Red Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

5 from 6 votes

Red Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

This red lentil butternut squash soup is rich, creamy, and full of flavor! It's a little bit sweet, lightly spiced, and oh-so-satisfying! Serve with optional curry croutons for a scrumptious bowl of soup that's hearty enough for a meal.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 339kcal

Author: Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

For the Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups vegetable broth
3 cups diced butternut squash (Note 1)
1 cup split red lentils
1 cup full fat coconut milk, plus more for serving, if desired
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

For the Curry Croutons (Optional)

3 cups bread cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make the Soup

Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until it becomes soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, ginger, cumin and cinnamon. Sauté the mixture while stirring constantly for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
Stir in the broth, butternut squash, and lentils. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and allow the soup to simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, until the lentils and squash are very tender.
Remove the pot from heat. Either use an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender in batches, and blend until smooth.
Return the soup to the pot if you used a blender. Stir in the coconut milk and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste (Note 2). Briefly reheat it if it cooled down too much.

To Make the Croutons

Preheat the oven to 400°.
Place the bread cubes into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with the curry powder and garlic powder. Toss to evenly coat the bread cubes, then transfer them to a baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Bake the croutons until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

To Serve

Ladle the soup into bowls. Optionally top each bowl with a drizzle of coconut milk and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, then with croutons. Serve.

Notes

You'll need about a 2 pound squash for this.
Depending on how sweet your squash is, you may want to add a couple of teaspoons of sweetener such as maple syrup or organic sugar, or a splash of an acidic ingredient such as lemon juice to balance the flavors.

Nutrition