This past Wednesday, we chose to utilize the slow cooker once again. I’m beginning to appreciate the versatility of this one pot wonder!

Our onion soup and pulled pork turned out beautifully, so I was excited to see if our success would continue with one of my favorites, butternut squash soup.

Tuesday night, we prepped by roasting the squash a bit to soften it and make it easier to peel and cube. Well, these 2 squash were tiny, and we ended up completely cooking them. No matter, since the soup would be puréed before serving.

To the pot, we added sautéed onions, carrots, and garlic along with our squash, half a can of pumpkin, chicken stock, and some various seasonings—including a generous shake of cayenne.

We allowed the mixture to hang out in the refrigerator overnight (possible mistake #1); the next morning, we set the slow cooker for 6 hours on low heat while we worked through the day.

I have no idea how long the soup cooked, however, because the electricity had clearly gone out during the day, leaving the Crockpot turned off. We had some thunderstorms move through in the afternoon, so I assume the soup had already cooked several hours. This wasn’t a huge deal, since the squash had been roasted in advance. Mark simply turned the pot back on for a couple hours while he met with a friend and I went to gymnastics.

The soup was really thick, so we added a bit of water. We then used our immersion blender to purée to soup, and poured a splash of half and half into our servings.

The squash flavor really shone through, although so did the cayenne! We both love spicy foods, but this amount of pepper was overpowering. Luckily, it was more of an aftertaste, so the soup still had a good flavor. I now realize we should’ve added the cayenne that morning (and less of it) since its flavor becomes more pronounced the longer it sits. Lesson learned.

I wouldn’t call the soup a failure, however. I ate some for lunch the next day, and my taste buds survived just fine. Below is the basic recipe, though you can add whatever spices you have on hand (and adjust to taste!).

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 small butternut squash
• 1 yellow or white onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• half of a 15-oz can of pumpkin purée
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 32-oz box of chicken (or vegetable) stock
• seasonings of choice (we used black pepper, cinnamon, thyme, and cayenne)
• half and half or cream (vegans could use non-dairy milk or cashew cream)
• water to thin (if necessary)

Directions

1. To soften your squash, roast (or microwave) until tender *
2. Remove seeds, peel, and cube squash
3. Sauté onion, carrots, and garlic**
4. Add squash, pumpkin, extra vegetables, stock, and seasoning to the slow cooker
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours***
6. Once soup is cooked, purée with an immersion blender or in a food processor/standard blender
7. If soup is too thick, add a bit of water and allow to simmer an additional few minutes
8. Serve with a splash of cream or milk

*Since the soup will be cooking all day (barring any power outages) you can skip the pre-roasting. I, however, find it easier to cut after this step.

**Likewise, you can use raw vegetables. I read somewhere that raw onion sometimes produces an off-putting taste in slow-cooker recipes, so I didn’t take the risk.

***You could easily make this soup on the stovetop. In this instance, you would need to roast the squash fully and sauté the vegetables before adding the remaining ingredients, cooking for 30 minutes or as long as you desire.