When the weather turns cooler and school is back in session, warm the kids up after a chilly recess with this smooth sweet and savory soup! Squash is loaded with vitamins and minerals that busy, growing children need—and it also happens to have a kid friendly sweet taste. They’ll slurp this soup down from their thermos with a straw or a spoon and be ready for a full and focused afternoon of classes.
You’ll need the recipe for Simple Nourishing Bone Broth to make this soup.
Note
• You could use your Instant Pot® pressure cooker to cook the squash and pumpkin if you are short on time; however, I love the flavor that roasting lends the vegetables, and by the time the Instant Pot® comes to pressure, the cooking time is almost the same as the 30 minutes of roasting time.
Back-to-School Fall Harvest Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cubed
- 1 small pie pumpkin, seeds removed and cut into eighths
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter or ghee or 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil or 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled or unpeeled and cubed
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 small pears, peeled or unpeeled and cubed
- 4 cups (960) bone broth (recipe linked)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) full-fat coconut milk or raw milk
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, raw honey, or pure maple syrup (optional)
- Black pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- On a large baking sheet, toss the butternut squash and pumpkin with the oil and sea salt. Roast the squash and pumpkin for 30 minutes, until they are fork tender.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, sweet potato, and a large pinch of sea salt.
- Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes, until the veggies are soft and slightly caramelized. Add the garlic and pears and cook the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes.
- When the squash and pumpkin are done roasting and are cool enough to handle, use a knife to slice the skin away from the pumpkin. Discard the skin.
- Add the broth, milk, and butternut squash and pumpkin to the soup pot. Bring the soup to a simmer. Turn the heat off and puree the soup using an immersion blender. (Alternatively, you can blend the soup in a countertop blender, working in batches if necessary.) Stir in the sugar (if using), sea salt, and black pepper.
- This soup will last for 5 days in the refrigerator. To freeze the soup, let it cool to room temperature, and then store it in freezer-safe containers in the portion sizes that you want.
Notes
Excerpted from The Little Lunchbox Cookbook: 60 Easy Real-Food Bento Lunches for Kids on the Go by Renee Kohley. Published by Page Street Publishing Co. Photography copyright © Becky Winkler.