become a staple in our Paleo eatin’ household. After reading one of the comments above, I’m going to check out your brownies.
Thanks again!
Thank you Jennifer :)
I made this tonight! We haven’t sat down to dinner yet, but from the tastes I had out of the pot, it’s delicious! I didn’t have any nutmeg:( I added only a tiny but of cinnamon and some cayenne for heat.
Oh that sounds delicious Michele, I will try that
George – I wanted to let you know that my husband and I made this soup Friday night and both of us really enjoyed it. We made a large batch and froze half to have during a future busy weeknight. Thank you so much for your website and your words and your recipes. I have no idea how you juggle everything so successfully, but it is apparent that you love what you do and we love you for it!
P.S. The bacon we used produced a lot of grease, but we left all of it in the pot since the recipe didn’t mention removing any. For me personally, I will remove about half next time. While it gives the soup a great flavor, it was a little overwhelming. This is in no way a negative critique of your recipe, just my personal opinion.
Thank you so much for all the kind words Alicia. I am so glad you both loved it and since I make my own bacon it doesn’t produce a lot of fat so that is completely acceptable. I hope you enjoy many more recipes :)
I made this soup a couple of weeks ago. The BEST Butternut Squash soup EVER! I made it exactly according to your directions. I don’t think there is a need to change anything. With the entire family eating Paleo, it didn’t last very long. I have some cooked squash in my frig ready to make another batch in a couple days. Thank you.
Your so welcome. So glad you all loved it :)
That sounds devine
This recipe was great I added some minced ginger.
That sounds awesome Julie
Congrats on getting featured on US Wellness Meats newsletter!
It just so happens I have a squash on the counter, and all the other ingredients (we buy USM’s bacon in mega batches) are available, so I think I’ll be making this today! :)
Thanks Rene. I hope you enjoy the soup
This soup was a hit last night…. With the family:) even my husband who refuses to eat squash enjoyed a bowl full….. Thanks for all the great recipes.
Oh that’s awesome. You are so welcome
Made this tonight with a different kind of squash (not sure what it was as I’m in Switzerland and I’d never seen this one before…just said it was good for soup). Roasted the seeds and used as a topping with the crumbled bacon. It was amazing! Thanks for your great recipes!
Thats amazing. I am so glad you loved it
I made this for a dinner party a couple weeks ago and one of my sisters ‘begged’ that I make it again for Thanksgiving! GREAT recipe! THANKS!
You are so welcome Amy. So glad you enjoyed :)
Can’t wait to hear how much you like it, report back
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delish! I have never liked squash until I started on my paleo journey, now I cannot get enough of it!
Awesome Denisa, I am so glad you enjoyed :)
George! This soup is delicious!! It took me a while to make it; I have a high maintenance 4 month old baby, but the wait was worth it :) The bacon is the icing on the cake! Thanks for a great recipe!
You are so welcome. So glad you enjoyed
Thanks for the recipe george, it was yummy – at least for me & my hubby lol. Of course the kids hated it! Though my squash must have been bigger as it wasn’t soupy at all still good though :)
I am so glad you both enjoyed it :)
Excellent! The only thing that differed for me was that the squash took closer to an hour to roast. Maybe the size of my chunks, who knows. The flavors are excellent. Can`t wait to freeze some for later and also taste tomorrow as a leftover. Sogood!
It probably was the size of the chunks, I keep mine tiny :)
Seriously good. I found it took a little longer than 35 to roast, but 7 mins int pressure cooker fixed that :) Will definitely be making this again.
Great call on the pressure cooker, so glad you enjoyed
Made this last night for dinner (using my fantastic new food processor) and was blown away by the flavors! It was even better today reheated for lunch!! Awesome recipe as usual, thank you!
Woohoo so glad you loved it and that you rocked a new food processor :)
DoDomyiunthink this could be made in slow cooker? If so, what setting and how long? I was thinking low for 2-3 hours? I have a programmable crockpot…love it. Most used appliance in my kitchen.:)
Low for 2-3 hours would be my guess too
Thanks. Making it tomorrow. I will let you know how it turns out:). Love your e-cookbook!
This soup looks great, and I am getting ready to try it tonight as part of our first Whole30. I roasted a pumpkin last night, and am wondering if I could add some of that to this soup as well? Pumpkin and butternut squash should go together well, right?
Yes they do Camille, just use it as a 1 for 1 swap with the squash
Absolutely delicious!!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
You are so welcome, hope you enjoy many more
Amazing!! I loved this recipe even though a made a poor college students version. I used olive oil and regular 2% milk instead of coconut. I made the mistake of not peeling the carrots, so I had to mash them separately after baking. Also, I don’t have a blender, so I let the mixture simmer for 30 mins and then took a hand mixer to it. Still turned out amazing!! Next time I will add the bacon pieces to the actual soup (we ended up eating all the bacon before the soup was done, haha). Thanks do much for this recipe!
HAHA that is amazing, I have the same problem with bacon so i always make double so I can eat it and still have some for the recipe haha
I haven’t even made it yet, and I am already thinking I’ll have to make double bacon! I can’t wait…it looks awesome!
