Happy fall, y’all! I’m knee deep in all things autumn, including soups! Fall is soup season at our house and what better way to celebrate Halloween than with a delicious “spider web” topped Butternut Squash & Walnut Soup? It’s so flavorful, easy to make, and will wow your friends and family this season!
Butternut squash is one of my favorite fall flavors, and my family enjoys it so many ways. We’ll cube and roast it for an easy side dish, add it to warm salads or casseroles, or make it into soup. I decided to add toasted walnuts to our favorite butternut squash soup recipe – and I’m never going back! It adds the perfect nuttiness along with nutritious, good fats. One ounce of walnuts has 18g total fat, 2.5g monounsaturated fat, 13g polyunsaturated fat – including 2.5g omega-3 ALA.
I’m so thrilled to continue my partnership with California Walnuts this year to bring you lots of walnut-inspired recipes like this one. I’m a big fan of walnuts not only because they’re delicious but because of their nutritional value. Walnuts offer protein (4 grams/ounce) and fiber (2 grams/ounce). They’re also the only nut with a significant amount of plant-based omega-3 ALA (2.5 grams/ounce). So many reasons to add walnuts to your dishes!
Back to this soup! With Halloween around the corner, I wanted to find a festive way to add a little spooky fun to this soup. It would make a wonderful appetizer for a Halloween party (like this Halloween dinner party) or a kid-pleasing weeknight meal. I know my daughter giggled for ages when she saw the spider web on top. She had lots of fun adding walnut “spiders” to all our soup bowls at dinner. We love Halloween at our house!
Butternut Squash and Walnut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 32 ounces chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add butternut squash, broth, and cream. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until squash is soft.
- Pour contents of pot into blender. Add walnuts and salt. Blend until pureed.
- Pour into bowls. Fill a plastic bag with sour cream, carefully cut the corner off, and pipe three circles in each soup bowl. Use a wooden skewer (or knife) to pull and drag out from the center to create the spider web from the sour cream. Top with a walnut half. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you love this butternut squash and walnut soup recipe as much as I do! I loved the addition of walnuts so much that I’m going to try adding them to my pumpkin bisque recipe soon too.
This post is sponsored by the California Walnut Board. Thanks for supporting our partners!
Butternut squash is one of my favorite fall flavors!!!
This is a wonderful soup! My kids can’t get enough of it so I always make a double batch. I don’t add the cream until after the puréeing. One small addition that I make is to add a tiny amount of liquid smoke or applewood smoke seasoning which makes my bacon cravings go away without risking my health. Thank you for this healthy option. Looking forward to more!!
Hi Barbara! I love the addition you made. I’ll have to try that next time! :)
What can you substitute the heavy cream and sour cream for? I’m lactose intolerant.
I have not experimented with any substitutions so these are only off guesses, but I’d try a lactose-free half-and-half (Organic Valley makes one) or perhaps coconut milk.
Butternut squash come in small and large sizes. Please indicate how much squash either by weight or cups.