
A recipe for a healthy and satisfying vegetable soup, with butternut squash and cauliflower. This is one to make again and again.
Since posting Recipes for Health & Weight Loss in 2013 and the announcement that I will be including nutritional data with my recipes, I received lots of comments and emails from you. It seems that there are plenty of you that are charged with the responsibility of either counting calories for yourself or counting carbohydrate grams for loved ones with Diabetes. I was glad to hear that the new feature will be useful to so many of you. You’ll find that information at the bottom of the recipe. My plan is to go back through the archives, starting with my most popular recipes. Please be patient with me as I make my way through the list.
Now let’s move on to the soup. You don’t want to miss this one.
When the temperatures drop below freezing, an insatiable craving for hot, steaming food sets in. I gladly fill my days with frittatas, soups and stews, preferably while wrapped in a fleece blanket and sitting beside a roaring fire. Well, in my dreams. More likely, I’m inhaling a bowl of soup in front of the computer, right before leaping into the car Dukes Of Hazard-style (no, really) and racing off to do errands.
There’s no need to add cream to the soup to make it thick and hearty. After cooking down the vegetables, simply puree two cups of the mixture and add it back to the rest of the soup. The flavors are fantastic, rich with the sweetness of butternut squash and earthiness of cauliflower, and punched up with a shake of dried chile flakes.
The recipe:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion just starts to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, carrots, celery, dried chile flakes, thyme and salt. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for one additional minute.
Stir in the butternut squash, cauliflower, vegetable broth, water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, partially cover the saucepan and cook until the squash and cauliflower are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Let the soup cool for 10 minutes, then transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender. Puree until almost smooth, then stir the mixture back into the soup.
Stir in the parsley, add salt and pepper (if desired) and serve.
Other healthy, vegetarian soups:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Hearty Lentil & Black Bean Soup with Smoked Paprika
Cookin’ Canuck’s Healthy Mushroom, Orzo & Swiss Chard Soup
Salu Salo Recipes’ Hot and Sour Soup
Sea Salt with Food’s Roasted Vegetable Soup
Little Fig’s Better-For-You Ramen Noodle Soup with Vietnamese Flavors
Noshing with the Nolands’ Black Bean and Corn Soup
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, cut into thin half-circles
- 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp dried chile flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 lb. butternut squash (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 lb. cauliflower (about 2 cups)
- 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion just starts to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, carrots, celery, dried chile flakes, thyme and salt. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for one additional minute.
- Stir in the butternut squash, cauliflower, vegetable broth, water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, partially cover the saucepan and cook until the squash and cauliflower are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let the soup cool for 10 minutes, then transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender. Puree until almost smooth, then stir the mixture back into the soup.
- Stir in the parsley, add salt and pepper (if desired) and serve.
Notes
Calories 117.5 / Total Fat 2.6 g / Saturated Fat 0.3 g / Sodium 703 mg / Total Carbs 23.6g Dietary Fiber 6.7 g / Sugars 2.5 g / Protein 3.1 g / WW (Old Points) 2 / WW (Points+) 3




















{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s great you are including nutritional information. How much is a serving on this one?
Hi Hannah – okay, I kind of blew it on that part by forgetting to measure out exactly what a serving was. For now, I’ll ask you to estimate a serving to be one-fourth of the soup, but I will update this soon with proper serving information. Sorry about that!
Just pinned this one – I have been loving winter vegetable soup lately, and you can’t have too many different versions!
I agree, Megan! This soup is definitely going to carry me through this chilly winter.
I could eat soup like this every day!! Love the chili flakes.
Thanks, Liz. The chili flakes at a really nice kick.
Such a great looking soup, Dara. Perfect for this time of year!
Yyyyyyyyes. All over it.
Lovely soup! It sounds awesome!
This is the PERFECT recipe for the freezing weather outside!
Maybe *this* is the soup that will get me to eat cauliflower!
This looks wonderful Dara! Perfect for the negative degree weather we’re experiencing in Vermont. All I can think about is a heart warming soup like this. Yummy!
Soups R Us…it’s all I want lately and this is a new and unique combo I must try. Love the squash and cauliflower separately; why not marry them in a soup? Brrr…wish I had some right this very minute.
I absolutely love that you added cauliflower here.. and completely agree that cream is not necessary for a rich soup, you recipe is proof! Thanks for the nod to Little Fig, too!
Dara were you going to add Weight Watcher point values as well? (even approximate would be extremely helpful).
ps – Love your site and I find LOTS of inspiration here!
Hi Laura, thank you for your kind comment. I had been toying with the idea of WW points to the nutritional data. You’re the third person who’s commented/emailed me today about that, so I’ve decided to add it in. I included it for this recipes and will work my way through the old recipes.
This soup looks fabulous, can’t wait to try it!
Growing up, I only had broothy types of soup so never got into the habit of making or trying thick soups. You inspired me to try.
Have I told you lately how much you inspire me? Love your space here and the fact that you encourage so many of us!
I love pureed soups and seasonal ingredients! This would be an excellent soup to bring to a friend in need this winter. Thanks!
That is some kind of delicious winter soup. It looks so thick and comforting, but it’s healthy. I’m wondering what the serving size is for the 3 points.
This looks like the perfect, warming soup for all those cold winter days.
Mmmm, this looks like delicious comfort food at its best! Time to pin!
so this is how you get your family to eat cauliflower?
ok, this is good!
lol
My only hope for getting “weird” veggies (by which I mean anything that is not broccoli or carrots) into my family is by using them in soup! Love this recipe!
This recipe will come in handy this Winter. We love Winter veggies! Yum!
Just bookmarked this recipe. Can’t wait to curl up with a big bowlful of this hearty and healthy soup!
Squash and cauliflower are two of my favorite things (I literally eat them every day), so I will definitely be making this soon. It sounds like the perfect thing to warm my bones on a cold day (which, I suppose, is relative, considering it’s “winter” in Southern California right now).
It was completely meant to be for you to add that info. I am the worst at knowing my calories, and now I get to pretend to be good, thanks to you
What a satisfying and comforting winter soup.
I made this soup last night to have on hand for my family’s busy day today. Soooo good and satisfying. I cut back on the chili flakes, but next time I will put the full amount. Dara, you are becoming my go-to girl for healthy food. Actually now that I think of it, I am also serving your Summer Cherry and Crystallized Ginger Crumb Bars tonight, so I guess you are also supplying my (ahem) less healthy recipes too!
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