Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon & Goat Cheese
One of my absolute favorite soups, not just in the fall, but year round, is this butternut squash soup with bacon and goat cheese.
I’m personally not a huge fan of sweet and spiced butternut squash soups so I wanted to make a recipe that is salty and savory. What more perfect way to do that than add some bacon and goat cheese!
As I said I’m not a fan of spiced butternut squash soup, meaning soups that include spices such as nutmeg, ginger, clove and cinnamon. I’m also not a fan of anything too sweet, so I won’t be adding any sugar, brown sugar or other sweeteners to the mix. The natural sweetness from the butternut squash is enough to balance with the salt of the bacon.
One of my hidden ingredients in this recipe that also makes for a more savory soup, is the red pepper. The red pepper also gives the soup an even brighter color.
Another reason this soup is so bright is because there’s NO HEAVY CREAM, just a half cup of both milk (can use dairy or dairy-free, I used oat milk) and a half cup of plain greek yogurt. Plain greek yogurt and milk combined are my favorite substitute for heavy cream in a recipe.
I paired this soup with grilled cheese and not just any grilled cheese, grilled cheese made with pumpkin bread from Aldi (Trader Joe’s makes a very similar bread as well, but Aldi’s is cheaper and in my opinion, better)! For cheese I use part queso quesadilla cheese (it’s what I had) and part goat cheese.
Feel free to get creative with toppings! Maybe use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon or sprinkle some nuts on top. The possibilities are endless!
Make 4 Servings
Ingredients
2 butternut squash (see notes)
1 red pepper
2 T Olive Oil
6-8 slices of bacon
a bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c vegetable broth
1/2 c milk
1/2 c plain greek yogurt
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 oz goat cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut in half and seed both your butternut squash and red pepper (see notes). Brush about 1 T of olive oil over both sides of the vegetables and place face down or skin up on a baking or roasting sheet. Cook for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare your bacon to go into the oven on a separate baking sheet and slice your green onion to be ready for topping.
When the vegetables are done roasting, leave on the counter to cool while you cook your bacon on the broil setting for about 6-8 minutes making sure to flip half way through. Once the bacon is done, let it cool while you scoop out the butternut squash from its skin.
In a large pot on medium heat, add 1 T olive oil and the garlic to the pot. Cook until fragrant and then add the butternut squash, red pepper and vegetable broth. Using an emersion blender (see notes) blend all the ingredients until there’s a smooth consistency. Then mix in the thyme, onion powder, salt, pepper, yogurt and milk.
Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes while you chop up your bacon for topping. Serve the soup topped with green onion, bacon and goat cheese.
Notes
Gluten-free: This recipe is gluten-free.
Dairy-free: This recipe is dairy-free if you use a dairy free milk (i used oat milk) and use a dairy-free greek yogurt.
Butternut Squash: My squash were a little on the smaller size so I used two. If you find the squash available to you are large, use one.
Cutting the Squash: I roasted my butternut squash with the skin on. If you’d like to go the easier route, feel free to peal the squash before putting into the oven.
Bacon: I used hickory smoked bacon. Feel free to have some fun as substitute with a maple bacon, turkey bacon, chorizo or a vegan bacon substitute.
Vegetable Broth: I used vegetable broth because it’s what I had already and it’s what I recommend. However you can use chicken broth as well if you already have some or prefer to.
Milk: I used oat milk because it is what I had, but you can certainly use any type of dairy or dairy-free milk you have or prefer to use. If you don’t care to use a healthier option, feel free to substitute the milk and yogurt with a cup of heavy cream.
Blending the Soup: If you don’t have an emersion blender then put the squash and pepper in a food processor to blend and then add to the pot.