Butternut Squash Miso Soup is quite unique in the way that it is a thick blended soup, with hints of miso. It's sweet, but balanced because of the onions, zucchini and potato, giving it the perfect flavor for the start of lunch or dinner.
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What You Will Need
There aren't too many ingredients in this recipe and most are things you may already stock in your fridge and pantry!
- Butternut Squash - I tend to buy a whole butternut squash and peel & chop it. Alternatively, you can buy pre-chopped butternut squash to make your life even easier.
- Zucchini - The zucchini is important because it cuts the sweet flavor of the butternut squash, making this soup very balanced.
- Onion & Garlic - Our aromatics are the base of any good soup, and most dishes, and they're no exception here.
- Potato - The potato in this soup will be used to thicken it, providing starch to the soup. Plus, it also cuts the sweet flavor of the butternut squash.
- Miso Paste - Miso is one of my latest favorite ingredients! It has such a unique flavor that in some dishes is very recognizable and in other is more subtle. In this recipe you do taste it, but it doesn't taste as strong as a regular miso soup.
- Vegetable Broth - I always opt for the Low Sodium Vegetable Broth, but you can also Imagine's No Chicken Chicken Broth for delicious flavor too! If you don't have vegetable broth, you can substitute with water, but you may need to improvise and add more spices to the soup.
- Harissa spice - I really love adding just a bit of Harissa to this soup to give it some spice, but if you don't like spicy foods you can leave it out. Feel free to swap in ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes if you don't have Harissa on hand.
How to Make Butternut Squash Miso Soup
- Begin with chopping the butternut squash into cubes and lathering it with the miso paste. Use your hands to mix the two ingredients together until the butternut squash is fully coated in miso and no miso clumps are visible.
- Next, sauté onions and garlic in oil until translucent. You'll want to do this in a pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the cubed butternut squash, zucchini and potato. Mix and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the vegetable broth, salt, pepper, and harissa. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and semi cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
- Transfer ¾ of the soup to a high speed blender (make sure to leave a vent at the top of the blender slightly open so steam can escape), and blend until thick and creamy.
- Pour blended soup back into the pot and mix together.
- Cook soup for another ten minutes until it simmers.
- Then, mix in the spinach and turn off the heat. Allow to cool slightly before eating!
- Add more salt and pepper if needed.
How to Thicken Butternut Squash Soup
Thickening this butternut squash soup is quite easy! I like to use a potato to thicken it, because it provides starch to the broth plus when it is blended it becomes nice and thick.
You can also swap the potato for about ¼ cup of old fashioned rolled oats. You would not add them to the soup right away. Wait until the soup goes into the blender and then add them to the blender with the soup, then blend!
Rice is another great way to thicken soups. You can add ¼ cup rice to the pot during step 4 of the recipe, then when you blend the soup it will help thicken it.
Questions You May Have
Sure thing! I prefer a green zucchini but if you have yellow on hand, go for it!
Honestly, since it's a great starter to most meals, the world is your oyster. You can pair it will a nice fresh salad along with meat Keftas (one of my favorite go-to combinations) or even serve it with roasted chicken or fried tofu on the side.
I think it can be fun to save the seeds from the butternut squash and roast them with some olive oil, salt and harissa at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle the toasted seeds on the soup and add a drizzle of coconut milk along with some herbs.
Butternut Squash Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 2 ½ tablespoons miso paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 zucchini cubed
- 1 onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 large or 2 small russet or idaho potato es, peeled and cubed
- 4 cups vegetable broth I recommend low sodium
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 ounces baby spinach optional
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon harissa spice
Instructions
- Rub miso all over butternut squash cubes and let sit for ten minutes.
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add in the diced onion and chopped garlic. Sweat for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add in the cubed butternut squash, zucchini and potato to the pot. Cook 3-5 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add salt, black pepper and vegetable broth. Cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
- Transfer ¾ of the soup to a high speed blender or use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients until smooth. Mix the blended soup back into the pot with the leftover chunky soup.
- Cook soup for another 10 minutes, then mix in spinach.
- Season with more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
- Butternut Squash Miso Soup Topping ideas (shown in images): Save the seeds from the butternut squash and roast them with some olive oil, salt and harissa at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle the toasted seeds on the soup and add a drizzle of coconut milk along with some herbs (I used cilantro) and a sprinkle of harissa.
- This soup yields 6 decent sized soup bowls, but if you plan to have seconds you may want to consider doubling the recipe!
- The spinach is not shown in the photos above, but I have made this recipe with spinach before and it's incredible too!
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