Looking for a cozy recipe to get in the fall spirit? Look no further! I present to you: roasted pumpkin butternut soup. This hearty vegetarian dish is the perfect addition to your weekly meal prep and is high in vitamins A and C.

Feel free to get creative and customize your toppings and seasonings throughout. If you choose to make this dish from scratch, I highly recommend roasting the pumpkin seeds and using them as a garnish!

Get your friends involved and add pumpkin carving—and soup making—to your list of festive fall activities!

Ingredients

One pumpkin pie pumpkin OR two cans pumpkin puree

One small butternut squash (roughly two cups cubed)

One head of garlic

One half yellow or white onion

Heavy cream (about ¼ cup)

Roughly ¼ cup olive oil

4 cups vegetable broth (1 container)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Directions

1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Begin by cutting your pumpkin in half and removing the seeds, setting seeds aside for later use. Half and deseed butternut squash, remove the skin, and cut into cubes (can also use pre-cut squash). Remove the top from the head of garlic, leaving the rest of the skin on.

Olga Lindner

2.) Season pumpkin with salt and pepper, and set face down on a lined baking tray. Coat cubed butternut squash and head of garlic in olive oil, and place on tray for roasting. Season butternut squash to taste (I just used salt and pepper to begin with). Your tray should look something like this:

Olga Lindner

3.) Let the vegetables roast for roughly 30 minutes, checking periodically to test if the pumpkin skin is soft enough to puncture. In the meantime, separate pumpkin seeds and guts, rinse and dry, and place seeds on a lined tray seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Let seeds roast for roughly 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Note: If you want your seeds to be extra crispy let them dry in the fridge overnight. Additionally, you can boil them in salted water for some extra flavor before roasting!

4.) Heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot, and add half a diced onion, cooking until translucent. Separate roasted pumpkin and garlic from the skin. Add roasted pumpkin, butternut squash, and garlic into a large pot with sauteed onion. 

5.) Add roughly two cups of vegetable stock to the roasted vegetable mixture, keeping stove heat on low. Blend together all ingredients with an emulsion blender. Slowly add remaining broth until you reach desired consistency. Once blended, add a dash of heavy cream (roughly 1/4 cup). 

Note: If you do not own an emulsion blender, blend together squash, roasted pumpkin, and garlic in a blender or food processor, and then add to pot.

6.) Once all ingredients are blended together, continue to slowly heat on the stove, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a side of sourdough, and garnish with parmesan cheese and roasted pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

Olga Lindner

Note: If you are using canned pumpkin, feel free to modify portions to yield a smaller batch. I would recommend freezing the extra pumpkin butternut soup for an easy weeknight dinner that lasts up to three months!