One-Pot Roasted Squash Soup

By J. Kenji López-Alt

One-Pot Roasted Squash Soup
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(797)
Notes
Read community notes

You could make pumpkin or squash soup by roasting the pumpkin on a sheet tray while sautéing onions, carrots and ginger on the stovetop before combining it all with stock and blending it. But it’s tedious compared with tossing everything into an oven-safe pot, roasting it all, then blending it directly in the same pot. The onions cook a little unevenly using this method, and that’s a good thing: Some slices sweeten gently while others deeply caramelize as they roast, giving the soup more complexity. For a little sweetness, some apples or pears are added to the roast as well, but you can omit them if you prefer a more savory soup.

Featured in: Kenji López-Alt’s Family Loves This Soup. Here’s How He Made It Easier.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 2kabocha or kuri squash (3½ to 4½ pounds total), skin on and quartered, seeds, pulp and hard stems discarded
  • 1large yellow or white onion (about 12 ounces), peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1large or 2 medium carrots (about 8 ounces), peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4coin-size slices of fresh, peeled ginger
  • 2apples or pears, cored and roughly chopped
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
  • 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 6cups homemade or store-bought stock, or water, plus more as desired
  • 2tablespoons maple syrup or honey (optional)
  • Juice of ½ lemon or ½ orange
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

271 calories; 13 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 1003 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the squash, onion, carrot, ginger, apples, herbs (if using) and olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large, ovenproof saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Place the pot in the oven, uncovered, and roast until the squash shows no resistance when poked with a paring knife or cake tester, 1 to 1½ hours.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer the pot to the stovetop, and discard any woody herb stems (if using). Add the stock or water, and place over a burner set to medium-low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it’s as smooth as you like. (You can also transfer to a standing blender or food processor in batches if you prefer.)

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the maple syrup (if using) and citrus juice. Adjust the consistency with more water or stock if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

Ratings

4 out of 5
797 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Bonnie

Sumptuous soup, although I could not find the Kobacha today so bought 3 large bags of frozen cubed butternut. Skipped the oven roasting and just put everything in a big pot on the stovetop until carrots were soft and then used the immersion blender. Absolutely delicious.

Jeff

Add an Ancho chili for a classic Southwestern take on this soup.

beth

Kabocha squashes, unlike butternut, has delicious edible peel.

T. Kinzler

I don't understand how this can be made in 1 1/2 hours if the vegetables have to be in the oven for that long. It doesn't take into consideration the amount of time cleaning, slicing and also the blending. Add another hour to include prep time.

Cathy

pop it in the microwave for 4 minutes before cutting. Much easier

frankeee

I made this yesterday as written with 2 unpeeled kabocha squash (@4 lbs.) and 2 pears. Roasted 90 minutes, then simmered in 5 cups veg broth 30 minutes more. After immersion blending, soup looked like green split pea soup. Added a cup of water to thin it - still thick though. Wonderful subtle flavor.

KWH

I make soups like this all the time, and I am definitely going to try this method in other recipes. One note about this one, though: I loved roasting the squash with its skin. After 1 1/2 hours it was certainly tender enough to chew, but my immersion blender couldn't handle it. I ended up using a food processor, but if I had to do it again, I would either cut the squash in much smaller chunks or just peel it.

TamiFaye

If you click on the link of the story, this recipe came from, the whole point is using squash that doesn’t need to be peeled. I know Kabocha squash peel is edible when roasted, but I don’t think the soup pictured was made with peel on. I think there’d be a lot of green flecks in it but I’m gonna try making it and will let you know.

Corlan Johnson

I make soup like this every winter. If you have leftovers, try adding some coconut milk and curry paste or powder.

Debbie

I make a very similar soup but with different spices: Madras curry, smokey paprika, cinnamon, salt, cayenne, and black pepper.I do peel the squash as those grown in my neck of the woods have a fibrous texture. I also simply toss the vegetables into a slow cooker with 1T olive oil and cook for 4 hours on high. I also finish with 1/2 cup of dairy, usually 1/2 and 1/2 or whole milk. Okay, so it's not the same but it is very good!

Anne

I don't get the peel. Is it really soft enough to blend and eat?

Adam

The soup in the picture was probably made with a kuri squash, which has a red skin.

Cathy

I put it all as written except no olive oil ( I can’t tolerate fats) in the instant pot for 30 min then natural release. Mashed then immersion blended k squash skin and all. Took some tweaking with salt pepper orange juice I added pear balsamic vinegar and pomegranate molasses too instead of the honey. I thinned it out a bit with trader joe almond cashew macadamia milk It made a lot of soup! I’ll do variations over the next few days adding cherry tomato. Maybe topping with raw apple

Ruth from Rego Park, Queens

After accidentally steaming a winter squash to mush years ago, I came up with a similar, easier, recipe. Squash, water, onion, celery, ginger & spices went into the pot, plus some soymilk & a little peanut butter while blending it up. No caramelizing, no roasting, no sheetpan. It was so good that I brought it to a Thanksgiving dinner, where a friend prononounced it better than sex (best compliment ever!) It's hard to go wrong with these ingredients. So happy to see this recipe here!! Enjoy!

