Creamy Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup, Vegan

bowl of butternut squash red pepper soup with pepitas and rosemary garnish

Creamy Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup, Vegan

Course: dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Keyword: butternut squash red pepper soup, coconut milk soup, vegan soup

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 55

Time on stovetop.: 10

Total Time: 1 50

Servings:

Calories: 220kcal

Author: Cindy Rainey

Butternut squash and red pepper soup is creamy and smooth, rich, and a little spicy, with herbal undertones from fresh chopped rosemary. This vegan roasted red pepper and butternut squash soup is completely dairy free, getting its creamy texture from coconut milk - a vegan creamy soup-making secret.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients for Roasting

1 medium butternut squash
1½ cups chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients for Soup

3 cups vegetable broth
12 ounces roasted bell peppers jarred and drained
⅓ cup coconut cream see notes
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
optional garnishes, more chopped rosemary, pepitas, hot sauce, or Sriracha.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
You will need one and a half cups of chopped onion. This will be about one-half of a medium-sized onion. Chop the onion and place it on a foil square. Peel the paper from the garlic cloves and roughly chop. Place on the foil with the onion. Roll the foil into a packet and secure the ends. Place the foil packet on the prepared baking sheet next to the butternut squash halves.
Cut off both ends of the butternut squash. Slice in two length-wise and remove the seeds. Place both halves on the prepared baking sheet.
Drizzle the butternut squash with olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 55-65 minutes until the butternut squash is fork-tender and scoopable and soft in the thickest parts. Check the packet with the onions and garlic making sure that they are tender too. They should be fork tender too by now. Even a little mushy is okay.
Before adding the other ingredients, measure out and skim the coconut cream from the top layer of a can of coconut milk. It helps if you haven't shaken the can around before opening it. If you have then you need to place the can in the fridge for a while. As it gets cold, the cream will rise to the top and start to solidify.
Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes or until you can comfortably scoop the butternut squash from its flesh. Scoop the squash into a med/large soup pan. Add the cooked onions and garlic along with the vegetable broth, drained jarred red peppers, coconut cream, and red cayenne pepper. Use an immersion blender to blend together the ingredients until they are nice and smooth. It's okay to leave it a little bit chunky if that is your preference.
Add the chopped rosemary and heat until lightly bubbling. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more cayenne pepper to taste.
Garnish with pepitas and more chopped rosemary. Stir in a little Frank's Red Hot Sauce or Sriracha to taste. For the best garnish, make coconut lime crema to drizzle on top (see notes).

Notes

Remove the top portion of coconut cream from the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk. The coconut cream adds a special layer of flavor to this recipe. If you simply don't care for coconut cream then you can substitute vegan heavy/whipping cream or oat milk (but it won't be as creamy with the oat milk). If you are not vegan then feel free to substitute heavy cream.

This is super important: For the best and most delicious way to serve this butternut squash and red pepper soup, make this coconut lime crema and drizzle a little bit on the top before serving.

You will want to cool the roasted butternut squash so that you can comfortably handle it. This time is included in the prep time.

If you don't have an immersion blender then you can blend the ingredients together in a standard countertop blender in batches.

The serving size is one and a half cups. Adjust the nutritional information if your serving size is different.

Nutrition