Ingredients
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into large cubes (about 8 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs thyme
1 sprig sage
3 c. low-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
Heavy cream, for serving
Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
Preparation
Step 1In a large slow cooker, combine butternut squash, onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, and sage. Pour in broth and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Step 2Cover and cook until squash is very tender, on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Remove herb sprigs and use an immersion blender to blend soup until smooth. Step 3 Stir in cream and garnish with parsley before serving.
Buy pre-cut butternut squash. If you see peeled, cubed butternut squash in the grocery store, BUY IT. Peeling your own—one of the worst kitchen tasks EVER—will not make your soup taste better. Promise. Sauté your veggies. This is 100% unnecessary. The best part of a slow cooker is throwing everything in and not cooking anything. But if you have some extra time, sautéing the onion, carrots, garlic, and herbs will take this soup the next level. Use low-sodium broth. This tip is important to us. The most common chicken broth has a scary amount of salt. We like to control the sodium content ourselves and always opt for low-sodium cartons. Make it ahead. Soup is one of the best things to make in advanced. Especially this puréed noodle-less one. (With pasta there’s always the risk of getting it soggy.) We like making this on Sunday and packing it up in mason jars to enjoy for lunch throughout the week. Freeze it. You can also freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Just make sure to cool it quickly before stashing it away. Make it vegan. Use vegetable broth and skip the cream, and voila! You have a dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dinner. Check out our dozens and dozens of other slow-cooker dinner ideas for more weeknight inspiration.
