FOOD FRIDAYS: Healing Curry Butternut Squash Lentil Soup
As the season begins to change from warm summer days to cooler temperatures, soups and stews offer ultimate comfort. This Healing Curry Butternut Squash Lentil soup is super easy and flavourful, perfect for fall!
This soup can be made on the stovetop or in a slow cooker, making it a great make-ahead family dinner for those busy weekday school nights. Just throw everything into a crockpot or slow cooker, and leave on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Dinner is served! This recipe is also super versatile – allowing you to use up whatever veggies you have in the fridge. You can even try swapping out butternut squash with sweet potatoes or pumpkin!
Even though this recipe is dairy-free, the addition of light coconut milk makes this soup extremely luxurious and creamy. Lentils also help to thicken it up, all while adding a boost of protein and fibre to keep you full and satiated.
Leftovers are good for up to a week and can be enjoyed for lunch the next day. Try it out today!
Ingredients:
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 medium (2 pounds) butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 5-6 cups diced)
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated turmeric (or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric)
- 1 (15 ounces) can of light coconut milk
- 3 cups organic low-sodium vegetarian broth
- 1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed and sorted
- 2 tablespoons all-natural creamy peanut butter or cashew butter
- ¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups organic spinach
Directions
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Add coconut oil to a large pot or dutch oven and place over medium-high heat. Next add garlic, ginger and onion and saute for 3-5 minutes until the onion begins to soften.
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Add in carrot and butternut squash cubes; saute for a few more minutes then add in the yellow curry powder and turmeric. Allow spices to cook together for 30 seconds then immediately stir in coconut milk, vegetarian broth, lentils and peanut butter. Season with salt and pepper.
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Bring soup to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer for 20 minutes until lentils soften.
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After 20 minutes, transfer approximately half of the soup (about 3 cups) to a blender. It’s very important to protect your hands from steam and a potential heat explosion, so please place a clean dish towel over the lid and puree the soup until smooth. I like to start slow, then gradually increase the speed of the blender.
- Pour the puree back into the pot with the rest of the soup and stir to combine. Finally, stir the fresh spinach until just wilted.
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Taste and adjust the seasoning of the soup as necessary. If you like more of an umami flavour try adding another tablespoon of peanut butter, or even a squeeze of fresh lime juice. This is a soup that can do no wrong! I like to serve mine with cilantro and a handful of peanuts — it’s also great with a little hot sauce if you prefer a little spice!
To make yours in the slow cooker: add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a slow cooker, except I recommend reducing the broth to 2 ½ cups. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Continue with blending part of the soup after it is cooked.
Feel free to use cubed sweet potato or pumpkin if that’s what you have on hand.
Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen.