You can never go wrong with doubling the bacon
So I spent almost the entire weekend in noncreepy sweatpants (sans the hoody cause it was unseasonably warm in Pittsburgh this weekend) in the kitchen…in my glory. I made your fabulous soup with a few minor tweeks, cause you can do that with soup, right;) I decreased the cinnamon to 1.5 teaspoons and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. Maybe my squash was a baby compared to yours because I love spices too. I increased the broth to 4 cups and my soup was more “soupy” than your photo. The soup was fab-u-lous topped with crispy pastured bacon goodness and will surely be in a regular rotation this winter. Thanks for the recipe love!
All recipes are made to be adapted. To each is own and I love hearing what other people do with them. I am so glad you like it and rocked the sweatpants, high five for that one
I made this soup this evening using an acorn squash and it was delicious! I cut back on the cinnamon a bit and used some white pepper and it was really good. I can’t believe how much flavour the apple gave it too. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Fall is my favorite season. There is nothing like snuggling up in a hoodie with the windows open and a crisp breeze coming through the house (bonus points if a neighbor is burning leaves or has a fire going so you get that smell coming in, too :)).
At least, there was nothing better than that until I made this soup! It is absolutely delicious and easy to make. The bacon is the perfect contrast to the sweetness of the squash. And it is the perfect addition to my perfect fall evening. Can’t wait to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Yoga pants, winter squashes, and autumn recipes basically make my life. My younger brother made your stuffed butternut squash and he loved it – he isn’t really into cooking so I’m always happy when he gets excited about cooking. I’ll be recommending this recipe next!
Did you make this Kate
Wow – I’ve got two butternut squashes and a kabocha sitting on my counter at home and one more butternut on the way with my CSA. Would it be okay to combine the two squashes, or will that give it an off texture/flavor?
Also, does this freeze well?
Dolores yes you can combine them, that will probably make a delicious flavor combination. You will have to come tell me how it is. Also it freezes awesome, I freeze mine all the time :)
Good in concept – WAY too much cinnamon for us. Completely overpowering and spent another hour or so trying to counteract it to make it at least edible and get it to a place where it tasted like squash again. Sorry – still searching for the perfect butternut squash soup recipe.
I am sorry you didn’t like it JWG. I forgot to put in the post that this is entirely dependent on your squash. I personally had a HUGE squash and forgot to weigh it so I am not sure of the exact. That is probably why I needed so much cinnamon, but I also LOVE cinnamon
This looks killer. My younger brother made your butternut squash stuffed with beef & bacon and he loved it – he’s kind of new to cooking so anytime he gets enthusiastic I get really excited. I’ll definitely share this recipe and make it for myself too!
I totally second you on comfy sweatpants & being fall all year round. Best weather, best foliage, and hands down best FOOD!
Awesome recipe! I have decided to make this year the year that I make lots of awesome soups. This was the kick-off and it’s delicious! I am eating it out of a cup and not a large bowl, though. I hope that’s ok. :)
I think I can forgive you for eating it out of a cup. I normally reserve the cups for my wassail I have been making everyday lol. So glad you enjoyed. I have some other soups you should try :)
Ok, the soup is deeply delicious but even more important …that tat!!
Very impressive! And the man underneath all that ink isn’t too bad either. ;)
Did you do it all in one session??
Thank you Amy. Yes it was done in one very long and painful sitting lol
You can never go wrong with butternut squash and bacon… Best combination ever! Thanks for the amazing creation :-)
Ps: I really want to see the tattoo!
Thank you Rayssa, head over to my caveman facebook page and look in the photos ;) http://www.facebook.com/civilizedcaveman
Okay, I am bookmarking this for next week, it sounds amazing! Plus soups are always good for fall (and my baby digs ’em). Also — I blast the A/C all day so I can wear my warm clothes, true story. I didn’t know other people did that!
Oh yea Rachel me and you both blast our A/C, no shame in our game. Hope you enjoy this recipe
Made this tonight for my daughter and I, and we both absolutely LOVED it! Best paleo soup I’ve made to date. She loves it so much that she asked me to pack some in her lunch tomorrow. I’ll def be making this a lot this fall and winter. Thank you!
Fabulous!! I made this for lunch and it was a hit. Even the picky two-year old loved it! I didn’t have a butternut squash so made do with an acorn squash and it was still very tasty. Thank you!!
Woohoo, I am so glad that you loved it, it sounds good with acorn squash too :)
I have to second your first (hoodies are the bomb),second (non-creepy sweat pants rock),third (full-warm tummy) and fourth (not being able to pat ones back after a large tat, did that…OWch!) thoughts! Thanks for the recipe! Now I know what is for dinner :)
Haha I loved your comments. Please come back and let me know how you liked this and only leave a comment again if it is worth 5 stars haha. For real if it sucks please tell me lol
Hands down the best Butternut soup I have made. Savory and seet! Followed by your pumpkin brownies I made last night…Yum, what a lunch! Five stars to both.
Awesome, so glad you loved them all
I just bought one this weekend at our local farmers market. I couldn’t find a butternut squash soup recipe. But here is it-thank you! It looks so good!
You are so welcome Elaine, I make butternut squash soup all the time. Its the best :)
Thank you! I roasted a butternut the other day and it’s been staring at me every time I open the fridge, now I know what to do with it!
Oh awesome Ann, I can’t wait to hear how you like it. Enjoy :)