Butternut Squash Soup + Pamesaean Sage Croutons 

November 8, 2016 1 Comment

Category: Appetizers, Healthy Eating
Tags: Butternut Squash Soup, Thanksgiving, tasty tuesday

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away – have you started planning? Over the next two weeks, I’m going to share some holiday favorites – from the best recipes to the most festive decor. But now, for the very best (and super healthy!) butternut squash soup…. 

Thanksgiving is all about family, gratitude and eating a lot of delicious food, am I right? Well, as much as we all love the creamy mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, we also hate the way it makes us feel the next day (not to mention the number that creeps up on the scale). So, in keeping with my low carb/sugar diet, I’m going to show you that it’s easily possible to make delicious, sessional favorites for the holiday without all the excess fat and sugar.

Butternut squash, for me, is the epitome of Thanksgiving. My godmother, Renee, would serve it before every Thanksgiving meal and it’s a staple in my holiday meal as well. It’s smooth, delicious and makes you feel warm and cozy inside.

Plus, it’s so easy to make and  with the fresh herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme, it’s amazingly aromatic. The best part about this recipe is you can make it day before in less than 45 minutes and simply reheat right before serving. The homemade sage and parmesan croutons really give it an added layer of sophistication and texture (while taking you an easy 15 minutes!).

Ingredients

Soup

• 2 large Butternut squashes (about 5 pounds worth) – de-skinned and cubed
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup yellow onion
• 1 cup celery
• 1 cup carrot
• 3 tablespoons sage
• 3 tablespoons rosemary
• 3 tablespoons thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne

Croutons

• 1/2 loaf sourdough bread
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoon sage

Directions

• On low heat, sauté chopped onion with olive oil.
• After 5 minutes, add in chopped celery and carrots. Mix together.
• While sautéing vegetables, chop up fresh herbs and butternut squash and add to pot.
• Mix in vegetable stock, cayenne and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Then, lower heat and let it sit for 20-30 minutes until squash gets soft.
• Add entire mixture in batches to food processor or Vitamix so it’s smooth.
• Return to pot and serve or store.

Croutons

• Heat oven to 375 degrees
• Chop up bread into cubes
• Sprinkle olive oil, chopped sage and parmesan over bread. Spread out on baking sheet.
• Cook in oven for 10 min. Put on broiler for last 2 minutes if you want them crispy  and a little burnt (my personal favorite)

A healthy eating series focusing on simple, low carb/sugar dishes in 30 minutes or less. For more info on how MS affects my eating habits, click here.