I have been trying to find a recipe close to Panera’s Autumn Squash Soup for a couple of years, so after many so-so attempts AND wanting a no-sugar-added version, I decided to adjust commonly used ingredients & created our own recipe: June & Della give it four thumbs up! Della calls this her “Butter Squash Soup” and says that it’s “willy willy good.”It’s SO easy & the ingredients are simple.

You’ll need:

7-8 cups of roasted butternut squash

1 yellow onion, chopped

2- 32 oz cartons of chicken broth (I used organic bone broth)

1 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons of butter

1 teaspoon curry

1 teaspoon cinnamon

8 oz package of cream cheese

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Optional, but recommended: 3+ tablespoons Swerve brown sugar replacement (adjust to taste).

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, cut your squash in half – lengthwise, scoop out and discard seeds & strings, and place squash on a baking sheet – cut sides up. Brush the surface of your squash with butter or olive oil. Roast for 40-50 +/- mins. (Until soft enough to scoop into a measuring cup.)

Once your squash is roasted, add chopped onion & butter to your soup pot – cook over low/medium heat until your onion becomes translucent.

Add all remaining ingredients (including squash) to your soup pot and let simmer over low/medium heat for 10 mins, stirring frequently.

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, cool the soup and blend smaller portions in regular blender).

Your soup is ready to serve! I served mine topped with heavy cream (I whipped it so it sat nicely on top of the soup) and garnished with fresh thyme & cinnamon. Pepitas (salted, roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds) would be another great additional topping, I just didn’t have any on hand this time.

Enjoy!