Tanya G

This soup was delicious! Made a few tweaks. Used butternut squash and roasted everything on a sheet pan. Since I had no fresh apples, i used a few tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce instead. I also used more stock since I prefer my soup less thick. Finished the soup off with a dollop of coconut milk. Will definitely make again.

me

So easy to make a big batch and freeze in individual portions! We add a little cream/milk too

J Fischer

This was delicious. I used roasted butternut squash since I grow it and dried apples because they were there. The soup was quite hearty and had a lovely sweetness so I didn't bother with the maple syrup. Definitely a keeper. I don't see why this couldn't be made with leftover roasted veggies too.

Julie, Sonoma

Brilliant! I approached this like making stock: all languishing veggies go in. Peeled butternut squash, some red bell pepper, onion, a jalapeno, carrots, cooked potatoes, I roasted them on a sheet pan to get optimal caramelization, then all into the stockpot. Left out the apple and sweetener but added a chipotle and a bit of adobo sauce for spice. The easiest delicious soup ever!

Jeff

I made this with 2 unpeeled kabocha squashes (4 1/2 lbs) and only one apple; otherwise, I followed the recipe as written.Roasted for about 80 minutes, at which time the squash was very tender, but the peel felt firmer than I'd expected. I knew an immersion blender couldn't handle the pureeing, so I used my Vitamix. The resulting mixture was incredibly viscous and an unattractive khaki color. I didn't care for the taste either. Had to add lots of water, but the mouth feel was still unpleasant.

sarah

Used a peeled butternut squash, 4 smallish carrots, 2 yellow onions, 1 pear, a 2”x1/2” piece of fresh ginger, 4 cups of vegetable stock about 1cup of water: the pear and ginger makes this soup sing!

jon

The recipe calls for 6 cups of liquid and orange juice, which made the soup very watery. I would recommend less or reduce it down which would increase the cook time

Lou

I made a similar soup today but roasted everything including the garlic and used sweet potatoes and carrots, using olive oil and Montreal steak mix which is my go-to and is amazing!!! Three white onions and celery were sauteed, then the roasted veg added plus smoked paprika, sea salt, paprika, and coconut milk. It totally rocks.

Eliz.

Plus good farm carrot

Eliz.

Thank you, JKL-A for wonderful technique!! Gorgeous & delicious prior to blending portion; next time I'll leave half as is & add white beans before wilting spinach in broth. New batch turkey stock, small cut rutabaga, golden beet, Gold Rush apple, butternut, sweet potato, onion & thyme. 1/4 c cider not advised; sweet enough without. I highly recommend trying the one-pot oven roasting method which is the point.

Miranda

I couldn’t find kombucha squash, so used buttercup. After baking, I cooled the squash on a rack and then used a grapefruit spoon to remove the squash from the peel. I forgot to add olive oil or herbs before baking. The flavor was remarkably complex and flavorful.

Tammy Sumner

Add to Dutch ovens baking: Cut back squash to 1/2 to 2/3 Leave same amount onion Double ginger Add one chopped,deseeded hot pepper, like Serrano Add heaping spoon yellow curry, like hot Jamaica curry or penzys yellow Once blended, in addition to stock: Add rice vinegar Lemon juice Cut back on honey added Garnish Roasted coconut shredded, fish sauce, sweetened rice wine vinegar, olive oil Ba Roast at 425 until lightly toasted, be careful not to burn

@bocaboy

Put the whole kabocha in the oven for 5-10 minutes to soften a bit for chopping (adjusting your roasting time) or use a cleaver.

Chessia

This is the easiest and best soup ever. I come back to it over and over again. I put al the ingredients on a sheet pan and roast at 400F. Usually the onions look a bit burnt—it’s all good. I don’t use herbs, but add curry powder, maple syrup, and lime juice. Serve with some crème fraiche. Everyone loves this soup.

Claire

Used butternut and it was fantastic . Big thanks to kenji for honoring our time, sanity , and humanity with this one pot recipe !

Lynn

11/23 Made as directed except one apple. Sweet is not a favorite flavor. Amazing process. The pot gets the brown roasted sweetness on the bottom and the broth immediately absorbs it.I roasted the squash 10" longer as the squash skin was not quite done. Used a little broth to deglaze and used immersion blender and added broth until got desired consistency. So delicious. Will add a little lemon juice before serving-no honey. Did add ginger but not herbs

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