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Deliciously warm and comforting Butternut Squash Soup with a delicate hint of spice from Harissa. Easy, tasty and healthy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

There’s not much better in the way of comfort food than a delicious bowl of warming soup. It can also be an incredibly healthy meal, and a great way to add more nutritious vegetables to your diet.

Butternut squash is the star of the show here. Not only is it delicious but it is full of fibre, low in calories and rich in minerals and nutrients like vitamins A, C and E plus magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron.

Roasting the butternut squash for this soup really brings out the best in its flavour, and adds a lovely sweet hint of nutty caramel.

Bowl of roasted butternut squash and harissa soup, garnished with coriander leaves, sunflower seeds and chilli flakes.

What is Harissa?

Harissa is a deliciously complex spiced chilli sauce, popular in North African and Middle Eastern dishes. As well as chilli peppers, recipes typically contain spices like garlic, caraway and coriander seed plus cumin and olive oil. I prefer to use Rose Harissa, which also contains rose petals for a more delicate flavour, but still with a nice spicy kick.

Harissa paste is readily available in most UK supermarkets and since it has so many uses it is a great condiment to add to your pantry. It is excellent for adding extra flavour to soups, stews and casseroles. You can also use it as a marinade for grilling meat, mix with olive oil for a flavourful dressing for roast vegetables, or mix with hummus or yoghurt for a delicious dip.

I prefer to use Rose Harissa* for this Butternut Squash and Harissa soup, but the regular type also works well. If you can’t get hold of harissa, you can substitute it for another spicy red chilli paste such as sriracha, gochujang or Chinese garlic-chilli sauce. Or try making your own Rose Harissa.

Close up of roasted butternut squash and harissa soup.

How to serve Butternut Squash and Harissa Soup

This spicy squash soup pairs so perfectly with a grilled cheese toastie! It is also great with any kind of bread for dunking, though my preference is some seeded wholegrain sourdough. I love it with crackers too, or some crunchy herb croutons. Or try a savoury scone for dunking – I love these sun-dried tomato and cheese scones with soup.

For garnish, I like to add some fresh chopped coriander plus a mix of chilli flakes and sunflower or pumpkin seeds for a bit of crunch. You could also swirl in some cream or crème fraîche if you like.

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!

Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @carrieskitchen_ if you make it!

Looking for more comforting soup recipes? Try one of these:

Roasted Butternut Squash and Harissa Soup

Carrie Carvalho

Deliciously warm and comforting Butternut Squash Soup with a hint of spice from Harissa. Easy, tasty and healthy!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Roasting Time 45

Total Time 1

Course Appetizer, Lunch, Soup

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Servings servings

Calories 122 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash about 600-700g
2 red or yellow peppers
6 garlic cloves
2 tbsp Rose Harissa Paste* more if you like it spicy!
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1.2 litres vegetable stock
salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200°c/180 fan/gas 4/350f.
Peel the butternut squash and cut into cubes. Slice the peppers. Peel the garlic cloves and crush using the flat of a knife.
Add the squash, peppers and garlic to a large baking tray and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, tossing everything after 20 minutes. The squash should be soft and beginning to caramelise.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the harissa paste.
Tip the roasted squash, peppers and garlic into the pot then pour over the stock.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Blend the soup using a stick blender or by transferring in batches to a stand blender.
Season to taste – feel free to stir in some more harissa paste or add a drizzle of cream!

Notes

*You can also use regular Harissa. If you can’t get hold of harissa, you can substitute it for another spicy red chilli paste such as sriracha, gochujang or Chinese garlic-chilli sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 75mgPotassium: 532mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 12793IUVitamin C: 77mgCalcium: 67mgIron: 1mg

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